Best Online Banking Deals

[Anthony Marrone]

Originally Posted by The Honest Dollar

Rates will almost certainly be cut in the near future, probably by the end of the month. You can either open up an account now, only to have the yield drop in a month, or wait a few weeks and go for the best deal after the big rate cut. If you wait two months, it would cost you about $7. You have to decide if the hassle of switching to another bank account in a few weeks is worth $7. For me, it's not; for you, it might be.

The point is moot if you don't care about liquidity. If you don't need the cash immediately, you might as well put it into a high yield CD and lock in a 4% yield now regardless of the Fed's rate cutting.

By the way, amarrone, your math is incorrect. Putting $1000 into a 0.30% APY account versus a 4.10% APY account costs you $38 per year, not per month. That's because the interest rates you cite are annual yields, not periodic.

You're definitely correct as to the math, and I also don't doubt the likelihood of the fed's rate-cutting, although I do question the policy reasons behind continued cuts. I concur with your responses, and think we can resolve the debate by agreeing that at the very least any high-yield savings is better then low-interest checking ad infinitum.

[rstlne]

Originally Posted by The Honest Dollar

Rates will almost certainly be cut in the near future, probably by the end of the month. You can either open up an account now, only to have the yield drop in a month, or wait a few weeks and go for the best deal after the big rate cut. If you wait two months, it would cost you about $7. You have to decide if the hassle of switching to another bank account in a few weeks is worth $7. For me, it's not; for you, it might be.

I'm not sure you gain anything by waiting even then. I noticed that every time the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, most of the online savings banks adjust their rates downwards soon after. Might as well just pick one now.

[72Tiger]

Originally Posted by Megan

I don't want to be moving money around all the time, so I have an ING Account, but I have to admit, I'm being swayed by the HSBC rates. When one of my reserve accounts hits a certain balance, I might open up an HSBC account with those funds.

It might be in my best interests, financially, but I just can't bring myself to constantly chase the rates.

I agree with this post. Most of my emergency fund is at ING, with a small amount at my credit union for day to day expenses, and small emergency expenditures. I feel like that as long as I am getting 3 or 4 times the interest rate my credit union pays, I am doing fine, and won't bother chasing an additional 1/2 percentage point or so.

Hopefully within the next year or so, I will be able to start doing some investing outside of retirement accounts. These are the places that I will scrutinize the return the most on.

[The Honest Dollar]

Originally Posted by amarrone

You're definitely correct as to the math, and I also don't doubt the likelihood of the fed's rate-cutting, although I do question the policy reasons behind continued cuts. I concur with your responses, and think we can resolve the debate by agreeing that at the very least any high-yield savings is better then low-interest checking ad infinitum.

Oh yeah. I remember the days when I used to make 0.10% on my savings account. What's the point of even having a savings account? It's almost as bad as hiding money under the mattress! HY savings is definitely the way to go. (Or a CD ladder, if you don't need liquidity.)

[The Honest Dollar]

Originally Posted by rstlne

I'm not sure you gain anything by waiting even then. I noticed that every time the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, most of the online savings banks adjust their rates downwards soon after. Might as well just pick one now.

You may not have any monetary gains, but my only point is that with a rate cut imminent, you might save yourself some trouble if you wait just a few weeks. During that time, you won't earn that much in interest (especially if you have a small balance), so you're not losing out on that much.

However, by waiting, you avoid this scenario: You open an account now with Bank X. Fed cuts rates. Bank X cuts rates. Bank Y, which had not looked so attractive before, now has a much higher yield. Do you stick with Bank X, or go through the inconvenience of switching to Bank Y? Since you gain just a few weeks of the high Bank X rate before the rates fall, you might decide the inconvenience isn't worth it.

Of course, if there's a chance that you won't be disciplined to open the account in a few weeks, might as well do it now while you're motivated.

[EmilySBK]

I work with ShoreBank and we offer a really great HYSA plan with no monthly fee, just $1 minimum balance, and a high return of 3.5% APY. The account is completely fluid, so you can move money in and out at will, with no hassle. Hear it yourself from real customers--visit this link to read more: http://shorebankdirect.sbk.com/stories.asp.

[bruceman]

Another good one to look at is Venture Bank Direct. They are currently offering 3.80% APY on their savings accounts, with no minimum balance.

http://www.venturebankdirect.com

[alexmbt]

There are a ton of great deals in the market right now.

1 - Chase Bank is giving $125 dollars to anyone who opens a savings account as long as they have direct deposit

2 - Start an HSBC Premier Relationship in the United States with a minimum of $50,000 in new money by November 21, 2008 and choose from a TomTom® ONE 130.S GPS or a one-year membership for Clear,®* the fast pass for airport security.

3 - E-Loan is giving $25 sign up bonus for opening a 1 year CD account. The CD has an APY of 4.36% which is amazing - https://savings.eloan.com/savings/times