Tiffany Raiford
High interest savings accounts; what are those? I’m married to a banker and I don’t even have one of those. It almost seems, these days, as if a high interest account is a thing of the past. It’s a rumor. It’s something that some people used to have and now it’s just something we talk about and vaguely remember, and sometimes wonder if it will ever happen again. Most of us don’t see that banks will ever get back to offering decent interest rates on savings accounts, so we are not holding our breath. The good news, however, is that there are some online banking and financial institutions that are offering savings account with marginally high interest rates, which is a good thing. It’s still not as good as anyone wants, but it’s much better than your typical brick and mortar bank and what they have to offer (can we even consider that an offer, really?). It’s not the kind of account you have, either; it’s where you have your account. Read on to find out where you can find reliable high-interest savings accounts online so that you can start looking now for a new account with a higher rate of interest to call your own. There is nothing wrong with opening an account to make a little bit more money than you’re already earning with your current bank.
Barclays – 1% (and more)
What we love about this high-interest savings account is that it’s worth more if you just leave it alone. For example, you can make a deposit and open an account and get 1% on your savings. That is with no minimum deposit amount and it’s also without any monthly fees. However, it is with several things that do matter. One of those things is the ability to leave your account alone. If you find you have a difficult time with that, these incentives might motivate you. The Barclays Dream Account offers 1.05%. If you can make deposits up to $1000 for six months in a row, you get a 2.5% bonus. If you don’t withdraw anything from your account for six months, you’ll get another 2.5% bonus, too. That’s a big deal when you’re looking at high-interest savings account.
Synchrony Bank – 1.05%
It is rather depressing that this is the number that makes us feel all tingly inside when it comes to interest and earning money. I mean, anyone can see that a $1000 balance is worth about $1 in terms of this rate, but it does add up the more you deposit and the longer you go. But on a good note, it’s a lot higher than other banks and it’s worth taking a look at. The features that are associated with this particular account are quite impressive, and that’s what makes people want to use it. You do not need to have a certain balance to deposit to open your account, either, so you can start as small or large as you prefer and make it work from there. The only stipulation here is that you must have at least $30 in your account at all times to avoid paying a $5 per month fee. But it’s just $30, so that’s not a lot of money – especially in a savings account.
Discover Bank – .90%
This is not quite the free account that others on this list are. Discover does make sure that their customers have a minimum deposit amount of $500 to open an account online, but that’s all right when you consider how much interest you are earning on this particular account. Furthermore, once you open the account with that kind of deposit, you are not required to keep it in there. There is not a monthly minimum account balance associated with this particular account, so you can withdraw those funds if you need to while you build up your account balance. More good news is that there is not a monthly fee associated with this account. Even more, this particular bank offers high-interest accounts that have other benefits, too, such as higher interest rates for accounts with a certain dollar amount. It’s worth checking into to see if it works with your budget.
Ally – .99%
It’s still not quite a full percent, but it’s a lot closer than traditional banks where the numbers .17% are supposed to make you feel excited (they don’t). What we do love about this particular account at Ally is that you don’t need to have a minimum balance. You just need to have something in there to earn some money. Additionally, there are no monthly fees associated with your account, either. This makes it easy for everyone to have a little bit of money to save since you are not spending to save. There are a few other benefits associated with this account, too, including the fact that you can make transfers and do your banking in several different manners, which is how people like to be able to bank. You will never need to go to the bank to make your deposits or do your banking, which is going to make your banking that much simpler.
MySavingsDirect – 1.25%
Here’s one that’s really impressive. This particular account is not frilly or special, but it’s got a much better than usual interest rate. You have to open this account by linking to external checking accounts and transferring your money, but there is no minimum balance, there is no monthly fee and there are no frills. This is a bank that is part of the Emigrant Bank, which is a large bank based in New York City. You’ll find that while they aren’t all about the fuss that some banks like to offer, they are all about making sure you get the most for your money. Perhaps you get a higher rate here because they aren’t interested in making things pretty and special. Either way; it’s worth looking into for this particular rate.
Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Comments
Loading…