I have limited "high interest savings accounts" down to 4 options - Please assist

[Anonymous]

I have narrowed down my "high interest savings account" options to 4 options. I need help from you to determine the best option.

Here are my requirements:

- I do not want to chase yearly "incentive" rates and "bait and switch" banks

- I want a bank that consistently had among the highest rates "savings account rates" for the past 5 to 10 years as I know that this may fluctuate to some degree with a competitive industry (one year bank "X" may be the highest, then bank "Y" the next year, then maybe bank "X" again the next and so on)

- I have anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 to put into this account to accrue interest

- I need the option to be able to pull this money if needed, although I don’t need the option of same day pull (I can wait  2-3 days)

- I would like a good and easy to use user interface/website

- No annual or monthly fee

- I am not interested in Checking accounts - I am satisfied with my checking account and services with USAA

Here are the options I have limited my above requirements too (not in any particular order):

1. Cit bank - 1.35% APY

2. Goldman Sachs - 1.3% APY

3. Barclays - 1.3% APY

4. Ally Bank - 1.25% APY

Please assist

Thank you

[Anonymous]

Hard to suggest anything without knowing what the savings account may be for.

For me, I prefer rolling CDs to savings.  Some high yield CDs have a minimum of $500, so with $6000 you can do 12 rolling CDs 1 month apart.

But then you can only access $500 each month (or pay penalties).

I prefer my rolling CD plan to just a savings account.  It's SLIGHTLY more to manage but pays better long term.  Plus, I like that my CDs will cover my living expenses monthly for a year versus being able to spend it all on a swimming pool filled with caramel corn.

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have narrowed down my "high interest savings account" options to 4 options. I need help from you to determine the best option.

Here are my requirements:

- I do not want to chase yearly "incentive" rates and "bait and switch" banks

- I want a bank that consistently had among the highest rates for the past 5 to 10 years as I know that this may fluctuate to some degree with a competitive industry (one year bank "X" may be the highest, then bank "Y" the next year, then maybe bank "X" again the next and so on)

- I have anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 to put into this account to accrue interest

- I need the option to be able to pull this money if needed, although I don’t need the option of same day pull (I can wait  2-3 days)

- I would like a good and easy to use user interface/website

Here are the options I have limited my above requirements too (not in any particular order):

1. Cit bank - 1.35% APY

2. Goldman Sachs - 1.3% APY

3. Barclays - 1.3% APY

4. Ally Bank - 1.25% APY

Please assist

Thank you

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Barclays is what I use. It's easy to pull money in and out (you can link via routing/account numbers to up to 3 other accounts). It has been in the top 3 for interest rates since 2013, with the only other name on your list coming up in my annual searches being Ally. There's no strings attached and no minimum balances required with Barclays. The interface is easy to use and I have not once had to call a number/enter a branch to work with them - the website is more than adequate.

I'm not saying it's the "best" out there, but it checks every box you're looking for.

[minski]

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@iced wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have narrowed down my "high interest savings account" options to 4 options. I need help from you to determine the best option.

Here are my requirements:

- I do not want to chase yearly "incentive" rates and "bait and switch" banks

- I want a bank that consistently had among the highest rates for the past 5 to 10 years as I know that this may fluctuate to some degree with a competitive industry (one year bank "X" may be the highest, then bank "Y" the next year, then maybe bank "X" again the next and so on)

- I have anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 to put into this account to accrue interest

- I need the option to be able to pull this money if needed, although I don’t need the option of same day pull (I can wait  2-3 days)

- I would like a good and easy to use user interface/website

Here are the options I have limited my above requirements too (not in any particular order):

1. Cit bank - 1.35% APY

2. Goldman Sachs - 1.3% APY

3. Barclays - 1.3% APY

4. Ally Bank - 1.25% APY

Please assist

Thank you

---

Barclays is what I use. It's easy to pull money in and out (you can link via routing/account numbers to up to 3 other accounts). It has been in the top 3 for interest rates since 2013, with the only other name on your list coming up in my annual searches being Ally. There's no strings attached and no minimum balances required with Barclays. The interface is easy to use and I have not once had to call a number/enter a branch to work with them - the website is more than adequate.

I'm not saying it's the "best" out there, but it checks every box you're looking for.

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I would say the same of Goldman Sachs. I have seen their APY higher than Barclay or Ally for at least a year before the latest increase in rates which is why I chose GS. I've been with Goldman Sachs for about 2+ years and have had no problems with it. That said, I am now making the move to Rewards Checking instead but plan on keeping my savings account with Goldman Sachs open just in case. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have narrowed down my "high interest savings account" options to 4 options. I need help from you to determine the best option.

Here are my requirements:

- I do not want to chase yearly "incentive" rates and "bait and switch" banks

- I want a bank that consistently had among the highest rates for the past 5 to 10 years as I know that this may fluctuate to some degree with a competitive industry (one year bank "X" may be the highest, then bank "Y" the next year, then maybe bank "X" again the next and so on)

- I have anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 to put into this account to accrue interest

- I need the option to be able to pull this money if needed, although I don’t need the option of same day pull (I can wait  2-3 days)

- I would like a good and easy to use user interface/website

- No annual or monthly fee

Here are the options I have limited my above requirements too (not in any particular order):

1. Cit bank - 1.35% APY

2. Goldman Sachs - 1.3% APY

3. Barclays - 1.3% APY

4. Ally Bank - 1.25% APY

Please assist

Thank you

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It sounds like you have already confirmed that all four banks meet all your requirements.  Given that, I think the answer is simple.  Just go with the one that feels best to you.

I don't think we need to know what your requirements are, since you have decided already that they are essential and you have already done the legwork of finding banks that meet all of them.  If you do the math you'll see that there is almost no difference in the amount of money you'll make at them.  ($40-130 per year before taxes, depending on how much you have in there)

Of course, if you wanted a discussion of ways to make a lot more money than that (from bank accounts) we could do that -- but it would be a very different conversation.

[Anonymous]

Credit guy in Dixie,

I have narrowed it down to 4 banks but none of them "feels best" as you said, hence the point of this thread. I look forward to the input from those that have these accounts. Also, perhaps one of these banks has not had among the top rates for the past 5-10 years. I would like to hear if that is the case as well.

I would still like to hear from the community on their recommendations to help me narrow down the selection from 4 (yes I have done the legwork to get it to 4), to 1.

[DU556]

You should also consider discover cash back checking account. I've had them for two years but you do need to have current product from them in order to sign up for a bank account. Their savings account have great rates as well.
One other thing, their checking account gives you 1% cash back for every transaction. That's awesome.

[Anonymous]

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@DU556 wrote:
You should also consider discover cash back checking account. I've had them for two years but you do need to have current product from them in order to sign up for a bank account. Their savings account have great rates as well.
One other thing, their checking account gives you 1% cash back for every transaction. That's awesome.

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Every debit transaction. I miss the old program that gave 10 cents back for each check written. I only made a few bucks out of it, but it felt good.

OP, I like Disco savings currently at 1.30%. Best phone reps anywhere IMO, a better peace of mind than I would get from Synch, etc. having a decent chunk of my savings.

[Aprile421]

I also like Discover savings. Easy to use, transfer money to and from multiple accounts. Interest rates are competitive with a lot of banks but the customer service is top notch. I have seen my interest rates rise almost .30% since I originally opened them. Not much but better and faster than Cap 1 has been increasing their interest.The other bank I would consider is Amex because so far with other products I also find their customer service to very good. I have a Capital One 360 savings that opened years ago when it was ING and the interest rates were awesome! I have found earnings wise they are slow to update their interest rates to be competitive but I only have a small amount left in there which I am thinking of taking out and using it to play with the Chase bank 200 and 300 bonus offers for opening accounts and once I make the bonus close out and move to another bank with opening bonuses just to try to play around with the bonus game since it isn't really that much money but enough to grab a couple hundred here and there on bonuses. 

[Anonymous]

@Aprile421 has the same advice as me.

I've got both Amex & discover HYSAs and are very pleased with both. Amex is our large rainy day and general savings fund, while disco is newer having been opened for the $25k/$200 bonus. Depending on whose got the better rate one will remain the primary fund while the other will likely be used as a transfer fund for future signup bonuses.
Started with Amex because while they weren't the highest rate out there they were someone I had heard of and done business with before & thusly felt better about trusting them with my money. Ally and others had a marginally better rate but I didn't know what to expect, and with this being my first large account outside a traditional brick and mortar bank/cu I went with Amex since I know their experience & have other Amex products. Amex customer service is kinda meh but I knew what to expect. Disco is fantastic and their all US based service is a godsend, it really is a seemingly small feature that makes all the diff in the world. Haven't had the disco HYSA long enough to do much of anything with it yet but I expect smooth service like I get on their credit side of things.

Only point against disco was their requiring me to verify identity and submit scans of my license - but since I'm disputing some paid collections & have fraud alerts on file I'm not at all surprised they asked for verification