More Smartly nerfs...

[bs1234]

Got a letter saying that as of Aug 11, USBank reserves the right "at their sole discretion" , to determine if a Smartly Savings account is eligible for the savings rate boost.   Oh, and mine isn't, going to a massive 0.05% APR.   My $100K is in an investment account so I am guessing this is why.

I saw somewhere a person was told that accounts are regularly reviewed and I wonder if this means the card nerf (investment doesn't count) will hit me soon!

And it would be "interesting" if those where checking and savings still count found that their $100K in savings was earning 0.05%!

[Follower]

Death by a thousand cuts.

[bs1234]

Not that I plan to take on USBank but I'm wondering just how legal it is, to "reserve the right, at its sole discretion, to determine whether a Bank Smartly Savings account is eligible for the interest rate bump"  without disclosing at least some of the criteria.  On the link they provide, they talk about qualifying account balance, and my feeling is that if for now it counts for my credit card, it should count here.   But pushing that argument will certainly lead to "You're right, it doesn't count for your credit card either...."

[ptatohed]

Not exactly related but I had put $50k into a robo-invest and $50k into a self-directed invest earlier this year to get the 4% CB.

Well, I received an email yesterday that they (USB) are ending their robo-invest and my robo will be converted to self-directed in Oct.

Fun fact, after putting in $50k / $50k, they quickly dropped to $47k / $48k with the stock market drop during the first tariffs. Today robo = $52k and self = $54k. I am beating the robot by $2k! lol

[creditrizz]

---

@ptatohed wrote:

Not exactly related but I had put $50k into a robo-invest and $50k into a self-directed invest earlier this year to get the 4% CB.

Well, I received an email yesterday that they (USB) are ending their robo-invest and my robo will be converted to self-directed in Oct.

Fun fact, after putting in $50k / $50k, they quickly dropped to $47k / $48k with the stock market drop during the first tariffs. Today robo = $52k and self = $54k. I am beating the robot by $2k! lol

---

Kinda crazy that US Bank is even able to sell users on using their algorithmic investment robot after they've seen their early-2000s brokerage platform.   To me it'd be like a russian car manufacturer offering a self-driving upgrade.  The biggest problem I have with some of those robot investors, aside from the potential losses from a bad algorithm, is that you sometimes can't transfer their holdings to other brokerage without liquidating them all first and triggering a taxable event or potentially locking in losses.

[bs1234]

Have others received the letter?  Feeling exposed!

[Kforce]

Nothing here

[G2244]

---

@bs1234 wrote:

Have others received the letter?  Feeling exposed!

---

I have not. However, I have seen some other data points. This thread on reddit (and at least one other) has people mentioning getting a letter like yours in the original post.

I am concerned as well and also even a bit shocked. This seems like a valid lawsuit waiting to happen. Pick any attribute different about people getting the new (bad) interest rate language. If they are not willing to publish rules being applied to everyone seems a matter of time before they are called out for it being race, sex, religion, political affiliation, etc. For a bank how are they not able to have a set of rules they publish??

[ptatohed]

I've pretty much emptied my Smartly Savings down to $500.  Which is actually probably too much money to leave at 2.96% instead of 4%+!  

No letter stating I'll lose the boost but, if I did, I'd drop my savings down to $25 and just keep praying to Buddha that my $100k investments get me the 4% CB.  

[bs1234]

---

@G2244 wrote:

---

@bs1234 wrote:

Have others received the letter?  Feeling exposed!

---

I have not. However, I have seen some other data points. This thread on reddit (and at least one other) has people mentioning getting a letter like yours in the original post.

I am concerned as well and also even a bit shocked. This seems like a valid lawsuit waiting to happen. Pick any attribute different about people getting the new (bad) interest rate language. If they are not willing to publish rules being applied to everyone seems a matter of time before they are called out for it being race, sex, religion, political affiliation, etc. For a bank how are they not able to have a set of rules they publish??

---

Thanks for the thread!  Yes, my view as well about the lack of transparancey being dangerous for them.

I forgot to quote one interesting line, after saying that on Sep 11 my rate will be 0.05%:   "Any subsequent Bank Smartly Savings accounts opened with the same ownership will also be ineligible for the interest rate bump".     So even if I put lots of money into checking, I am marked as bad. 

So my guess is that this  due to the returned payment issue with Smartly (I paid with the wrong bank account midcycle, and paid the $25 fee)

I have been marked as bad no matter how much and where my investments go.   Hopefully my good nerf on the card holds for a while.