Best Banking Options (Savings/Checking)?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

As to the poster saying stick locally, unfortunately none of my local banks offer any interest rates whatsoever.  I currently have a money market account and are in the top bracket interest-wise and it's only 0.05%, which is pathetic to be honest.

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Good lord.

That's beyond pathetic.

[Anonymous]

So I've narrowed it down to a few choices.

Ally - 0.89% (no minimum balance)

American Express - 0.85% (no min bal)

Barclays - 1.00% (no min bal)

USAA - 0.26% ($10,000 min bal or it's 0.10%)

I just don't know if necessarily going for the highest interest is the best option.  Barclays has been at a steady 1.00% for a while now, so I'm not too worried it will nose dive any time in the near future.  Ally is very good as well.

I've heard some negatives about AMEX as in really long transfer times, putting holds on payments, and a horrible online banking interface.  USAA probably has the best interface and customer service, but by far the lowest interest rate.  If it was only lower by 0.10-0.15% I would think about doing it, but I don't know if it's worth losing so much in interest.

On the fence at the moment, ready to fall into any of the 4 yards.

[compassion101]

There are alot of banks that do offers for new customers. Last year I got $150 for opening a 5/3 bank account and my g/f got $100 for Chase. Those amounts generally trump the interest you might receive.

[OptimalFICO]

mmmmmm wrote:

Ally - 0.89% (no minimum balance)

American Express - 0.85% (no min bal)

Barclays - 1.00% (no min bal)

USAA - 0.26% ($10,000 min bal or it's 0.10%)

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A couple more for your consideration:

Alliant Federal Credit Union: Savings 0.80% APY $5.00 min

                                                    Free High Rate Checking 0.75% APY No Min - Opt out of paper stmnts & 1 monthly elec. deposit

Salem Five (Must apply online for these at salemfivedirect.com)

     ~ Savings 0.75% APY (no min bal, no monthly fees)

     ~ Free eOne Checking 0.25% APY (no min balance, free first order checks, free online bill pay)

        Free use of any ATM no matter the location (SalemFive will never charge an ATM fee and automatically reimburses fees other banks charge up to $15 per statement cycle)

         Fee free debit card, with cash back rewards on all your non pin-based purchases

        Note: Get $100 Visa Rewards Card (Qualify your new Salem Five account by completing two direct deposit transactions over $250 or six online bill pays or 20 debit transactions within 60 days.)

Note that both do hard inquiries prior to opening accounts.  I like Ally's clean, simple interface and they are excellent for ACH transfers. I also periodically use Alliant's ACH transfers but some of their interface is less than sophisticated.

Also worth mentioning: TIAA-CREF new FSB (tiaadirect.com - will do hard inquiry)

          High Yield Savings 1.25% APY (no min bal, no monthly fees)

          Not currently accepting applications for new accounts as they move to next phase of pilot program.

[Anonymous]

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@compassion101 wrote:

There are alot of banks that do offers for new customers. Last year I got $150 for opening a 5/3 bank account and my g/f got $100 for Chase. Those amounts generally trump the interest you might receive.

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After the first year though, then you're losing money, since they have such poor interest rates.  I have about $15,000 saved, so with Barclays I would be making $150 a year off the bat, not including the daily compounded interest or the future deposits in to the account, which would only increase that number.

While it might seem great to get a bonus, it's very shortsighted.  Thanks for the input though.

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@OptimalFICO wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

Ally - 0.89% (no minimum balance)

American Express - 0.85% (no min bal)

Barclays - 1.00% (no min bal)

USAA - 0.26% ($10,000 min bal or it's 0.10%)

~~~~~~~~

A couple more for your consideration:

Alliant Federal Credit Union: Savings 0.80% APY $5.00 min

                                                    Free High Rate Checking 0.75% APY No Min - Opt out of paper stmnts & 1 monthly elec. deposit

Salem Five (Must apply online for these at salemfivedirect.com)

     ~ Savings 0.75% APY (no min bal, no monthly fees)

     ~ Free eOne Checking 0.25% APY (no min balance, free first order checks, free online bill pay)

        Free use of any ATM no matter the location (SalemFive will never charge an ATM fee and automatically reimburses fees other banks charge up to $15 per statement cycle)

         Fee free debit card, with cash back rewards on all your non pin-based purchases

        Note: Get $100 Visa Rewards Card (Qualify your new Salem Five account by completing two direct deposit transactions over $250 or six online bill pays or 20 debit transactions within 60 days.)

Note that both do hard inquiries prior to opening accounts.  I like Ally's clean, simple interface and they are excellent for ACH transfers. I also periodically use Alliant's ACH transfers but some of their interface is less than sophisticated.

Also worth mentioning: TIAA-CREF new FSB (tiaadirect.com - will do hard inquiry)

          High Yield Savings 1.25% APY (no min bal, no monthly fees)

          Not currently accepting applications for new accounts as they move to next phase of pilot program.

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Have you had any experience with Barclays, they seem to offer the top interest rate at a steady 1.00%.  I just don't know what their interface is like or CS.

[OptimalFICO]

I've never had a relationship with Barclays sorry.

[MB2714]

Your best bet is to find a credit union as they are non-profit and generally offer higer savings, lower fees and lower loan rates. Most want you to establish a realationship and will pay more on accounts and many if you find another financial institution with a better rate you can just bring in proof and they will Match it. If you don't know how to join one google "" community credit union membership eligibility" for the state you live in. Many are community credit unions now and have open membership for all.

[OptimalFICO]

Kalamazoo the person posting is referring to savings and checking account rates, not CDs. I haven't ever found seen any financial institution match interest rates on such savings and checking accounts, have you? In my experience, they usually do the matching on products like CDs. While it's true most credit unions have better rates than most banks, most are still pretty dismal and the person is looking for specific info to maximize interest while also optimizing her experience with the UI and CS. The Google tip is great, thanks.

[MB2714]

well my credit union pays  1.00% on checking accounts and 1.25 on 7 month cd and 2.50 on 60 month cd and 0.75 on clubb accounts if that helps. Money mkt rate between 0.40- 0.65 

[Anonymous]

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@Kalamazoo2714 wrote:

well my credit union pays  1.00% on checking accounts and 1.25 on 7 month cd and 2.50 on 60 month cd and 0.75 on clubb accounts if that helps. Money mkt rate between 0.40- 0.65 

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Thanks for the numbers.

I believe I do have a credit union or two in town, however, their interest rates are pretty poor.  It appears the 1.00% with Barclays or 0.89% with Ally is about as high as they are at the moment unless I went with a CD instead of just a savings/high yield savings account.

Probably go with Barclays due to the nice rate and it has been at a steady 1.00% for a while now (I've checked in the past). I just wanted to actually speak with someone who may have banked there before, haha. I always thought money market accounts were better than savings in terms of interest, but that doesn't appear to be the case with most banks.