High Yield Savings & online banking

[lovelife2]

Hi everyone,

I have been coming out here for years and reading tips, all of you are wonderful.   Thank you so much for helping me, you have all been a lifeline.  Forgive me if i put this in wrong board.

2 questions:

I sold my home in July and did very well, paid off all my cc debt, loans, and having a new home (rambler - $400k) built by Richmond Homes (Wa state), already have 20% tucked away and i have about $40k sitting in checking account.   I have searched wallethub and nerdwallet.  Eying Discover, Amex, Ally. I read that credit karma has a new HSA end of month.  Does anyone have thoughts,  online banking seems weird but new trend.  brick & mortar banks are awful.   I read all the reviews, but thought i would try here and get opinions.

The other question is i currently bank with USbank (dumping), fees to high and cc apr is high, and alaska credit union (love) keeping.  I am thinking Ally, Discover or Wells Fargo ($400) incentive.  I like having 2 banks, been doing it for years.  i am thinking on line banking and just link to my Alaska CU account.  I hope this question makes sense.  

i paid and just ran my FICO scores 

TU - 795

EX - 800

EQ - 809

My cc debt; 1% on 1 card (AZEO???)

AAOA; 8 years 5 months

no baddies at all

Inquiries: 3 each on all 3 

not sure how to put a banner in like you guys.  working on it.  

[Kforce]

As with most things, you are going to get a lot of opinions !

I like having two different institutions for my checking accounts and two more separate institutions for savings/CD's.  I want my savings and everyday checking in different places.  I also like having at least one checking institution a brick&mortar for things that can not be easily accomplished on-line.  Cash deposits, cashiers check, wire-transfer, notary, etc.  I want a backup in case of some mishap or error to be able to pay my monthly bills and also feel more secure with my savings split and not all in one place.  For checking I use two local CU's and have been happy with both. For savings, I have had several over the years and have settled on two online banks. For a while I had Ally, Capital One-360, FNBO, Goldman-Sachs Marcus and Redneck Bank. All are pretty good, and all have some things that I just did not like. 

If you want savings and checking at a single on-line bank I would say Redneck, or Ally over C1-360 or FNBO.

Goldman-Sachs Marcus and Barclay's are both good for just savings and CD's. (No checking accounts). 

When looking at online banks be sure to check the fine print on ACH transfer limits per day, week and month. Many have small limits for amounts you can transfer without doing a wire-transfer every time you need to move money.  Barclay's has been the best for being fast and easy to do everything with. Rates are competitive but not exceptional but have had no issues or delays with moving money when needed.

My other online savings has higher rates than Barclays but requires wire transfers to move money.

My top pick for Checking & Savings goes to Redneck, and Savings & CD's to Barclay's

[mongstradamus]

For immediate money I just use my Credit union , which has a decent savings account rate right now its at 1.8 while not the best, its a whole lot better than citi, chase, and wf. Its just easier for me i can transfer to my checking and withdraw money or do whatever i need. Most of my Emergency fund money is my vanguard brokerage account, half is their prime money market account which is yielding ~2% and half in 4 week tbills. My rationale is that credit card can cover any immediate emergencies and then i can wait for tbill to mature or take money out of prime money market to pay off cc when its due.

[DaveInAZ]

Check DoctorOfCredit.com, Bank Accounts from the top menu. You'll see a list of highest yielding bank accounts, but with that much in cash I think you'll a much better return with bank accounts bonuses - deposit $Xxxx with them for a specified period of time and you get a nice cash bonus, after which you can decide if you want to stay with them.

[iced]

We're knocking on 2020's door; at this point, online banking is neither new nor weird. If anything, walking into a bank to make a transaction is what's becoming new and weird. Unless you have some type of transaction you make with a bank more than once every few years that requires walking in, I wouldn't sweat having to have a physical presence nearby. I myself haven't stepped in to my CU in about 3 years, and that was to use the Coinstar, which I can do most anywhere. It also opens up your options.

For me, a checking account is only for immediate intake (paychecks) and outtake (bill payments), so I never leave any more money than is needed to cover monthly bills plus a few hundred for the occasional ATM withdrawal.This is important because it also creates a buffer between the places that have your account information and where your money actually is. $40k is  excessive for checking and a lot of that money should be parked elsewhere, but I think you get that hence why you're asking about savings.

This is where, as previously put, opinions start to diverge. Some people take their emergency savings and rainy day savings and move them around like checkers pieces to collect bonuses on new accounts. Others find a stable bank with a good interest rate and an easy-to-work-with app or site and go with them. Ultimately which way you go is up to your preferences.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of peeps here have an online savings, and you'll get lots of differing opinions on who is best.

I have 5 different online high yield savings accounts right now for various reasons, but if I had to recommend just one, I like Ally. Their APY is definitely not the highest out there, but it's decent. It takes a few days to transfer in and out, but as long as you know that it's no big deal. I've had no problems with them and have paid no fees. I like that you can have multiple savings accounts with them; I have 3: emergency fund, rainy day fund, and house down payment savings

[cr101]

With your type of money that you have just sitting in a non-interest bearing checking account, you need to consider a CD ---if you don't need the funds. While you're with Wells Fargo, talk to them about your options. I second the suggestion to search doctorofcredit. You'll find some great promotions that could earn you a few quick bucks just for switching accounts. And, with your balance, you'd probably qualify for the higher bonuses in the hundreds. So, take your time and review a lot of the offers and read the fine print.

If you go to Discover, it lets you calculate how much interest you'd earn with them and other banks. I like Capital One and Discover. They both have the 1.9% saving rate right now and are easily accessible via chat on their site or Facebook Messenger, which is a plus to me. There are a few other banks with rates a bit higher, but I felt that since online customer service wasn't available, it wasn't really worth it.  Plus, they weren't as well-known. Another plus when dealing with my money.

[cr101]

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@iced wrote:

We're knocking on 2020's door; at this point, online banking is neither new nor weird. If anything, walking into a bank to make a transaction is what's becoming new and weird. Unless you have some type of transaction you make with a bank more than once every few years that requires walking in, I wouldn't sweat having to have a physical presence nearby. I myself haven't stepped in to my CU in about 3 years, and that was to use the Coinstar, which I can do most anywhere. It also opens up your options.

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That was my thought, too. Online banking was "new" in the early 2000s, IMO. I have a brick/mortar bank, but have probably went into a branch just 3 times in my life for emergencies---lost my ATM card and needed funds. Now, I just use the phone feature that my bank has and don't bother with a teller. I almost feel bad for the poor tellers.

[Anonymous]

I ditto the CD idea, Marcus for instance has 12 month at 2.25%. Same for SYNCH. The 5 year has a marginal increase, and I don't know how you feel about locking up funds for that long. But staggering a few $5-10K Cds would add up over time versus putting a large amount into an HYSA. I def wouldn't leave $40K sitting in a regular checking account too long. lol

depositsaccount.com lista several banks and their rates for various account types. 

Since you have enough funds available, it wouldn't hurt to snag a few SUBs either. But i'd only keep enough there to satisfy the minimums.

[KLEXH25]

I personally like Discover. Great app & website, stellar customer service, and good rates. They have a $200 bonus if you deposit $25k or more ($150 if you deposit $15k or more), so at the very least take advantage if you can! Rack up some interest too and then go for another bonus. You have enough money that you can split or diversify so you can earn something on it. But please get it out of that checking account lol!!