Best online savings account in 2011?

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What's the best online savings account in 2011?

Ally Bank
26
25%
ING Direct
17
16%
Discover Bank
7
7%
Other (please specify)
27
26%
Other (please specify)
27
26%
 
Total votes: 104

Topic Author
Landmonster
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Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by Landmonster »

Hi Bogleheads.

What would be the best online savings account available in 2011? The purpose of this account, for me, would just be for saving up towards specific purchases, where I don't want the money invested in the stock market.

I'm looking for a combination of high APY rates (relatively speaking), zero fees, ease of use, and high bank stability.

Ideally, this bank should also offer high-yield CDs with good terms.

My consideration set right now consists of: Ally Bank, Discover Bank, ING Direct.

I'm certainly open to more ideas.

So what's the best option?
maxinout
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Post by maxinout »

I think they're all going to give you the same thing, more or less.

ING and Ally have great interfaces. Discover's used to be dreadful, although I've been told that they revamped it.

Ally has more flexible CD options, so if that's something you may be looking for, I think they should get the nod.

The ones you named are all top notch though. It's hard to say that any one is better than the other. American Express ain't bad either.
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joe8d
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Post by joe8d »

I've been using Ally for online savings and CD's for past 2 years and so far so good.
All the Best, | Joe
gsmith
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Post by gsmith »

Coulee Bank's 3.03% Checking
They used to pay 3.33%, and I've had them over a year.
http://www.couleebank.net

4 star safe+sound
http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-soun ... =&c=&s=&z=
acr123
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Post by acr123 »

I use American Express personal savings for online savings acct. I think they have decent CD's as well.
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Grandpaboys
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Post by Grandpaboys »

ditto on American Express @ 1.15% vs Ally @ 1%
Good Day | GP
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Opponent Process
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Post by Opponent Process »

treasury direct
30/30/20/20 | US/International/Bonds/TIPS | Average Age=37
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kenyan
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Post by kenyan »

gsmith wrote:Coulee Bank's 3.03% Checking
They used to pay 3.33%, and I've had them over a year.
http://www.couleebank.net

4 star safe+sound
http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-soun ... =&c=&s=&z=
They may be great, but it's a bit misleading to compare a rewards checking account with its myriad of restrictions and requirements to a general, free online checking account.

For someone looking for ease of use, a rewards checking account is a bad plan.
beareconomy
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Post by beareconomy »

It depends how you phrase the question, for the best risk free yield, it would probably be treasury direct's 4.6% I bond. For ease of use, probably ally.com.
masteraleph
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Post by masteraleph »

We use Ally for its savings account, and also use its checking account as an emergency backup/for travelling abroad (not free at foreign ATMs, but lower fees than our regular bank, which is Chase). Something convenient is that they seem to do instant transfers between internal accounts, so if we ever really need cash right away, more than what's in our checking account (or if our regular account was frozen or inaccessible), we can make that transfer.
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Exige
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Post by Exige »

Im planning on looking into ING or Ally after my wedding in august for our joint emergency fund as the .01% I currently get is lame! haha
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PaddyMac
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Post by PaddyMac »

if you're a CostCo member, Capital One offers 1.15% APR with a $20 or $60 kickback to CostCo members plus a quarterly bonus over $10K balances

http://www.capitalone.com/directbanking ... 5_G_COIPSA
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Exige
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Post by Exige »

wow that capital one option is interesting.
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Big Al
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Post by Big Al »

From Coulee Bank website :

Beginning April 1, 2011 Coulee Bank will only accept Free Rewards Checking applications from applicants residing in the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.

........Al
andrew2011
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Post by andrew2011 »

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camper
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Post by camper »

I have used FNBO Direct for some time now. APY is currently 1%.
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monkey_business
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Post by monkey_business »

PaddyMac wrote:if you're a CostCo member, Capital One offers 1.15% APR with a $20 or $60 kickback to CostCo members plus a quarterly bonus over $10K balances

http://www.capitalone.com/directbanking ... 5_G_COIPSA
That's what I've been using for years. Always had some of the best rates.
EagertoLearnMore
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Post by EagertoLearnMore »

Capital One does provide great rates and a bonus for Costco members. One word of warning though - it takes 3 to 4 business days to ACH money out of the online savings account to your bank, so you must plan ahead. This is not a huge problem, but you need to be aware of it.
Gilbert
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Post by Gilbert »

I recently opened an Ally account, getting their 5-year CD.

Now I'm thinking about getting either their Savings account or Money Market Account. Rate is about the same for both and both are FDIC insured. So which should I get? Any reason for one over the other?

P.S. I suppose I can call Ally directly and ask them. But I saw this thread which is timely for me to ask here.
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touchdowntodd
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Post by touchdowntodd »

+ another one for AMEX
tryin to do this right... thanks guys
bombcar
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Post by bombcar »

I use Alliant Credit Union for almost all my banking needs these days. I've had no problem. Joined the National PTA to be eligible to join. Pays 1.15% APY for savings, and almost as much for checking.

One reason I joined was the (still) 2.00% APY for an HSA, no fees.
centrifuge41
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Post by centrifuge41 »

PaddyMac wrote:if you're a CostCo member, Capital One offers 1.15% APR with a $20 or $60 kickback to CostCo members plus a quarterly bonus over $10K balances

http://www.capitalone.com/directbanking ... 5_G_COIPSA
There's two interesting products I wanted to mention: Capital One Rewards money market. The signing bonus is 2500 miles, then the interest rate is 0.75% apy cash plus 6000 miles (another 0.6%).

While the interest system sounds a little funny, the advantage is that you are only taxed on the 0.75% given as cash. The 0.6% given as miles is not taxed, so if you are able to liquidate your miles easily, this is akin to a 1.60% account, assuming 25% federal and 5% state income tax bracket.

If you have a Venture card, you should be able to attain 1 mile per cent redemptions on gift cards, car rentals, hotel stays, and airfare, so you won't be constrained to the redemption schedule listed on the site. If you don't have a Venture card, then I'm not sure how disadvantageous the mileage redemption will be vs. getting all interest as cash as per the other accounts mentioned in this thread.

Second product: a bankdirect account that gives interest strictly as miles, so you won't owe any income tax at all. 100 miles per $1k per month works out to 1200 miles a year, or 1.2% interest, assuming a value of a cent per mile.
aleck
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Post by aleck »

kenyan wrote:
gsmith wrote:Coulee Bank's 3.03% Checking
They used to pay 3.33%, and I've had them over a year.
They may be great, but it's a bit misleading to compare a rewards checking account with its myriad of restrictions and requirements to a general, free online checking account.

For someone looking for ease of use, a rewards checking account is a bad plan.
It depends on the priorities. High API was on the top of the list. And many rewards accounts don't have a "myriad" of restrictions. Setting up one automatic bill pay and and using their card a dozen times for small transactions seem worth 3% - 4% API to me.
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gunn_show
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Post by gunn_show »

acr123 wrote:I use American Express personal savings for online savings acct. I think they have decent CD's as well.
AMEX. was 1.5 for a long time, just dropped to 1.3 or something

Ally for CD's
"The best life hack of all is to just put the work in and never give up." Bas Rutten
chipmonk
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Post by chipmonk »

PaddyMac wrote:if you're a CostCo member, Capital One offers 1.15% APR with a $20 or $60 kickback to CostCo members plus a quarterly bonus over $10K balances

http://www.capitalone.com/directbanking ... 5_G_COIPSA
+1

I've been a Capital One customer for years, first with a branch account, and now with an online direct banking account. I recommend them highly. Good and prompt customer service, good interest rates (1.00% for online checking, 1.15%+bonus for the CostCo online savings), and flexible and reliable bill pay and ACH transfer services via their website.
Topic Author
Landmonster
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Post by Landmonster »

What makes Amex better than Ally?

Aside from the 0.15% apy?
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kenyan
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Post by kenyan »

Probably 6 of one, half-dozen of the other. Slightly better interest rate on savings, worse CDs. I'm sure there are plenty of other minor differences, but you can't really go wrong with either.
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Dan-in-Virginia
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Post by Dan-in-Virginia »

I opened up a MMA savings account with Ally a month ago and transferred over assets I held at Everbank in a MMA.

The reason I did this was to take advantage of the Ally 5-year CD earning 2.4% with a 60 day interest penalty upon early withdrawal. That's the least harmful (aka most generous) CD penalty in the industry.

AMEX, by contrast, is not so generous.
http://www.depositaccounts.com/forum/th ... neral.html

Since then I opened up one $20K 5yr CD and I'll be opening up another $20K 5yr CD in about three weeks.

The banking interface is sweet. Not quite as great as USAA, but they have streamlined and simplified the design so even a caveman could use it.
Gemini
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by Gemini »

I am bumping this old post to get ideas for 2012.

I want to start saving for an emergency fund and was wondering what bank or what kind of account I should use. Currently, my check will go directly into USAA checking. I can keep it there, but I'd rather have the money taken out so it is not visible and less likely to be spent. Any ideas on what to best use for an e fund? Thanks.
thomasbayarea
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by thomasbayarea »

Interesting that nobody mentioned TIAA Direct.
tjstogner
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by tjstogner »

I have ING and I like the interface, however, they have .80% apy, and other online banks are currently around 1.00% - 1.25%.... to me that's a bit unacceptable being that everyone is so low already, at least they should be like gas prices (competitors are maybe a penny difference). I would look for 1.25% apy online banks first, Interface second.
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Jerilynn
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by Jerilynn »

tjstogner wrote: I would look for 1.25% apy online banks first
I can't find any for 1.25%. Where are you looking?
Cordially, Jeri . . . 100% all natural asset allocation. (no supernatural methods used)
bungalow10
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by bungalow10 »

We are using Consumers CU, which has 4.0% for balances upto 10k. DH and I each have an account. There are some hoops to jump through, but they can be easily gotten around by the popular methods (see Fatwallet for more info).

edit: oops, they only pay 3.09% now.
An elephant for a dime is only a good deal if you need an elephant and have a dime.
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Rob5TCP
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by Rob5TCP »

bungalow10 wrote:We are using Consumers CU, which has 4.0% for balances upto 10k. DH and I each have an account. There are some hoops to jump through, but they can be easily gotten around by the popular methods (see Fatwallet for more info).

edit: oops, they only pay 3.09% now.
I did check Consumers CU - the 3.09% is correct, but only up to $5,000. Beyond that it is .20%.

I use Ally for my savings. Everything goes into 5 year CD's which pays 1.69%.
If I cash in before 5 years the penalty is only .34%.

I have layers of $2,500, $5,000, $10,000 and so on.
So should I need any, I could take out virtually any amount
I want without disturbing the rest.
It's not likely but the withdrawal policy could change if
rates suddenly spike upwards. That is true of any bank.
chipmonk
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by chipmonk »

Gemini wrote:I am bumping this old post to get ideas for 2012.

I want to start saving for an emergency fund and was wondering what bank or what kind of account I should use. Currently, my check will go directly into USAA checking. I can keep it there, but I'd rather have the money taken out so it is not visible and less likely to be spent. Any ideas on what to best use for an e fund? Thanks.
I am pretty sure that http://www.depositaccounts.com is the authoritative source on this topic.

They have listings of checking accounts, savings accounts, reward checking accounts (where you get a big interest rate boost up to a certain amount as long as you use the debit card), etc. Here's their "best interest rates" summary update from last week: http://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/201 ... -2012.html
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joe8d
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by joe8d »

Ally's Online Savings rate has been trending upward again. Currently 0.95 % which is almost double the VG Short Term Bond Index yield.
All the Best, | Joe
NorCalDad
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by NorCalDad »

thomasbayarea wrote:Interesting that nobody mentioned TIAA Direct.
TIAA Direct is still at 1.24% but as far as I know has stopped taking new customers for the time being.
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Jerilynn
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Re: Best online savings account in 2011?

Post by Jerilynn »

NorCalDad wrote:
thomasbayarea wrote:Interesting that nobody mentioned TIAA Direct.
TIAA Direct is still at 1.24% but as far as I know has stopped taking new customers for the time being.
Yep, that what their website says.
http://tiaadirect.com/banking/bank/savings/index.html

I have an account with them [thanks to y'all]
Cordially, Jeri . . . 100% all natural asset allocation. (no supernatural methods used)
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