Best Online High Interest Savings Account Rates, February 2010
The following is a list of top online banks that offers high yield savings account, high interest savings account, or high yield money market account. All of these accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000. Your principal is protected and you’re guarantee a positive nominal return on investment. For February 2010, the average interest rate on high yield savings accounts remained stable at around 1.0% to 1.5% APY range.
As of 2/9/2010 the highest yield savings account rates are:
| Bank | Interest Rate* | Min. Deposit | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| EverBank Yield Pledge Money Market Account | 1.51% | $1,500 | For new customers 2.25% 3-Month Bonus Rate. Low $1,500 initial-deposit requirement. No-fee Online and Mobile Banking. Up to six withdrawals per month. |
| Amercan Express High Yield Savings | 1.50% | $0 | No minimum balance, and fee-free electronic transfers. |
| Ally Bank High Yield Savings | 1.44% | $0 | Open with $0, no minimum balance. No monthly fees. Daily compounded interest for maximum earnings. Six withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle. |
| WT Direct Savings Account | 1.41% | $10,000 | No minimum deposit required to open the account. The account earns maximum APY for the first 60 days regardless of the account balance. After the first 60 days, the APY drops to 0.15% APY if the if the balance drops below $10,000. |
| HSBC Advance Online Savings Account | 1.35% | $1 | No monthly fees. No matter how much you use our ATMs or how many times you transfer your money, there are no fees. No minimum balance requirement. |
| ING Orange Savings Account | 1.20% | $1 | No fees. No minimums. Your Orange Savings Account will be automatically linked to your current checking account. Access your account around the clock via ingdirect.com. Open your account online in under 5 minutes. |
| Citibank Ultimate Savings | 1.01% | $100 | No monthly fee. $100 minimum opening deposit. Apply online or by phone. |
* Interest rates are expressed as Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
If you are looking for more savings options, I recommend that you try MoneyAisle to help you find the best online savings account rates.
Alternative Savings And Investment Options
In addition to high yield savings accounts, there are other alternatives that may work for you.
Lending Club (average 9.65% APY*)
Lending Club is a social lending network where you can invest in individual loans with as little as $25. The specific interest rate depends on the quality of loan you are investing in. Currently, the average return on investment is 9.65% APY. To learn more about peer lending, please read Introduction to Peer-to-Peer Lending.
* IMPORTANT: Please note that there are special risks associated with social lending.
Save Yourself Account at TD Ameritrade ($100 + 0.50% APY)
Open a new (non-retirement) Save Yourself Account at TD AMERITRADE, make 12 consecutive monthly deposits of $100 or more, and TD AMERITRADE will give you $100. Also, you will receive free online access to Women & Money—the book that launched Suze’s Save Yourself movement.
SmartyPig (2.01% APY)
SmartyPig is an online piggy bank where you could set up savings goals, and invite family and friends to contribute to your account. While your savings is accumulating, it’s earning a competitive interest rate of 2.01% APY — currently the bast savings rate. Additionally, you could opt for special incentive from participating retailers to get even more from your savings.
Here’s a review of SmartyPig I did in 2008, please note that several things may have changed since.
High Yield Checking Accounts (up to 1.55% APY)
Generally, there are more restriction around high yield checking to be eligible for the best rate. However, it may be worth while if you can meet the requirements. Currently, ING Electric Orange offers a high yield checking account that pays up to 1.55%.
Please visit Best High Yield Online Checking Account Rates for more checking options
Bank Rates Search Tool
Additionally, you can use this bank rates search tool to find more banks that offer high interest rate savings account and other banking products for your need.
Please review information associated with each offer before you sign up. Rates and conditions change constantly and I have reported what I believe to be the most accurate information at the time the article was updated.
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Man this was a really good compilation of guides towards interest rates. The only time I chase rates is when helping people fund CDs since online account rates change so much. This one is going to delicious.
Thank you. I was debating whether or not to put this one together. But now that I read your comment, I’m glad I did.
Normally you’ll find banks cut their rates when the Fed does, but in todays capital starved markets I think there will still be good finds out there in CD land as companies are forced to pay out higher rates to bring in more funds.
Wow…this is really great, up to date list of the best online savings information. I will surely bookmark all these sites. Again thank you for this well thorough researched work.
Great roundup.
Not sure if I’m the only one, but I’m willing to go with a bank that doesn’t have the highest rate if it’s easy to use, trustworthy, and has the features I need.
@Bank Fiesta – Definitely worthwhile to look at CD if you can afford to lock up your money for a period of time.
@Bernz – Thank you.
@Jason – You’re not the only one. Those are good attributes to consider. Unfortunately, I don’t have information on them and the best you can do is start from the highest paying banks and move your money if you’re not satisfied.
This is a phenomenal list! Reward checking accounts have been performing quite well in comparison. At CheckingFinder.com (search engine that identifies high interest checking accounts via your zip. We are seeing community banks and credit unions paying up to 6%.
This article mentions MoneyAisle auctions. Does anyone know about Zion’s Direct Auctions? They are auctions for CDs and Bonds. Thank you.
Hehe, I just saw your tweet. I’m getting 3.75% on my savings… But there’s a catch… I’m in Australia!
Thank you. I should be specific and said U.S. in my tweet.
Can’t state enough how important the sacrifices that go into wealth creation are.
Curious if anyone has caught this book yet? “The Richest Man in Town” by W Randall Jones. I’ve read half of it so far and let me tell you it is well worth it. Would like to hear what everyone else thought of it?
Pinyo,
You have amazing details on savings, cd and credit information. I also love your diagrams. Simply great! That is why I keep coming and learning so much from you, always.
Zengirl
This was great to know the details about online Banking. They give details about interest rate about various banks. So that it is easy to know the highest interest rate. Beyond that if they give about extra information about the bank. It was helpful everyone.
Thank you,
Those CD rates are so disappointing. It’s better to pay off any high interest debt with some of the money, them start automatically saving money each month. I think.
I agree with you 100%. If you have debts, pay it off first. There’s no sense putting your hard-earned money into CD’s at 3% rate of return when you have debts charging you 8-15% interest.
Wow! What a great article! I currently have an ING Account, but am thinking about checking into the Discover Bank Money Market Account, thanks to your information! I was reading some of your older articles, and I blogged about Price Protectr on my little blog. I made sure to give you linky credit!
It is interesting to note that most of the banks with high interest rate are the lesser known banks. How are the big banks competing with these rates? Or are they too complacent because of the clout of their brand?
Capital Bank offers 4.01%, a good bit higher than any on the list. I’m surprised it’s not there.
Thanks for the updates. I’ve been with gmac/now ally for a year and luckily it’s almost always near the top of the list.
I’m getting really competitive rates with a product called easyGROW Checking at First Bank & Trust. You can go to http://www.easyGROWchecking.com for the info (including the current interest rate); but to summarize, it is a free high-yield account that also offers ATM fee refunds when I meet the three qualifications: using my debit card at least ten times, receiving e-Statements, and having a least one direct deposit or automatic payment each cycle. I do all of those things anyway, so it’s been really easy for me to qualify…and they send me an email each month to let me know if I met the qualifications. I have to admit, I love not having to worry about whether or not an ATM is on my network, and the interest is already starting to add up. It only takes $100 deposit to open the account, and there is no minimum balance.
Still no mention of Amex at 1.70%?
I’m just wondering what bank offers this “12% & 18% annual compound interest rate for savings” that Dave Ramsey glorifies? Highest I’ve found is 4.51apy, big difference from 12 or 18 percent? What’s he talking about, what bank???
@Lillian – I can’t find published rate on Capital Bank. I don’t publish rate if it’s hard to find.
@Eric – I added American Express, thank you.
@Shay – Dave is too optimistic on the ROI end.
Discoverbank is at 1.75% right now, no minimum, no fees. It never makes any of these lists…
All/most of these high interest checking account offers require you to use your “debit card” at least 10 purchases, but I have yet to find the definition of “debit card” purchase, does it require that you enter your pin to make a purchase OR does a simple (no fee) “check card” (similar to credit card purchase where you sign for it) meet the requirements for these high interest checking account qualifications? Short of calling each bank individually to ask for clarification, I’ve not been able to find clear information regarding this question.
Thanks.
Just a word of warning. You need to be sure and read the fine print before opening an account with any of these banks. For example, the Everbank savings account may have the highest interest rates, but if you have less than $5,000 in the account it will actually be costing you money! This is because Everbank charges a fee of $8.95 for each month where the average account balance falls below $5,000. With an APY of 1.77%, you’d need more than that in the account to earn $8.95 in interest.
Just make certain you know what you are getting before opening an account.
Sorry, don’t know what I was thinking. To be losing money you would have to have less than
$1,450 in the account. You could still be making money with less than $5,000; however, it won’t be nearly as much as another account with a lower rate but no fee.
About a year ago, BB&T (a bank mostly in the southeastern states) was offering a special interest rate: if you keep a minimum balance of $10,000 in your savings, you can earn 3% in interest. Not sure if they are still offering this deal…
Just as an FYI- The credit union I belong to has a special checking account that offers 3% interest up to $25,000. There are a few requirements, direct deposit, debit card use and online bill pay, all of which I had already been using. At the moment, I keep more money in my checking than my savings just to rack up the interest.