PSA if you have money market or savings accounts at BofA, Wells Fargo, Truist, etc.

DaveInCLT

DaveInCLT

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Just a quick public service announcement if you have any savings or money market at BofA, Wells Fargo or the like with any sort of decent balance.

MOVE IT. Pick a reputable online bank and get setup there. Setting up an account and doing an online transfer is easy and no cost these days.

I can't believe how low savings and money market interest rates still are at BofA. Even with a higher rewards tier, I'm only getting .04% interest in NC at BofA. Wells Fargo (which I've closed) is less at .02 and Truist is only .01. WTF. My local credit union Truliant is .1% which is a little better but still not great.

In comparison, my Ally and Capital One accounts seem to be increasing every few weeks one-upping each other. Ally is 1.6% now, Capital One is 1.5%. No, this still isn't the great interest rate of years past but the big brick and mortar banks are simply not rewarding you for keeping your money there. If my poor math skills are right, that's 40x more than BofA and 160x more than Truist. I'm sure there are plenty of others out there comparable and higher if you want a lesser known / higher risk bank.

Yes there are lots of other savings and investment strategies (which I use) than a lowly savings and MM account, but I also like to keep some funds readily accessible and to use for online payments, etc. I also will still keep some funds in BofA and Truist for access to local ATMs and some walk in services.

But I've moved the bulk of my accessible funds to the online banks, they work just as well for almost everything, have better mobile apps and decent phone customer service.
 
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This was the best one I've seen online in awhile.

Citizens Access

Member FDIC

APY
1.75%
Min. balance for APY 5,000


Promoted offer: No fee online savings account with a great rate.
 
Subscribed. The businesses I’ve been in over the past 30 years require a greater degree of liquidity in order to cover major shortfalls.

I’m just not sure if I’m ready yet to put it someplace that doesn’t have bricks and mortar so I’ll have doors to go pound on if everything goes south.
 
Button Pusher said:
Go with a Credit Union.
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I’ve got two credit unions and their savings rates also suck, but not quite as much.

The best one of mine (Truliant) is .1, what’s yours that is better than 1.5 or higher? Navy fcu which I could also open looks like it’s only .25

IMO, don’t go with credit unions if you want interest right now.
 
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DaveInCLT said:
I’ve got two credit unions and their savings rates also suck, but not quite as much.

The best one of mine (Truliant) is .1, what’s yours that is better than 1.5 or higher?

IMO, don’t go with credit unions if you want interest right now.
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I'm with Piedmont advantage and my rate is 1.8% again not great. But my money is local and stays local as far as I know
 
LeeMajors said:
I'm with Piedmont advantage and my rate is 1.8% again not great. But my money is local and stays local as far as I know
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Thanks Lee That’s great and would stay local if possible, I looked and can’t see to find that for savings or MM .25 is best I see, got a link?

www.pacu.com

Rates & Fee Schedule | Piedmont Advantage Credit Union

Piedmont Advantage Credit Union in NC wants to help you plan and take care of your loved ones with life insurance and long term care insurance. Learn more.
www.pacu.com www.pacu.com
 
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DaveInCLT said:
Thanks Lee That’s great and would stay local if possible, I looked and can’t see to find that for savings or MM .25 is best I see, got a link?

www.pacu.com

Rates & Fee Schedule | Piedmont Advantage Credit Union

Piedmont Advantage Credit Union in NC wants to help you plan and take care of your loved ones with life insurance and long term care insurance. Learn more.
www.pacu.com www.pacu.com
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I don't. Thats just what my dividend credit is this quarter
 
Man I need some new banks. USAA will give you 0.15%, but only over like $1,000,000. Thought about getting another Corning account, done a few loans from them in the past, but they’re still 0.4% over $25k.
 
Live Oak Bank is online only, but has a physical footprint in Wilmington, NC.

www.liveoakbank.com

PS 1.4% currently on HISA. Went up to this on 11JUL, but given what I've seen elsewhere I am hopeful for another increase.
 
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The downside to online only banks is access. Some will have limits of withdrawls. Transfers will take at least one business day. If you need to money instantly it will cost you and will have to go via wire or use an ATM which has limits. There are ways around it but you have to jump through hoops. I always keep one birck and mortar account so if I need to get something done locally I can but you still are dependant on transfer times etc... One advantage of the online banks and multiple account is maximizing FDIC insurance.
 
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DaveInCLT said:
I’ve got two credit unions and their savings rates also suck, but not quite as much.

The best one of mine (Truliant) is .1, what’s yours that is better than 1.5 or higher? Navy fcu which I could also open looks like it’s only .25

IMO, don’t go with credit unions if you want interest right now.
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Credit unions are not for profit vs banks that are for profit.
 
One thing you can do is to get better access is to your $$ instantly is make sure they give you are debit card. If you need to withdraw substantial money you call the online bank tell them to do a one time authorization for a debt card withdraw at your specific brick and mortar bank. Go into the branch and do a debit card withdraw. Deposit the cash funds into your local account and do your business. I have done this to get cashiers checks for large purhases in the past.
 
Button Pusher said:
Credit unions are not for profit vs banks that are for profit.
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I get it and I have two credit union accounts, but if they don’t give sufficient and equivalent interest I have no good reason to move the bulk of my funds there. I want my profit.

I also had to close a third credit union account (Coastal) because they were too interested in charging me fees on money I had sitting there. Unfortunately they aren’t all good institutions.
 
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wvsig said:
www.nerdwallet.com

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of January 2024 (Up to 5.27%) - NerdWallet

To find the best high-yield savings account for you, review NerdWallet’s list of the best overall, federally insured high-rate accounts.
www.nerdwallet.com www.nerdwallet.com
Click to expand...

The "Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts From Our Partners" are the best accounts from banks that will compensate the writer.

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site),
Click to expand...
 
DaveInCLT said:
I get it and I have two credit union accounts, but if they don’t give sufficient and equivalent interest I have no good reason to move the bulk of my funds there. I want my profit.

I also had to close a third credit union account (Coastal) because they were too interested in charging me fees on money I had sitting there. Unfortunately they aren’t all good institutions.
Click to expand...

To me credit unions are a bait and switch. They do not offer you great rates on deposits and then they don't offer great rates on lending. When I worked in banking on the retail side they are looking for sticky customers. They want you to have 5+ accounts or service lines. That is the goal because if they get that it makes it harder for you to leave the bank. As a consumer you want to stay fluid. You do not want your entire finanical world in one house. IMHO you want to have options. The perks for consolidation into one place rarely pays off.

The only place I find that consolidation really pays off is in insurance policies. Home, auto and an umbrellas policy really in once place is almost always better than 3 seperate carriers because they rate all of them on a shared risk princeiple.
 
gc70 said:
The "Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts From Our Partners" are the best accounts from banks that will compensate the writer.
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Yep. If you scroll down a bit further on the page they have a larger non partner list.
 
gc70 said:
The "Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts From Our Partners" are the best accounts from banks that will compensate the writer.
Click to expand...

You don't have to click the link. If you google the listed banks and go directly to them without compensation and get the same rate. Place like nerdwallet are like guns.deals they are a place to get an idea of the market. You feed them by clicking a link or simply use them as a free point of comparision.

If you actually look at the list 1.5% with a $200 bonus on 25K for 90 days is a pretty good offer and I am sure everyone has heard of Discover.

And as @DaveInCLT stated if you scroll to the bottom there are other deals. Sites like Nerdwallet are just easy search tools.

Further down is somelike like Sofi who will offer you 1.80% and a larger bonus but you have to set up direct deposit. They are looking for ways to make them sticky to your life just like every other bank.
 
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DaveInCLT said:
Yep. If you scroll down a bit further on the page they have a larger non partner list.
Click to expand...

wvsig said:
You don't have to click the link. If google the listed banks and go directly to them without compensation and get the same rate. Place like nerdwallet are like guns.deals they are a place to get an idea of the market. You feed them by clicking a link or simply use them as a free point of comparision.

If you actually look at the list 1.5% with a $200 bonus on 25K for 90 days is a pretty good offer and I am sure everyone has heard of Discover.

And as @DaveInCLT stated if you scroll to the bottom there are other deals. Sites like Nerdwallet are just easy search tools.
Click to expand...

Nerdwallet and its Partners depend on people being lazy and picking from the list of 7 at the top of the page, even though a broad list is at the end of a long page and after a wall of text most readers won't wade through.
 
gc70 said:
Nerdwallet and its Partners depend on people being lazy and picking from the list of 7 at the top of the page, even though a broad list is at the end of a long page and after a wall of text most readers won't wade through.
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Right but you don't have to be lazy. Scrolling is soooo hard. It is a starting point do your own research and you might get what .005 more than the ones listed? For the avg person it does not matter. Honestly you have to look at how much money you really stand to gain vs convience. Everyone is different and had different needs. For many people having all their funds in one place where you can move them instantly online is more important than a $ taxible gain. IMHO YMMV

Also remember that most of the high yeild savings accounts are variable. They will change. They have only gone up because the Fed Rate is up 6 months ago they were paying the same as the local.
 
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wvsig said:
Right but you don't have to be lazy. Scrolling is soooo hard. It is a starting point do your own research and you might get what .005 more than the ones listed? For the avg person it does not matter. Honestly you have to look at how much money you really stand to gain vs convience. Everyone is different and had different needs. For many people having all their funds in one place where you can move them instantly online is more important than a $ taxible gain. IMHO YMMV

Also remember that most of the high yeild savings accounts are variable. They will change. They have only gone up because the Fed Rate is up 6 months ago they were paying the same as the local.
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Many banks have raised rates recently, but rates have been substantially higher for several years where I have my savings and money market accounts.
 
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gc70 said:
Many banks have raised rates recently, but rates have been substnatially higher for several years where I have my savings and money market accounts.
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Awesome care to share where you’re getting above market rate
 
My understanding is that the demise of fractional reserve banking, where ones savings deposits back loans by the bank has been a factor in why (saving) interest rates are so low. There’s no demand when Uncle effectively buys up all mortgage. Consequently there are few places worth parking a medium amount of cash.
 
noway2 said:
My understanding is that the demise of fractional reserve banking, where ones savings deposits back loans by the bank has been a factor in why (saving) interest rates are so low. There’s no demand when Uncle effectively buys up all mortgage. Consequently there are few places worth parking a medium amount of cash.
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The US banking system has been awash in excess money for a number of years. Banks with nothing better to do with excess money have left over $3 trillion on deposit at the Federal Reserve. Until the Fed started raising rates on 3/16/2022, it was paying banks 0.15% for those deposits and banks weren't going to pay higher rates to the public. The Fed is now paying banks 2.4% and banks are willing to pay the public higher rates.



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Just a follow up to my post #10, Live Oak Bank this morning announced an increase to 1.75% for HISA (from the aforementioned 1.40%).
 
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ProfMagoo(ret) said:
Just a follow up to my post #10, Live Oak Bank this morning announced an increase to 1.75% for HISA (from the aforementioned 1.40%).
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Using that rate if you had $20k for only 2 years sitting in savings you’d get $702.05 more interest there vs keeping it in Truist at .01. Here is a simple calculator to compare your own rates and amounts https://www.dinkytown.net/java/compare-savings-rates-calculator.html

DON‘T BE COMPLACENT and just let things sit…. this stuff adds up to real money in your pocket (and a lot of money over a longer time period) especially if you are a lazy investor. Don’t reward the banks who are not passing along the benefits of a better rate environment
 
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DaveInCLT said:
Using that rate if you had $20k for only 2 years sitting in savings you’d get $702.05 more interest there vs keeping it in Truist at .01. Here is a simple calculator to compare your own rates and amounts https://www.dinkytown.net/java/compare-savings-rates-calculator.html

DON‘T BE COMPLACENT and just let things sit…. this stuff adds up to real money in your pocket (and a lot of money over a longer time period) especially if you are a lazy investor. Don’t reward the banks who are not passing along the benefits of a better rate environment
Click to expand...

Yup over time it is the better rate plus compounding will yield more money but don't forget you are paying taxes along the way. I have 3 or 4 options I use and almost all of them gave me $200 -$500 bonuses on top of the better rate to move the money. All are well known names and not small operations but you should always do your homework on how easy it is to move the asset when you need it or it is time to move it somewhere else.
 
Don't be complacent and leave your savings sitting in a big traditional bank paying next to no interest.

Bank of America still at 0.04% for their best customers for Savings / Money Market interest rates.
Ally just sent and email "Your Online Savings and Money Market Account rates are increasing from 2.10% to 2.25% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on all balance tiers". That's up from 1.6% when I made this thread two months ago.

Others smaller more aggressive banks out there are even higher, up to 3.01% just for savings.
 
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PNC just sent me a note explaining how all their fees are going up on my business and personal accounts. Things are probably going to change.
 
CIT bank (online only subsidiary of First Citizens) has a standard savings account at 3.00% APY return, and an 11month no penalty CD for 3.05%

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