Best Savings Account Rates in 2019:
If you want to grow your savings, one smart strategy is to keep your money in an account earning the most interest.
Although the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates, recent hikes largely haven’t trickled down to consumers in the form of better savings yields.
The average savings account offers a paltry 0.6 percent annual return, according to personal finance website ValuePenguin.
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Some CDs, or certificates of deposit, are also more generous than others.
“If you’re not seeking out the best returns on savings accounts and CDs, you’re leaving money on the table,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com.
“It’s the only place in the investment universe where you can get extra returns without extra risks.”
These accounts are protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a government agency that provides deposit insurance, for up to $250,000.
Savings accounts
Online banks, McBride said, are currently in an “arms race” to lure people with the best rates.
Although current rates of around 1.75 percent still seem low — one could find savings accounts with a 4 percent annual percentage yield in 2006 — experts say they make sense in the current environment.
“When banks are giving car loans for 3 percent and mortgages for 4 percent, no one is getting 10 percent on savings,” McBride said.
When you’re trying to save money, every little bit counts. And those pesky $12 account fees can really add up.
Americans are still paying $15 billion in fees, including monthly service charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said.
Here are three banks that are offering a free checking account and paying interest on the deposits. It’s a very good deal.
Some Banks still offer Free checking accounts with interest.
Some examples of checking accounts offering interest and free checking:
- Ally Bank Interest Checking: Offering (.1% to .60% annual percentage yield depending on balance amount)
- Capital One 360 Checking: (.20% to 1%) Capital One
- FNBO Direct Online Checking: (.65% annual yield) FNBO Direct
- More info
Here are some of the banks with the best savings accounts:
Synchrony Bank offers a savings account with a 1.85 percent annual return — and its accounts come with an optional ATM card, although like with most online savings accounts, there is a limit of six withdrawals or transfers in a month. Although this restriction might feel like a nuisance, it’s actually helpful to people, McBride said.
“Too easy access can defeat the purpose of saving,” he said.
Dollar Savings Direct, a division of Emigrant Bank, offer an annual rate of 1.80 percent on its savings accounts. “It’s a smaller internet bank, but it’s still a legitimate, FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] insured bank,” said Ken Tumin, founder of the website DepositAccounts.com.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs offers online savings accounts with an annual rate of 1.80 percent as well. “Goldman Sachs seems to be a little hungrier for deposits,” McBride said.
Barclay’s savings accounts earn 1.75 percent a year, as do those at American Express and Discover.
Certificates of deposit
For savers who won’t need their money for an extended period of time, interest rates on CDs can be worth a look.
People generally can withdraw their CD interest at any time throughout the term. There are penalties for redeeming the original deposit. “If it helps you to think, ‘I can’t get that money,’ it’s worth it,” said Seaman.
Savers should look for CDs with the lowest penalties, said Allan Roth, founder of financial advisory firm Wealth Logic. That way they can gain the benefit of a high interest savings account without the restrictions of a CD. “If you need the money, you break the CD,” he said.
Here are some CDs with the best rates:
Ablebanking, an online wing of NorthEast bank, offers a 2.5 percent rate on a one-year CD, and 2.8 percent rate on a two-year account. You need to deposit at least $1,000.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs also offers certificates of deposits with higher-than-average returns, although there is a $500 minimum deposit. A one-year CD comes with a 2.45 percent rate; a five-year CD with a 3 percent interest rate and a six-year CD has a 3.1 percent annual rate.
Synchrony Bank offers a 2.4 percent rate on a one-year CD, and 2.85 percent rate for a five-year one, but you’ll have to deposit at least $2,000.
Barclays offers a 2.4 percent yield on a one-year CD — and there is no minimum opening deposit.
If you can make your way to Teaneck, New Jersey, Cross River Bank offers a 2.63 percent rate on a 12-month CD, and 3.56 percent rate on a four-year CD. You have to open the account at the branch but anyone can do so.
Savers can also “ladder” their CDs, in which a person deposits money into, say, a one-, two- and three-year CD, so that they’re not tying up too much of their money at once and can reinvest their savings should rates rise.
Ally Investment Account Deal:
Ally Invest $3,500 Bonus – You can earn $3,500 brokerage bonus + 90 days of free trading from Ally Invest when you deposit $10,000 or more into a new brokerage account by November 30, 2018.
Accounts will receive the specified credit, depending on the initial deposit amount, deposited into the account within 10 days of meeting the qualifying requirements. Once the account is credited, the bonus and initial qualifying deposit is not available for withdrawal for 300 days after the requirements have been met.
With a Ally Invest account, you can gain access to the trading tools, guidance, and resources that can get you the best start for retirement. This site is known for giving great pricing for trades and knowledgeable support to all of its customers.
To earn the 90 days of free trading, you must fund your account with$10,000 must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 90 days from date of funding account or Ally Invest may charge the account for the cost of the trades credited to the account. Receive $500 in commission credit to your new account for equity, ETF and option trades executed within 90 days of funding the new account.
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