Suggestions for online saving accounts

Investing
21

I am not going to waste time opening and closing online bank accounts. I have been with Ally for 5+ ish years now and am very happy with them. Their saving rate is up to 2.75% now!

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22

Just signed up with SoFi a fintech that uses Bancorp on the backend. They pay 3% on savings AND checking when you set up direct deposit. They’ve been consistently out front of Ally (with which I also have an account.) My current credit union pays 0.5% on checking. I really like the 2.5% bump. Ally checking rates can’t compare to SoFi.

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23

Hi fuzzbutt, Back in the days of old (with 1Character and the gang), I ended up at PenFed based on discussion here. Well, many moons later, and I am becoming more and more disenchanted with PenFed and am looking for replacement. Any suggestions? Back from that time I also have FNBO Direct for a savings and what became Barclays. I am less than impressed with Barclay’s savings App but the APY is the best of all my accounts.

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24

T-Bills and T Notes are the way to go.

I-Bonds are guaranteeing 2.75% over 15 months so they’re not a good deal aka you hold the 6.89% bonds and they pay 0% over the next six months and then you wait three more months to sell then the APY is approximately 2.75%

25

I used them back in the day along with Emigrant Direct. Long time no see

I currently use Fidelity. It’s my inheritance money and since I plan to pay off debt with it, I have it 50/50 stocks / fixed income

26

I’m happy with my Barclays account. I don’t use Apps, so no opinion there.

27

Clark says that avid investors know how to play this game and they move their money to wherever they can get the best returns. People who tend to do business with banks and credit unions don’t really think in terms of swapping money around from bank to bank, and they’re hurting themselves by not.

28

We belong to three credit unions, and just move savings to the one with the best current deal. We leave a few bucks in the non-performers just to keep them active and easy to use if they become the new best choice.

29

Thanks Fuzz!
Moving on from PenFed and looking for new credit union…
Need to check the non-app site for Barclays - haven’t in a while and will be moving more there from PenFed - though they did raise their rates today.

30

Ally Bank is getting wrecked with debit card fraud. I’d stay away.

31

Any worse than any other bank? I only use my Ally DC for getting money out of an ATM. Use my credit cards for paying, just like Clark teaches us!

32

The fraud has been bad, is maybe quieting down now. They are a large target, maybe they just get more attention. I’m on the Ally Reddit group. Someone leaked an entire huge block of debit card numbers, so fraudsters went to town. I cancelled my debit card at Ally and frankly stopped using my accounts, keeping a few dollars there as placekeepers. I need to keep checking alive, it’s hooked to Treasury Direct! I drip $1 per pay period into it so they never shut me down for inactivity.

The real issue is for me the “customer no service” aspect. Fraud happens, but you need it resolved quickly, cheerfully, and correctly. That’s not happening there.

33

I don’t understand having a debit card…direct access into your account. I will take the credit card buffer any day.

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34

It’s an old endless debate. My DC has a passcode, but CC does not. That is a big issue for me.

35

A six digit passcode can be cracked instantly. The expiration date can be cracked instantly. The 3 digit “security code” can be cracked instantly. Taken together, once they have your DC number, they have instant access. There has recently been a very huge Ally Bank DC breach which has been grinding on for weeks and weeks. Someone got hold of a list of active DCs and that was it.

36

We will just continue to disagree on this. My wife lost her CC years ago and it took me hours of phone calls and disputes to finally resolve it. A lost DC will probably not fall into the hands with someone having the skills to ‘crack’ the passcode.

One giant pitfall with DC’s is the “tap” feature. There are endless videos online on how to disable that feature, since the banks do not offer that option.

37

Hmm, a Chase credit card story:

Had four fraudulent charges on Chase. After investigation, they said that three of the four charges were not fraud. They definitely were. Not sure where to go from here. : personalfinance (reddit.com)

What kind of safety guards can you put on a card?

I have my credit card company send me an email anytime a purchase happens. If the card gets a fraudulent charge, maybe I can react fast enough to get the charge cancelled.

38

I have had a very few fraudulent CC charges and the issuer never disputed them, our interactions only lasted moments, and a new card was sent immediately. Abuse of my line of credit seems much less severe than loss of cash money.

Plus I love the 2% cash back to my Fidelity account

39

currently I have two online banks and two brick & Mortar credit unions. My long time credit union pays nothing and I have relocated all my money except for minimum. I Joined the 2nd credit union recently because I could not pass up a promotional offering for new money paying a 5% interest rate CD for 13 months. I have two on line banks because one has a good savings rate and the other has a good 6 and 12 month CD rate. I think I’m content as I have not seen anything beat the rates I have by much if at all. I can add money to my 5 percent CD if need be so I’m set for now. If you have the time and want to maximize like I do and you find better rates to take advantage of, I would go for it but it would have to be worth while for me.

40

Check out Investopedia.com for best/highest savings accounts; 4.85% is currently the highest. Also, best CD rates and terms.