I started using high interest online savings accounts back in 2000. Call me an early adopter but the higher interest rates were too good to pass up.
These accounts are a must when looking for a place to store your emergency fund or any type of needed savings.
Best Online Savings Accounts – Quick Links
- CIT Bank
- Capital One 360
- BBVA
- USAA
- Discover
- American Express
- Marcus
- Synchrony
- Ally Bank
Savings accounts are vital in protecting our money against inflation and since they are FDIC insured, the money is safe up to $200,000.
The interest rates have been improving as of late even in the low interest environment, but the upcoming small increases by the fed will help savers over time.
Online Savings Account Reviews
After scouring the net and throwing in my own personal experiences. Here is a bit about each of these top providers of high interest savings accounts.
CIT Bank
If you’re on the lookout for a bank to save your cash, then the CIT Bank is an excellent option to consider, as the bank offers the highest rate of interest among all the institutions at around 2.45%.
For these higher rates, CIT requires a minimum balance of $100, but does not charge any fees for account use and facilitates easy online money transfer from and to your account from your other bank accounts via wire transfer or check. The user interface of the bank is very simple and facilitates easy money transfer.
The online savings bank account with CIT can also be used as a custodial account and if you want to put your child’s savings in a bank offering high interest without any associated risk, then CIT Bank is a good option to consider.
Apart from online savings, CIT Bank allows you to bank via its physical branches in certain states across the country. The customer service of CIT Bank is available to help you 24×7 and you can either call them or contact them via the website.
Cit Bank Online Account Summary:
- Opening Deposit – $100
- Minimum Balance – $100
- Monthly Fees – $0
- Annual Fees – $0
Open an account with CIT Bank>>
360 Savings from Capital One – Best All Around Service
Capital One bought out all the accounts for ING Direct back in 2012. I opened an ING Direct account as my first online savings account back in 2000 (they offered me $25 for signing up. BOOM!). That means I have had that account longer than I have known my wife.
The switch to Capital One hasn’t really changed anything I like about the account. It has some of the best features of any savings account and most of all the account are simple.
There are 38,000 free ATM locations across the country and they are tapped into the Allpoint network. There are also cafes in seven metro areas. If you are looking for physical locations then you aren’t going to find anything better than the few cafes. This is an online bank in the truest sense.
I recommend them as the top option because they do not have a minimum opening deposit, minimum balance, or any monthly fees. The on one downside is they do tend to offer slightly less interest than Discover or BBVA Bank.
Capital One 360 Online Account Summary:
- Opening Deposit – $0
- Minimum Balance – $0
- Monthly Fees – $0
- Annual Fees – $0
Open an account with CapitalOne360>>
BBVA Bank – Easy to Use and Low Minimum Deposit
With locations across seven different states you can actually find physical locations for BBVA Bank. The bank operates in 716 branch locations in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas.
The original bank was founded in 1964 and, though they are known for working with small business accounts, the online presence is very friendly to consumers.
The interest rates have been very competitive in both savings accounts and money markets. The accounts are no frills and are a great emergency fund location.
BBVA Bank Online Account Summary:
- Opening Deposit – $25
- Minimum Balance – $500 (to avoid fees)
- Monthly Fees – $0
- Annual Fees – $0
Open an account with BBVA>>
USAA – Best Full Service All Things Financial for Military and Military families
USAA has been a well trusted bank for military service members and their immediate families for years. Recently they opened up their services to the descendants of service members even if they no longer live in the same house.
My dad was in the Army just after he and my mom got married. So he was eligible for a USAA account. I had him go sign up and then he gave me his USAA id number. I was then able to sign up as an adult child underneath him.
USAA is not going to give you the best interest rates on this list. In fact they are probably the worst. What they do offer is all things financial. You can get all your insurance, banking, loans, etc. all in one place.
The best part is everything is SUPER cheap to use and very integrated. If you can get in and get their insurance products then you are going to save money over almost any other company.
One bonus to the USAA online savings account is that they will give you higher interest the more money you have in your account.
USAA Online Account Summary:
- Minimum initial deposit – $25
- Minimum balance – $0
- Monthly fees- $0
- Annual fees – $0
Discover Bank
Pretty much everyone has heard of the Discover card, but did you know they are actually a deposit centered online bank?
Discover Bank offers all your normal deposit level services (checking, savings, CD, Money Markets and IRAs). The rates are very competitive (especially on the CDs).
The online savings offer a 1.5% APY, which is among the highest interest rates in the market. You can open an online savings account free of cost and the incoming wire transfers are also not charged a fee and they offer over 60,000 fee free ATM throughout the country.
Discover also offers a money market savings account, which pays around 1.35% APY if the balance is below $100,000 and for balances above $100,000, the bank gives 1.4% interest. The account allows you access to your money via checks, debit card or ATM.
The only drawback of Discover is, while the other banks do not require a minimum or the deposit to open an account is very low, you need to have a minimum deposit of $500 with Discover.
However, once the account is opened, there is no requirement to maintain a minimum balance and there are also no fees if the balance falls below $500.
Also, you may find it a bit difficult to find the necessary information regarding customer service on the website of the bank; however, the customer service is accessible via email or phone.
Discover Bank Online Account Summary:
- Opening Deposit – $500
- Minimum Balance – $0
- Monthly Fees – $0
- Annual Fees – $0
American Express
American Express (Amex) is most popular for its credit cards and also offers an online savings bank account with an interest of 1.45% APY.
There is no minimum balance required for the savings account and the bank does not charge any monthly fees. American Express Bank allows you to link to an account in any other bank to transfer your funds. Amex also has a certificate of deposit (CD option).
One drawback of Amex is the bank and credit card have different sites, systems and statements. Nevertheless, the customer service offered by the bank is among the best among all the financial institutions in this list.
Amex does not offer checks or ATMs and so you need to link your savings account to another bank account to withdraw and add funds. Amex has a mobile app, but it is mainly designed for the credit card users.
Although the account access of Amex is not very sophisticated compared to other banks, it is still worth considering if you are on the lookout for a solid bank to keep your money.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs
When you hear the name Goldman Sachs, you normally associate it with the Wall Street and investment banking. However, the bank does much more than that and recently, the bank has forayed into other areas like banking and lending.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs is the online consumer bank subsidiary of Goldman Sachs that offers its customers high-yield savings and personal loans too.
The bank does not charge any fees and the minimum balance required for you to earn an interest is $1. Marcus by Goldman Sachs offers an interest of 1.5% APY on the online savings deposits, which is among the top interest rates in the market and it offers high CD rates for long-term savings deposits.
Some limitations of Marcus are it does not offer access to ATMs, there is no checking account, it does not have a mobile app and you need another bank account to make your withdrawals and deposits.
Nevertheless, Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a good option to have for an emergency fund.
Synchrony Bank
Earlier known as GE Capital, Synchrony is quite competitive and offers the highest interest rates in the market of around 1.55% APY currently.
Although Synchrony does not offer as many products as some of the other banks, their online savings option is among the best and it is a safe place to save your money at a high-interest rate along with FDIC insurance.
Synchrony requires only $30 to open an account and by maintaining a minimum balance of $30 in your savings account, you can avoid the monthly fee of $5, charged by the bank.
Apart from making online transfers to any other bank to access your cash, Synchrony also offers a debit card or ATM card option for easy cash access.
Synchrony also gives you the option where you can make deposits into your savings bank account via an ATM that has an ACCEL or Plus logo.
Synchrony Online Account Summary:
- Minimum initial deposit – $30
- Minimum balance – $30
- Monthly fees- $0
- Annual fees – $0
Ally Bank
Ally Bank, earlier called GMAC, offers online savings, as well as, checking accounts. The savings account offers an excellent combination of high-interest rates and also allows you to easily access your funds whenever you need them. The bank offers an interest of 1.45% APY and allows you to transfer via Zelle on the same day. Ally does not require you to have a minimum account balance.
You can also open a checking account with Ally free of cost, which also does not require the maintenance of a minimum balance. You can transfer your funds online very easily, do it through the app or you can have instant access to your funds via the ATMs, debit card and checks. The bank also offers you the facility of depositing checks remotely and also allows you to transfer funds to accounts in any other bank across the country.
Having an account with Ally lets you access their entire range of financial products. Ally is also renowned for its excellent customer service and the customer service is available to help you 24×7 on phone or you can reach them via live chat.
Ally Bank Online Accoung Summary:
- Minimum initial deposit – $0
- Minimum balance – $0
- Monthly fees- $0
- Annual fees – $0
Bottom Line
No matter which of these online savings accounts you choose, you are going to get a much better interest rate than you will with your standard bricks an mortar banks. I have a standard account with Bank of American and I am getting 0.01% interest. That’s right, for every $100 I have in there they give me one penny each year.
As you may guess I do not have much money in that account. So whether you have a larger emergency fund, or are just starting yours, open up a high interest account to protect that balance as much as you can from the dreaded inflation monster.
