Best Savings Accounts Rates – 8/27/2009

A list of national or large regional banks with the 25 best savings account interest rates or money market interest rates as of August 27th, 2009:

1. UFB Direct Savings Account: 2.00% APY
2. UFB Direct Money Market Account: 2.00% APY
3. State Farm Bank Money Market Account: 1.90% APY
4. Virtual Bank Money Market Account: 1.82% APY
5. AIG Bank Money Market Account: 1.81% APY
6. Flagstar Bank Money Market Account: 1.81% APY
7. Intervest National Bank Money Market Account: 1.80% APY
8. Heartland Bank Direct Savings Account: 1.76% APY
9. Bank of Internet USA Savings Account: 1.75% APY
10. Beverly National Bank Savings Account: 1.75% APY
11. Discover Bank Money Market Account: 1.75% APY
12. Excel National Bank Money Market Account: 1.75% APY
13. Umbrella Bank Money Market Account: 1.74% APY
14. Luana Savings Bank Money Market Account: 1.71% APY
15. Ally Bank Savings Account: 1.70% APY
16. Intervest National Bank Savings Account: 1.70% APY
17. Dollar Savings Direct Savings Account: 1.70% APY
18. Bank of Internet USA Money Market Account: 1.70% APY
19. iGO Banking Savings Account: 1.67% APY
20. Giant Bank Money Market Account: 1.66% APY
21. Ally Bank Money Market Account: 1.65% APY
22. Corus Bank Money Market Account: 1.65% APY
23. Goldwater Bank Savings Account: 1.61% APY
24. Capital One Direct Banking Money Market Account: 1.60% APY
25. Nexity Bank Money Market Account: 1.60% APY

ELOAN Raises CD Rates

E-LOAN raised its CD rates today by 9 to 15 basis points for all terms of 18 months and longer. The 60-month CD yield has once again reached 5.00% APY. The last time E-LOAN’s 60-month CD yield had been 5% was in early December 2007. Long-term CD rates have been steadily increasing for the past two months. However, short-term rates haven’t changed much. You can definitely see the expectations of higher future rates.

Below is the full list of E-LOAN’s new CD yields. To highlight how rates have changed recently and in the past two months, I’ve included the old May rates and the rates from last week.

New and old certificate of deposit yields as of 6/24/08

CD TERM     OLD APY     NEW APY    CHANGE
            6/17/08     6/24/08
1 month      2.81%       2.81%    -
2 month      2.85%       2.85%    -
3 month      3.30%       3.30%    -
6 month      3.61%       3.61%    -
9 month      3.65%       3.65%    -
12 month     3.91%       3.91%    -
18 month     4.01%       4.10%    +0.09
24 month     4.16%       4.25%    +0.09
36 month     4.31%       4.45%    +0.14
48 month     4.60%       4.71%    +0.11
60 month     4.85%       5.00%    +0.15
72 month     5.00%       5.10%    +0.10

CD TERM     OLD APY     NEW APY    CHANGE
            Early May   6/24/08
3 month      3.30%       3.30%    -
6 month      3.50%       3.61%    +0.11
12 month     3.65%       3.91%    +0.26
18 month     3.75%       4.10%    +0.35
24 month     3.81%       4.25%    +0.44
36 month     4.10%       4.45%    +0.35
48 month     4.25%       4.71%    +0.44
60 month     4.60%       5.00%    +0.40

HSBC Direct Savings Increase

HSBC Direct recently raised the rate on their online savings account to 3.50%, which is higher than both E*Trade (3.15%) and Wamu (3.30%). This new rate applies to both new and returning customers.

The account features no minimums or fees, and only requires a $1 deposit. The rate is guaranteed through 8/15/2008. ATM cards are available, and unlimited links to external accounts can be set up.

For more information, please visit HSBC’s website.

WaMu Top Savings Rate

Washington Mutual has one of the best bank deals available: a combination of their free checking and their new 3.30% APY savings account allows you to combine the convenience of local branches and ATMs with the high interest rate yield and online transfers of online banking.

WaMu Free Checking:

• No minimum balance or direct deposit requirements, open with $1
• Free basic checks for life
• No ATM fees on their end
• One free overdraft per year
• Free outgoing wire transfers.

The Statement Savings account has:

• A competitive 3.30% APY on all balances (rate only available online)
• No minimum balance requirements, open with $1
• Instant transfer to/from the Free Checking

If you already have a checking account with Washington Mutual, you will have to open a new checking account to take advantage of this bank deal. You can just go ahead and close your old one.

Overall, while this isn’t necessarily the highest interest rate available, the account’s lack of fees and relative convenience if you already bank with WaMu helps make this a great bank deal. You can deposit checks directly into the 3.30% APY savings account at an ATM, maximizing interest. From there you can move money into the checking account instantly online as you need it, with a limit of 6 transfers a month. In addition, you can access your account at any of Washington Mutual’s large network of ATMs.

In addition, Washington Mutual offers free online fund transfers that allows you to link your account to external accounts using a routing number and account number. A soft credit pull is done when you sign up for the account, allowing you to avoid the ding from a hard credit pull. For more information, visit Washington Mutual’s savings account signup page.

Countrywide Bank Savingslink Account

Countrywide Bank’s savingslink account currently yields 4.04% APY on balances from $10K to $50K.

Countrywide also raised the yield on its 6 and 12 month CDs with high APYs. (see rate table). These have a minimum deposit of $10K.

Details of the savingslink account are available here. Some of the important features include:

• $1,000 minimum opening balance required
• No monthly service charges
• Free bank to bank transfers
• Up to 6 withdrawals per month
• No checks or ATM card

Countrywide Bank is no longer doing hard credit pulls (a hard pull can ding your credit score). In addition, they have reduced the number of allowed external account links from 3 to 1. So this makes it more difficult to transfer to and from your other bank accounts.

IndyMac Bank E-Money Market Savings Account

Indymac Bank is offering a new savings account called E-Money Market that pays 4.05% APY on all balances over $1,000. The minimum to open is $1,000, and the minimum balance to avoid a $7/month fee is $1,000. Also, there’s no interest if the balance falls below $1,000. It’s similar to their Super Savings account in that check writing and the Visa Check Card are not available.

For those who have Indymac CDs, a liquid Indymac account can make it easy to close a CD. You can just call and have them close the CD and transfer the amount into the liquid account. This E-Money Market doesn’t offer checks, so the best way to transfer money out would be with an ACH transfer initiated at another bank (like at GMAC or ETRADE). Indymac does offer an ACH transfer service called Move Money.

Patelco Credit Union Savings Account

Patelco Credit Union continues to offer a number of high yielding accounts. They are offering a 7.00% apy new member special with a $1,000 min/max deposit requirement. For those 21 and under, Patelco offers 8.00% apy on the first $1,000 in their “gr8 r8” youth share savings account through 12/31/2008. They are also offering 5.12% apy on deposits in their Health Savings Account.

Field of membership in Patelco Credit Union is open to a wide variety of groups and organizations. Anyone who isn’t otherwise eligible for membership can become eligible by joining the California Association for Older Americans which is open to anyone regardless of age or geographic location. Simply indicate California Association for Older Americans on your application for Patelco credit union membership.

Bank of America Savings Rates

Bank of America has dropped their rates along with the rest of the banking industry.

Their Risk Free CD offers a fairly low rate of 2.75% APY and a 9 month term. However, this CD allows you to withdraw funds prior to maturity without a penalty, which makes it similar to a high yield savings account.

The Bank of America regular savings account yields a pitiful .20% APY compared to Washington Mutual’s 4.00% APY or E*Trade Financial’s 4.10% APY.