I hate my savings account. What’s the point? In order to not pay a monthly maintenance fee I have to leave a certain dollar amount in the account. The interest rate is so low that it’s barely worth even keeping the account open. I mostly use it as a place holder. It’s the receptacle of my bank’s Keep The Change program where it rounds up purchases made in my checking to the nearest dollar and puts the difference in my savings. I let my change build until I need it and then I give it back to my checking.
Why do I stay with the big bank? I think the biggest reason is because it’s easier. I already changed banks to where my husband banks to make transferring funds easier. ATMs are plentiful and I can deposit as well as withdraw at them.
I have a couple accounts with online banks too. When I opened the accounts the interest rates were good. Unfortunately, the rates aren’t all that great anymore, although still better than at my big bank. I can’t make an ATM deposit and I can’t mail a deposit in. I have to transfer funds from my big bank account to the online account. Despite electronic transactions happening quickly, it still takes several days for these transfers to go through. Is the few cents more in interest worth the hassle?
I discovered www.checkingfinder.com. The best rate for a reward checking account I found was 4.01% at a bank about 250 miles away. That’s not going to be much different from my online account in terms of convenience. The closest bank to me, which isn’t that far away, offers 2.75%. There are qualifications on the accounts, so it would have to be a primary account in order to meet them. It’s something to think about.