New Online Savings Account - 5.30% at Direct Huntington
Mar 2, 2008 - 3:53 PM by Ken Tumin
Update 3/02/08: The top yield has fallen to 3.50% APY, and new rate tiers have been added with yields ranging from 2.50% APY for balances under $2.5K to 3.50% APY on balances over $100K. Please check the bank's website for the latest rates.
Huntington National Bank just started a new online bank called Direct Huntington which is offering an online savings account paying 5.30% APY. It has some nice features that include:
However, there are some major downsides. These include:
Some less major downsides include:
After calling 3 times and being on hold for 50 minutes, I finally got through to a customer service rep. The CSR was nice but did not know many details including details listed on the website such as the California restriction and the withdrawal limits. I'll call back Monday to see if some more knowledgeable CSRs answer (and hopefully in less time). The FAQ page states they're available from 7:00am to 7:00pm on weekends. A bank is better off not to have service on the weekend if it's going to take this long and provide so little information. Here's some information that I did receive. Please take this with a grain of salt.
Direct Huntington will be something to watch, but severe withdrawal limits need to be removed before it deserves serious consideration. Plus, it needs to prove that it can maintain a high yield for the long term. There are many other better choices that have some high yield history. These include AmTrustDirect's 5.30% (post), iGoBanking's 5.30% (post), AmboyDirect's 5.35%/5.25% (post) and Grand Yield Direct's 5.27% (post).
Another minor issue I have with Huntington Bank is the lack of an URL on their FDIC page. I did find Huntington.com listed under here (click on "Current List of Offices" and click on "228" for Ohio number of offices). So I'm very confident it's legit. You can confirm that DirectHuntington.com is affiliated to Huntington.com by typing in "anywheresavings" in the special offers field at Huntington.com. This is described at Direct Huntington's About page.
Huntington National Bank just started a new online bank called Direct Huntington which is offering an online savings account paying 5.30% APY. It has some nice features that include:
- 5.30% APY on balances from $0 to $1 million
- Links to checking, savings or a money market account (according to FAQ)
- ATM card
- Application that is done online with trial deposits (according to FAQ)
However, there are some major downsides. These include:
- Withdrawal limits of $2K/day and $10K/month (according to FAQ)
- Not available to residents of California, non-US citizens and those under 21
- $3 monthly fee if your balance falls below $1K
Some less major downsides include:
- $1K minimum to open
- $25K limit on initial deposit (according to FAQ)
- 5 business-day hold on deposits (according to FAQ)
- Interest paid only quarterly (according to T&C)
After calling 3 times and being on hold for 50 minutes, I finally got through to a customer service rep. The CSR was nice but did not know many details including details listed on the website such as the California restriction and the withdrawal limits. I'll call back Monday to see if some more knowledgeable CSRs answer (and hopefully in less time). The FAQ page states they're available from 7:00am to 7:00pm on weekends. A bank is better off not to have service on the weekend if it's going to take this long and provide so little information. Here's some information that I did receive. Please take this with a grain of salt.
- $3/month fee for balances under $1K
- No sign-up bonus
- No hard credit inquiry (just a soft inquiry)
- No check writing privileges
- $20 closing fee if closed within 6 months
- $1.50 ATM fee if used at other banks' ATMs
- Would not lose interest for ther quarter if account is closed
- Direct Huntington started a few weeks ago with a 5.30% APY
- CSR implied the 5.30% is a promotional rate
Direct Huntington will be something to watch, but severe withdrawal limits need to be removed before it deserves serious consideration. Plus, it needs to prove that it can maintain a high yield for the long term. There are many other better choices that have some high yield history. These include AmTrustDirect's 5.30% (post), iGoBanking's 5.30% (post), AmboyDirect's 5.35%/5.25% (post) and Grand Yield Direct's 5.27% (post).
Another minor issue I have with Huntington Bank is the lack of an URL on their FDIC page. I did find Huntington.com listed under here (click on "Current List of Offices" and click on "228" for Ohio number of offices). So I'm very confident it's legit. You can confirm that DirectHuntington.com is affiliated to Huntington.com by typing in "anywheresavings" in the special offers field at Huntington.com. This is described at Direct Huntington's About page.
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Anonymous - #1, Saturday, February 3, 2007 - 2:38 PM
Too many downsides for me. Good to see another bank out there though...
Anonymous - #2, Sunday, February 4, 2007 - 3:00 AM
agree! way too many downsides + not available to californians = no to direct huntington.
Anonymous - #3, Sunday, February 4, 2007 - 5:47 PM
Huntington is a legit midwestern bank, around since 1866. I am a former Huntington employee from Florida (Huntington sold Florida franchise to SunTrust in 2001). It recently completed the purchase of Unizan and just announced the purchase of Sky Financial of Wisconsin.
Anonymous - #4, Monday, February 5, 2007 - 2:53 PM
I spoke with a supervisor at Huntington. The transfer limit dollar limit only applies to external accounts.
In other words, the daily/monthly transfer limit does not apply to another Huntington checking/savings accounts.
Nabil (anonymous) - #5, Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 1:17 PM
Does anyone else here think it might not be the smartest thing to name a bank after a disease?
Banking Guy (anonymous) - #6, Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 4:02 PM
You're right, it is the same name as the disease. It's interesting to note that the disease is named after the Ohio physician George Huntington who described it precisely in 1872 (see Wikipedia ), and the bank is based in Ohio and was established in 1866. It must have been a common name back then.
Anonymous - #7, Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 5:13 PM
The bank is named after P.W. Huntington, a Columbus, OH banker that founded the bank in 1866.
Anonymous - #8, Monday, March 5, 2007 - 3:55 PM
The P.W in Huntington stands for PETER WEBSTER. His Great grandson was also PETER WEBSTER HUNTINGTON and is a Doctor in Upstate New York. I went to a local high school with him.
I have dealt with HNB for years and especially like their online services'.
gary (anonymous) - #9, Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 10:07 AM
Beware of another downside. After the first ACH deposit, Huntington will not initiate ACH in or out. You can only transfer to another Huntington account. The CSR said I could always take it out of an ATM and then deposit the cash somewhere else. That's convenient! I am going to try to set up an ACH from Capital One or someplace else, although the CSR said she was not sure that would work.
Banking Guy (anonymous) - #10, Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 6:30 PM
Gary, thanks for the info. That is a pretty major downside. It's a very major downside if they block ACH pulls from your outside bank account. Please let us know if it goes okay.
gary (anonymous) - #11, Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 8:16 AM
I was able to establish an ACH link via my Cap1 account. But I see they have now reduced the interest to 5.2%.
gary (anonymous) - #12, Sunday, March 2, 2008 - 12:13 PM
This one is less and less attractive all the time. Actually, the 3.5% is only for balances over $100,000-- yep 5 zeros. 2.5% over $2500, 3.0% over $10K.
Banking Guy (anonymous) - #13, Sunday, March 2, 2008 - 3:55 PM
Thanks. I had missed this new rate tier. Adding a rate tier like this seems to be a sneaky way for banks to make it look like they still have competitive rates.
Banking Guy (anonymous) - #14, Sunday, March 2, 2008 - 4:02 PM
I just updated my weekly summary with this change. I'm only going to include their 3% 10K-min in my list.
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