Best Bank Account Interest Rates - Summary for Week Ending October 29, 2011
The Fed will be holding its second to last FOMC meeting of the year next Tuesday and Wednesday. Bernanke will also be holding a press briefing at the end of the meeting on Wednesday. There is speculation that the Fed may announce a limited QE3 in which the Fed would focus its purchases on the mortgage market. However, the Fed just started "Operation Twist", and there have been slight improvements in the economy since the last Fed meeting. Plus, with three inflation hawks on the FOMC, the Fed may decide to wait before trying more stimulus.
No matter what the Fed decides, we savers know that higher interest rates are a long way off. There will need to be a long period of economic growth before we see substantial improvements. We did see small improvements this week in the GDP numbers. This and the progress over in Europe on their debt crisis helped push Treasury yields a little higher this week. The yield summary below shows the changes (Numbers are based on Yahoo bond rate data and the CME Group FedWatch.)
Treasury Yields:
- 6-month: 0.03% down from 0.04% last week
- 2--year: 0.29% up from 0.26% last week
- 5--year: 1.13% up from 1.06% last week
- 10-year: 2.32% up from 2.21% last week
- 30-year: 3.37% up from 3.26% last week
Fed funds futures' implied probability for a higher rate by:
- Dec 2012: 13.2% up from 11.9% last week
- Mar 2013: 18.3% down from 18.4% last week
Debit card fees made news again late this week with reports that Chase has decided it will not charge customers for debit card usage. Also, news came out that Bank of America may give customers more ways to avoid the new debit card fee. It's clear that banks have been rethinking their plans after all the recent bad publicity.
Due to that bad publicity, Bank Transfer Day has been gaining momentum. This a Facebook-based campaign that encourages people to move their money from the megabanks to credit unions by November 5th. If you're thinking about moving your money from a megabank to a credit union, refer to my post that has tips on finding the best credit union.
Savings & Checking Account Rates
There was only one rate cut on my list of top savings and checking accounts this week. SFGI Direct reduced its savings account yield from 1.11% to 1.01%. It also started accepting new savings account applications again, but with the new lower rate, I don't think they will see much demand.
A little bit of good news came from Alliant Credit Union. I confirmed this week that Alliant will be maintaining its savings and checking account rates through November. Alliant's savings account yield of 1.15% remains very competitive. Only two banks have rates that are higher.
One of the banks with a slightly higher rate than Alliant is Incredible Bank which offers a money market account that pays 1.18% APY. Last Friday was Incredible Bank's second year anniversary. I first reported on this bank and its internet checking account on November 9, 2009. Since that time it has added the money market account and internet CDs. Interest rates have remained very competitive over the last two years.
UFB Direct's Airline Rewards Savings continues to be on top with a 1.30% APY. UFB Direct is Bank of Internet USA's new internet division. I've been told this isn't a promo rate. However, there's no guarantee about how long it'll last. The rate has held since UFB Direct was launched in August.
Reward Checking Accounts
One of the credit unions on my list did something rare this week. It guaranteed that it will keep its reward checking yield at 4.09% APY through June 30, 2012. It's nice to see such a rate guarantee these days. However, this rate only applies to balances up to $10K. As I described on Thursday, if you have $25K in this account, the blended APY comes out to be just under 2.00%.
On my short list of nationally available reward checking accounts, there were no rate cuts. However, that wasn't the case for the 4-percent club. These are local deals that offer at least 4.00% APY on balances of at least $25K. The number of these fell this week from 10 to 9. Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust in Iowa reduced its reward checking yield from 4.00% to 3.25%. In December the number in the 4-percent club will be down by at least one more. A reader reported that Union Square Credit Union in Texas will be reducing its reward checking yield from 4.51% to 3.51%. In addition, the balance cap is falling from $25K to $15K. The bank informed the reader that these changes will take effect on December 1st.
To see the reward checking account rates available in your state, please refer to the reward checking rate table. If you're new to these tables, my rate table guide should be useful, and if you're new to reward checking, my blog post, 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking, should also be useful.
Rate Hikes:
- None
Rate Cuts:
- SFGI Direct Savings - 1.01% (was 1.11%)
Certificate of Deposit Rates
My recap of CD rate changes and the list of CD deals will now be in my Friday survey of the best CD rates. My Saturday recaps will now focus on banking news of the week and liquid accounts.
Recap for the Week - Links to This Week's Posts
Banking News/Resources- One Bank Failure and One Credit Union Placed Into Conservatorship
- Is Bank Transfer Day Good For Savers?
- Leaving Your Bank? - There are Lots of Credit Union Choices
- Update on Alliant Credit Union - Top Rates Continue
- Ally Bank's eCheck Deposit is Now Available to All Customers
- Survey of the Best CD Rates for October 28, 2011
- Top CD Rates at XCEL Federal Credit Union - Easy Membership
- M&T Bank's Cash Bonus But Don't Forget the Fees
- Riverset Credit Union's $150 Checking Bonus in Pittsburgh - Local Only
- Top Wisconsin Reward Checking Account at Community Bank and Trust
- Consumers Credit Union's Reward Checking Guarantees 4.09% Through June 30, 2012
- High-Interest Reward Checking Account at Quest Credit Union - KS Only
- Top CD Rates in Miami & NYC at People's Alliance Federal Credit Union
- Top 1-Year CD Rate & Money Market Rate at Doral Bank - New York Only
- Competitive 1-Year CD Rate at Health One Credit Union in Michigan - Local Only
- Competitive CD Rates at MidCoast Community Bank in Delaware - Local Only
- Top CD Rates at Eagle One Federal Credit Union in Philadelphia - Local Only
Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:
- Best Savings Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)
- Best Money Market Rates (Nationwide & by State)
- Best Checking Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)
- Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
- UFB Direct (Bank of Internet) - 1.30% Savings account review
- Incredible Bank - 1.18% MMA ($2.5K min) account review
- AmTrustDirect - 1.15% (min $10K) promo rate
- MyBankingDirect - 1.15% (min $5K) promo rate
- Alliant Credit Union - 1.15% (min $100) account review
- SmartyPig - 1.10% (min $25, max $50K) withdrawal restrictions, account review
- ING Direct - 1.10% ($100K) 1.05% ($50K) Electric Orange Checking
- Incredible Bank - 1.06% Checking ($1K min) account review
- CNB Bank Direct - 1.05% account review
- Clear Sky Accounts - 1.04% (max $250K) account review
- SFGI Direct - 1.01% account review
- Capital One/Costco - 1.00% InterestPlus Savings ($10K min, includes 10% quarterly bonus) 0.91% (w/o bonus) account review
- Discover Bank - 1.00% Savings (min $500) account review
- American Express Bank - 1.00%, account review
- Sallie Mae Bank - 1.00% MMA & Savings account review
- airbanking.com - 0.95% Savings
- Capital One - 0.93% InterestPlus Savings ($10K min, includes 10% quarterly bonus) 0.85% (w/o bonus) account review
- Capital One - 0.91% Checking (rate guaranteed for 1 yr) account review
- ING Direct - 0.90% Orange Savings
- Hudson City Savings Bank - 0.90% (min $2.5K)
- Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.90% ($2.5K min) account review
- Ally Bank - 0.85% MMA account review
Reward Checking Accounts:
- Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $10,000 Balance - Nationally Available
- Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $25,000 Balance - Nationally Available
- Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
- Consumers Credit Union - 4.09% (up to $10K) 0.56% ($10K-$25K) 0.35% ($25K+)
- Lake Michigan Credit Union - 3.00% (up to $15K) 0.00% ($15K+)
- ABCO Federal Credit Union - 2.52% (up to $25K) 0.50% ($25K+)
- Pacific Resource Credit Union - 2.27% (up to $15K) 0.50% ($15K+)
- Provident Credit Union - 2.26% (up to $25K) 0.31% ($25K+)
- First New England Federal Credit Union - 2.03% (up to $15K) 0.25% ($15K+) (extra 1% w/relationship)
- Atlantic Coast Bank - 2.01% (up to $15K) 0.50% ($15K+)
- Community Bank of Raymore - 2.01% (up to $25K) 0.50% ($25K+)
- Community Bank of Pleasant Hill - 2.01% (up to $25K) 0.50% ($25K+)
- Connexus Credit Union - 2.00% (up to $25K) 0.50% ($25K+)
- Heritage Bank - 1.71% (up to $25K) 0.10% ($25K+)
- Avidia Bank - 1.66% (up to $25K) 0.10% ($25K+)
- North Country Savings Bank - 1.50% (up to $50K) 0.75% ($50K+)
- West Texas National Bank - 1.26% (up to $25K) 0.25% ($25K+)
- Bank of Internet USA - 1.25% APY (all balances)
Certificates of Deposit:
- Best CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)
- Best IRA CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)
- Survey of the Best CD Rates for October 28, 2011 (Nationwide & Local)
Various Deposit Account Deals
- Bank Promotions
- Best IRA CD rates, local and nationwide deals
- Latest CD and Savings Account Deals with No Major Deposit Limitiations
Bank Account Alternatives
- Ford Interest Advantage - 1.25% rate for $50k+, Ford Interest Advantage review
- GE Interest Plus - 1.20% rate for $50k+
- Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund - 0.03% 7-day yield
- Vanguard Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund - 0.02% 7-day yield
- Fidelity Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield (reviews on Fatwallet)
- Fidelity Municipal Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield
- TIAA-CREF Money Market Fund - 0.00% 7-day yield
- PayPal Money Market Fund has ended effective 7/29/11
- FW Thread on Treasury Bills
- I Savings Bonds for October 2011, I Bond Article, I Bonds as CD Alternatives
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