Bask Bank Interest Savings Account Is New Rate Leader

The Bask Bank June blog post led with “It’s a post-pandemic first: 1.50% APY on a nationally available savings account.” Five weeks later, that lede is certainly out-of-date: there have been a lot of changes in savings account rates peloton since mid-June, with a handful of banks contending for the top APY. As of yesterday, Bask Bank is again the rate leader, offering 2.02% APY on its Bask Interest Savings Account. There is no minimum opening deposit or stated balance cap.

A Little History

For the last couple of years, Bask Bank (internet division of Texas Capital Bank) offered only one savings account, the Bask Mileage Savings Account, which earned a single American Airlines AAdvantage® mile for every dollar saved annually. In October 2021, the Bask Interest Savings Account was launched with a 0.60% APY, but could only be opened by existing Bask Mileage Savings Account holders. In January 2022, the Bask Interest Savings Account was made available to new customers on a nationwide basis.

The nationally available Bask Interest Savings Account earned 0.70% APY on all balances in January, with 10 bps added in the beginning of April and an additional 45 bps added in May. Since mid-June, the Bank Interest Savings Account has added a total of 77 bps.

The FAQs and the Terms and Disclosures document on Bask Bank’s website are quite good and well worth the read. The following is a portion of the information available.

FAQs

How can I fund my account?

You have several options to fund your account:

• You can initiate a transfer from the Bask Bank website or mobile app. This will process as an ACH that withdraws money from your account at another bank and deposits it to your Bask Bank account.
• You can deposit a check using the Mobile Deposit feature of our mobile app. The check must be made payable to you and must be properly endorsed.
• You can initiate a Wire Transfer from your account at another bank.

What are my online transfer limits?

Online transfers are limited to a maximum of:

• $150,000 per transaction
• $250,000 per day
• $300,000 per month

Customers can make up to six online transfers per month for a maximum total of $300,000.

These limits are only applicable to transfers originated from your Bask Bank online banking. Transfers that originate from another financial institution are not subject to the same limitations.

How long does it take for a transfer to process?

It may take 1 to 3 business days for a transfer to process.

Are there any transfer fees?

There are no account fees associated with your account with Bask Bank, including transfers to and from.

Beneficiaries

Since I wrote about Bask Bank in June, the FAQs have expanded and now include information about beneficiaries.

How can I add or change beneficiaries?

You can add up to five beneficiaries through your online banking. […] To add a beneficiary, you will need their 1-Full Legal Name of individual(s), 2-Date of Birth, and 3-Social Security Number. Please note that all beneficiaries added will have equal allocations and cannot be contingent beneficiaries at this time.

A Forum post initiated by DA reader, midas89 (I got it right this time) provides more information about beneficiaries, including how the number of designated beneficiaries can affect FDIC insurance.

The FDIC will increase your insurance as long as you add two or more people to the account that will receive the money in the event you die. Do not do two separate accounts. Just have 1 account, and add the beneficiaries. As you know, if it is you payable on death to 2 people, your FDIC insurance will be $500,000.

This Forum post is well worth the read, complete with easily understandable explanations and examples. Many thanks to midas89 and the many other DA readers who participated in the latest Bask Bank Forum post.

Terms and Disclosures

Compounding and Crediting Frequency – Interest is compounded daily and is credited to the Account on the last day of the statement cycle.

Effect of Closing an Account – If the Account is closed before or on the last day of a statement cycle, accrued interest for that period will not be paid.

Minimum Balance to Open the Account – There is no minimum balance required in order to open a Bask Interest Savings; however, accounts that do not receive an initial deposit within sixty (60) days may be closed.

Transaction Limitations – Transfers from a Bask Interest Savings Account to another Account or to Third Parties by preauthorized, automatic, telephone, or computer transfer are limited to 6 (six) per month. No transfers by Check, draft, debit card, or similar order to Third Parties are permitted.

Outgoing Wire Transfers – $35.00 (may be subject to receiving bank charges).

Fund availability: Readers have complained about the time it takes for funds to become available. According to the Terms and Disclosures:

For ACH Entries originating from Bask Bank through your linked external account, funds will be made available no later than five (5) Business Days after the Settlement Date of such items.

Availability

Headquartered in Dallas, Bask Bank is the newest online division of Texas Capital Bank. U.S. citizens/resident aliens, 18 years or older, with a valid Social Security number and a government issued ID are eligible to apply for a Bask Interest Savings Account. Bask Bank still does not offer joint-ownership accounts.

Opening a Bask Interest Savings Account must be done online, with an “Open An Account” button located on every page of Bask Bank’s website.

Bank Overview

Bask Bank is a division of Texas Capital Bank and operates under Texas Capital Bank’s FDIC Certificate. As stated on Bask Bank’s website, ”Bask Bank and BankDirect are divisions of Texas Capital Bank. The sum of your total deposits with (i) Bask Bank, (ii) BankDirect, and (iii) Texas Capital Bank are insured up to $250,000. Additional coverage may be available depending on how your assets are held.”

Bask Bank/Texas Capital Bank has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.01% (excellent) based on March 31, 2022 data. The Bank has an above average capitalization level (10.43%), the result of holding $31.08 billion in assets with $3.24 billion in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of Bask Bank/Texas Capital Bank (FDIC Certificate # 34383) for more details.

Texas Capital Bank was established in late 1997 as Resource Bank, N.A. Less than two years later, the bank’s first internet division, BankDirect, made its debut in May 1999. Bask Bank was launched in January 2020, offering a savings account that uniquely awarded AAdvantage® miles instead of interest. Texas Capital Bank is currently the sixth largest bank headquartered in Texas and the 67^th largest bank in the country, with assets in excess of $31 billion and more than 35,000 customer accounts.

My first blog post about BankDirect was published in 2011 and was a review of its Mileage Checking Account. Texas Capital Bank will be retiring BankDirect in a few days, as explained by a notice at the BankDirect website:

We wish to inform you that effective Monday, July 25, 2022, we will be retiring the BankDirect brand and transitioning all open accounts to BankDirect’s parent company, Texas Capital Bank.

BankDirect customers also have the option of closing their BankDirect account(s) and requesting a balance transfer to Bask Bank.

How the Bask Interest Savings Account Compares

When compared to nationally available Money Market Accounts and Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com, that do not require large balances or direct deposit, and do not have small balance caps, the Bask Bank Bask Interest Savings Account APY currently ranks first.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 7/21/2022.

To look for the best rates on liquid bank accounts, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Money Market Accounts Table and Savings Accounts Table.