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I opened and maxed out the High Interest Checking and the Promo Helium Savings accounts and it was really effortless to apply, get approved and fund with ACH transfers from my funding bank (took two days). It shows 4% APY on checking and 3.25% on savings. It was as smooth and clean as any account I've ever opened and funded.
Nowhere near matching CPI, but it's halfway there and a good place to park cash until rates exceed its yield in a few months. The rates are also set for 12 months, so shouldn't be any downside surprises before I shift the funds.
We're in another of those upward interest rate environments where we have to move cash often as we chase basis points, but I'm only shifting funds when I can get at least 25 basis points better yield, so this account might survive the Fed's next 75 basis point increase in November.
I had an excellent customer service experience with Elements Financial. They have 24/7 customer service representative on duty. I contacted them over the weekend and the issue was resolved on Monday morning.
The Promo rate is 3.25% on anything over $2500. I'm over $2500 and the rate shows .10%. I called this morning and they're looking into it, but I would still check your Details & Settings page.
EDIT: Got correct interest amt.
Money showed up in Helium acct but listed interest rate as .10%. I called and was told that I will be earning the 3.25% as of today but it may take a day or two for the system to show it.
NOTE, I received the member acct before the helium acct and linked that to my funding account figuring that I would pull the money in, then just transfer it into the helium. NO! luckily I called 1st. I was told that if I did it that way the money would not be considered new money and I wouldn't get the high rate.
I cannot make a transfer for any amount into this account. C/S says only $2000 a day/ $5000/mo.
What a joke!
9-29-22 A personal bank representative reached out to me and after make a few adjustments i elected to keep the account open, so I feel whole again with Elements.
9-24-21 I have had a elements helium savings account, that I had kept open even when their rates fell to near zero, with a balance over 1K in it for over two years to maintain a on going relationship with them.
So I inquired about the the new rate promo (When I finally got to speak a person), after "a long wait time on hold" I was told I would not qualify since I was already a member, and would not be able to add more funds to the account for the new rate. That lesson was learned the hard way. After 90 days you reapply for a new account they said.
Were does that make any sense on their part ?
I immediately closed the account !
So the Helium Savings rate has been at 0.70% forever while the Fed has been raising interest rates. Now they are offering a deal on 1-year certificates when you can get 3.9%+on a 6-month T Bill.
Hello,
Is anyone awake over there?
The online application process was very effective. I had my debit card in less than a week. I had a question over the Memorial Day weekend and didn't expect a response until the following Tuesday but got an almost immediate response. Very impressed. The HINT bonus is only for 12 months. Overall a very efficient operation.
I set up the Helium Savings account a month ago. I've tried twice to set up an ACH with Elements (back to my home bank). Both times failed. I called Customer service and they told me to try again and "sometimes it takes 3-4 tries". They need to do something to their system!
1. They have $10,000 limit per day for outgoing ACH transfers
2. In my case, Wire Transfer Department took three attempts to type my account number correctly. Their email to me presented a correct number, but in wire transfer computer they typed incorrect. Wasted all day talking to both institutions.
General customer service is great and supportive.
I took an extremely long time to open our HSA accounts because as I reviewed all the ones out there, I was not happy with any. Most have tons of fees for doing anything, or nothing at all. My primary objective was to find one where there would be no fees if I simply deposit funds and don't do anything. Elements provided that.
These days most folks are looking for the ability to use their HSA to participate in the stock market, either utilizing a brokerage account of being able to invest in mutual funds. Elements provides that ability. Yes, there are fees - as there will be with any HSA which provides for it.
My only nitpick is that during the account opening process, for a new member, they limit the initial deposit to the HSA...that limit is below their minimum for avoiding the monthly fee. I wanted to contribute the full year maximum, which was above their minimum to avoid the monthly fee. Couldn't do it - had to open it with initial limit they imposed, then do a second transfer to bring the balance up - and get hit with a fee the first month. When I opened my spouse's HSA, I figured a way around this - first funding the member savings account (required to open the HSA) and then doing an internal transfer to the new HSA for the one year maximum contribution. Elements should either raise the maximum allowable initial deposit to the HSA, or post a tip how to open it and avoid the monthly fee. I opened our accounts almost 2 years ago, so maybe they have changed that since.
Anyhow, the interest rate on savings is not competitive, and again there are fees for using a brokerage account. However, if you're looking for a safe place to put your HSA money and not have it eaten away with fees for having it simply having sit dormant, this is a good one.
Elements (formerly Eli Lilly FCU) used to be a good place to have an HSA investment account. These days, not good at all.
Most HSAs that allow investments have a banking side (here, Elements) and an investment side (either a small menu of mutual funds or a brokerage partner, here TDAmeritrade). Elements requires you to keep $2500 on the credit union side or pay $4/mo to invest. That's higher than many other providers. It also charges $25 per transfer to the investment (TDAmeritrade) side. That's quite unusual.
Also unusual is that instead of having two logins (one for Elements and one for TDA), you need three. The third is for a third party site (pilothsa.com) that handles the transfers.
That site imposes a three business day lag between the time a trade settles at TDA (i.e. the time that TDA says you can withdraw cash), and the time the transfer site will allow you to transfer the money. It also gets confused if you place multiple transfers too close together (even if there is enough money available). I'm still working on resolving that problem.
The final concern is that TDAmeritrade recently changed its list of NTF ETFs, replacing lots of inexpensive ones from Vanguard and iShares with more expensive ones.
If you just want to keep cash on the Elements side, it seems fine. But if you want to use this for investing within an HSA, it's not the most efficient or user friendly place to do so.
Generally, I have been very happy with Elements Financial Credit Union. I have been with this bank for over a decade. When I originally signed up for an account using a bank that was primarily online was a very uncommon thing to do. When I originally opened my account the bank was called Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union. There are branches available inside Lilly pharmaceutical, but are unavailable to me as a non employee. I only had a problem finding a service center during one period when I lived in Florida for a brief time. I was eventually able to find a service center, but it was quite inconvenient. There are a large variety of deposit options and they are all accessible via web or phone contact only. All in all, I was satisfied enough with my experience that I have opened an account with a different credit union under similar circumstances.