Update on Grand Yield Direct Savings Account Bonus

Update 4/28/10: The rate has fallen to 1.15% APY. Refer to the bottom of the post for the rate history.

The good news is that I received the $25 bonus. The bad news is that this bonus is no longer available (according to the service rep). To receive the bonus I had to call. The service rep said that they would confirm that my application included the promo code and if it did, the $25 credit would show up in the account within a day. I called on February 1st and the bonus was credited on February 2nd. So if you haven't received your bonus, be sure to call. If you haven't joined, be sure to keep a look-out for future promos. The last one first appeared on Bankrate ads in November.

Even without the bonus, the Grand Yield Direct Savings Account is a good deal. The rate remains at 5.27% APY and has no minimum balance requirements. The savings account first reached 5.25% APY in September. It started with a 5% APY last July.

Here's a quick summary of my sign-up process.

• Applied online on 1/16
• Trial deposits made on 1/17
• Verified trial deposits on 1/18
• Initial deposit debited from my checking account on 1/19
• Registered for internet banking and first accessed my account on 1/21 (balance showed $0)
• Initial deposit first showed up in account on 1/23
• Called about bonus on 2/1
• $25 bonus credit appeared in account on 2/2

A few notes about the sign-up process:

• You can use either a checking or savings account for the initial ACH deposit
• The minimum allowed initial deposit is $1. The maximum is $500,000.
• Also have choice to fund with a check
• If funded with ACH, nothing needs to be mailed in
• Had to register for internet banking to access account (initial password equals last 4 digits of SSN)
• Had to create a new link with new trial deposits for withdrawals/deposits

For more info on Grand Yield Direct and to read others' experiences, please refer to my Grand Yield Direct Savings Account review. Additional info on the transfer limitations is in this post and bonus info is in this post.

[Update 4/6/07: The Grand Yield Direct Account now requires a $2,500 minimum initial deposit. However, after the initial deposit, there are no minimums to earn the maximum interest or to avoid monthly fees.]

[Update 9/20/07: The yield has fallen from 5.27% APY to 5.15% APY.]

Rate History

Update 4/28/10: The rate has fallen to 1.15% APY
Update 3/09/10: The rate has fallen to 1.25% APY.
Update 11/16/09: The rate has fallen to 1.40% APY.
Update 9/08/09: The rate has fallen to 1.50% APY.
Update 8/07/09: The rate has fallen to 1.60% APY.
Update 6/25/09: The rate has fallen to 1.70% APY.
Update 5/29/09: The rate has fallen from 1.90% to 1.80% APY.
Update 3/19/09: The current rate is 2.15% APY.