GMAC Bank Raises Online Savings Account Yield to 3.75%

Ken - How easy is it to transfer $$ between GMAC accounts? Is it instant, like moving $$ between checking and savings at most banks? Do you know if transfers between GMAC accounts count towards the 6 withdrawal monthly limit? Also, do you get a combined statement for both accounts?

Ken - You seem favorably disposed toward this account and I am respectful of your opinion. Would appreciate if you could allow this question which relates to the ACH feature:

I am still poking along using HSBC's ACH system. It is excellent in every regard except for the unpopular and expensive three day delay. Would this GMAC account give me all the HSBC ACH system advantages, while offering overnight (i.e., one day) ACH service?? If so, I just might give GMAC a try. Thanks!

I have both accounts at GMAC and I received one statement for both. Have not transfered money from one to the other. I have had about 25 online accounts with various banks and when it comes to ACH transfers I rate GMAC and Countrywide by far the best of the bunch that I have used. Now that the rates are above 3% I have been moving money into GMAC accounts. I expect the rates and service to decline as BAC merge the two systems so am moving money out of Countrywide. Just my opinion

I opened an account with GMAC last month and find it to be easy to navigate. Only one problem, every time I link with an outside account they mail me addition forms to sign. These form are always the same. I'll be calling them today to find out if it's nesessary to sign them since they already have my signiture on record. Also, it's better to do the money transfere's from the GMAC side. I understand that you start earing money as soon as you do the transfere.

Just got back from PNC Bank in Montvale, NJ.

They are offering a guaranteed 4% on their Money Market Account for 6 months with a 10k deposit. Not sure how long that rate is going to last, but it's a pretty high yield for a non-CD.

They're also paying $100 for a direct deposit into their free checking account.

Long time GMAC customr, just opened up the OSA and have had a great deal of trouble with the CSR's sending me correct signature cards. So far they have sent over 7 of them with various or repeated mistakes on all of them.

Their ACH is the same as HSBC, Mon/Thur, Tues/Fri.

Could someone verify the ACH tranfer times with external institutions? I thought that transfers were next day. Also, are the funds that you transfer or direct deposit into your GMAC account from an external institution immediately available or is there a hold time put on these funds?

I too have been very satisfied with GMAC. Moving funds between accounts is instant; transfers do count toward 6 withdrawal monthly limit. Yes you receive a combined statement for both accounts.

I too like GMAC and am a long-time customer, however, when I opened the new savings account, the interest rate posted was incorrect (others had this problem also as mentioned here on this site), and was quickly changed when called - within a day. Today's new interest rate of 3.75% so far is not indicated on the on-line account. I wonder if this is going to be a continuing problem with them. Has anyone else noticed the rate in their account today?

I've had transfers into my GMAC account arrive within hours even before the debit hits the external account. Funds are usually available second business day after arrival.

My account still shows the old rate as well. Over time and many rate changes I have noticed that the rate change in the account always lags a day behind the posted change.

Nothing to worry about...

I opened a GMAC online savings account over the phone this afternoon, funding it from my GMAC online checking. After a short conversation with the GMAC CSR the account was approved and funded, and the new account showed up on my online site within a minute. Very slick.
Had a GMAC CD mature last week, I called to have it put into my checking, this also happened instantaneously.
My GMAC checking & CD accounts are all combined into a single paper statement.

Does this bank offer paperless statements? Not that it's a deal breaker, but I like receiving minimal mail.

I posted the question above re: ACH. Want to thank 2:36 PM, October 10, 2008 for a helpful answer . . . . though of course it's a disappointment. For anyone who might be unaware:

Point of ACH initiation is important. If you initiate an ACH transfer at ANOTHER institution, and the money arrives at GMAC or at HSBC the next day, that quick transfer time does not accrue to the benefit of, it does not count as a positive for, GMAC or HSBC. It is instead a positive for the institution where you initiated the transfer. Apparently when an ACH transfer is initiated at GMAC, and I know for certain at HSBC, there is a three day delay in your seeing the result of that transfer. This is true whether you are moving funds into your account from outside [ACH pull] or moving funds to an account at an outside institution [ACH push]. In fact, if there is a weekend intervening, the delay time becomes five long days!

Now movement of funds via ACH today really only takes a day, most often. Thus, the aforementioned delay in crediting provides a way for the initiating bank to make money on the float, if they choose to do so. Since that ends up costing me money, I was hoping for more rapid crediting using GMAC than I am now being offered by HSBC. I continue to use HSBC's service anyway because it is flawless and I do a LOT of funds movement via ACH. They have never ****ed up; but it is expensive to use HSBC and I had hoped GMAC might offer a better alternative.

To anonymous as 5:22am--please check my 4:08pm post from October 10. I've never had a 3-day ACH delay using GMAC as the initiating bank. The money is always there the next day.

Larkin, acknowledged and thanks. I am respectful of what you wrote, though your experience appears to differ from at least one other poster here. This leaves the matter of GMAC ACH speed and timing very much up in the air.

Still, I am grateful for and appreciate the responses. Thanks.

GMAC does have one of the better ACH systems -- definitely faster than HSBC. That said, I've seen some occasional slowdowns over the last year in both pushes and pulls. Right now I find that the best ACH system for a top-tier APY (currently 3.75%) is Provident-Direct. While I've even had a few zero-interest-loss pushes using Provident, Countrywide SavingsLink is the only account I've used that does this consistently, and even provides an upfront explanation of exactly when all debits and credits will occur at each bank. ETrade is the other really good ACH system I've encountered. 3 days of two-institution interest is a sure thing with Etrade if you do the pull on a Friday before 4pm ET (and make that 4 days of float when the upcoming Monday is a holiday).

In regards to the topic of GMAC's ACH speed, it's one of the fastest services out there - much faster than HSBC or FNBO. I've tried a LOT of online savings accounts and GMAC and E*Trade are my favorites for ACH transfer. If I set up a transfer with GMAC on a Monday before the cut off, the money is usually credited to or withdrawn from GMAC by Tuesday and posted to or withdrawn from the other bank by Wednesday. That's about as fast as you can get. GMAC also lets you link lots of external accounts and has a great online interface. It's one of my favorite banks and I highly recommend them.

I've been been happy with GMAC, other than their lackluster Money Market Savings rates over the past year. Now they're back in the game for rates with the Online Savings Acccount, but I'm happy enough with Provident-Direct and Alliant, as well as Corus that I'm not going to bother with the OSA at the moment. One thing I've found midly irritating about the GMAC MMS is that ATM reimbursement has remailed at only $4.50/month in the two and a half years I've had the account, even though ATM fees have risen to the point that this limits you to a maximum of two reimbursements. BTW, P-D also seemd to lack any ceiling on number of external accounts. Also, P-D has no minimum-balance requirement to avoid fees and earn full interest, while both GMAC account types dohave one.

Sorry for the typos in the previous post. Also, I erred in saying that GMAC's MMS reimburses $4.50/month for ATM withdrawal fees; it's actually $6.00. But the point remains that this will rarely allow for more than two fully-reimbursed withdrawals these days. Speaking of ATM/Debit cards, that reminds me of another advantage both Provident-Direct's High Yield Savings and Alliant's Savings share over GMAC's new similar-APY OSA -- namely that ATM cards are provided, and can be used fee-free with selected national networks. At GMAC a sufficiently-funded MMS would have to accompany the higher-rate OSA if you want ATM capability.

sorry, I was wrong on the GMAC ACH, it's instant. Got confused with Capital One.

Down to 3.6% now

I know with Etrade they hold your money for a long... time before you can use it even though they transfer quickly
So who are the ones that transfer ACH quickly and have a short hold on funds once they are transferred?
GMAC and Provident look tops on the ACH withdrawal. Does anyone know how long they hold the money before you can use it?

GMAC about 1-2 business days
Etrade 3 business days

Provident-Direct has a longer hold period than either GMAC or ETrade on pulls -- 5 business days. And for the first 30 days the account is open, the hold is 10 business days. (Of course, there is no hold at all on deposits pushed into Provident.) When the idea is to move money between banks that have no online ACH system (or highly restrictive ones), for me E*Trade is a no-brainer as the intermediary. Double-dipping by earning simultaneous interest at both E*Trade AND the pulled-from institution on Fri, Sat & Sun (when the deposit is made on a Friday) far outweighs any opportunity cost from having the funds stuck with E*Trade's rate (currently 3.30% APY) on Mon, Tues & Weds. Just do the math.