Bro do you even yield?

February 13, 2025 9:28 AM

What is your High Yield Savings Account and do you like it? I need to move some savings into a HYSA and I have analysis paralysis for some reason.

Neither the company that holds my brokerage accounts nor my regular checking-and-savings bank offer one for less than 100K initial deposit, which is uhhh not what I'm working with here.

Looking for a relatively simple and FDIC insured option. Ideally not with a monthly fee (or a relatively low minimum to avoid the fee) or requiring me to have other accounts with them to qualify.

posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese to Work & Money (35 answers total)

Check out Vio Bank. Usually has good rates.
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:37 AM on February 13

I have one with Forbright Bank. FDIC insured, no requirement to hold other accounts with them, no fees. APY seems to be pretty competitive.
posted by misskaz at 9:42 AM on February 13

I have my high yield savings spread at two banks: Barclays Online Savings and Marcus by Goldman Sachs. I use them exclusively for savings accounts, spend zero dollars in fees, use zero other products from them, and have considerably less than $100k in cash.

I like them both. Very easy to transfer in/out/between linked accounts, direct deposit into them works without issue, they're just nice boring bank accounts.

Barclays was pissing me off a few months ago because they handled a website/login page update very poorly and their phone support kind of sucks, but I've had to call in I don't know maybe twice? in a dozen years of holding an account there? So I'm not too pressed. Now that the website is transitioned I've got no quarrel with Barclays.
posted by phunniemee at 9:43 AM on February 13

Bankrate and Nerdwallet both have roundups of current HYSA rates & conditions. Obviously the ordering of these lists is sponsored in various ways, so reader beware.
posted by niicholas at 9:45 AM on February 13 [3 favorites]

Capital One for HYSA. 3.7% (down from 4+ last year). No fees. Not the absolute highest yield, but easy to start and good online access.

I had a CD with them too last year, but switched to Barclays chasing slightly higher yields. I'll have to decide what to do again next month.

I use Bankrate to check options.
posted by jindc at 9:47 AM on February 13 [4 favorites]

Citizens Access, current APY 3.7%, have had them for years now, no fees, have no other products with them, very happy with it.

Have also used Capital One's HYSA. One advantage of that is that you can open a checking account if you want, link them, and then have checks or a debit card on the checking account. If speed of access to money is important to you, you can then do an instant transfer from the HYSA into your checking account and write a check (sometimes they are still useful haha) or use an ATM card. No fees for any of this.
posted by fennario at 9:49 AM on February 13

Ally Bank is currently paying 3.80% on all tiers. No monthly fees, no minimum balance.

Nth-ing Bankrate. I think you’ll find that all the higher paying places have Stuff You Got To Watch.
posted by Lemkin at 9:50 AM on February 13 [7 favorites]

I have a bunch of Capital One Performance Savings accounts because it's dead simple to create a new one for budgeting purposes and dead simple to empty them into CDs for a while if you don't need the liquidity.
posted by mkb at 9:52 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

I've been banking with Ally for well over a decade (two?) and have nothing but great things to say about them. Near the top of the APRs generally, and their customer service is great.
posted by General Malaise at 9:52 AM on February 13 [7 favorites]

We use Marcus. No minimum balance, no fees. APY is currently 3.9%. It’s been completely fine for us.
posted by moosetracks at 9:54 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

Thirding Ally. We have had accounts there for nearly 20 years, since it was GMAC bank. FDIC insured, super easy to hook up to your existing bank and do transfers, almost always reachable by phone with less than 5 minutes wait. We've used them for wires, too, as they are cheaper and easier to schedule than our regular old bank.
posted by AgentRocket at 10:01 AM on February 13 [4 favorites]

Vanguard has a $3,000 minimum for its brokerage accounts, and its Federal Money Market Fund is currently yielding 4.26%. We had a very bad experience with supposed "high yield" Capital One, they shifted which accounts were earning actual interest and were paying basically nothing (a few basis points). Vanguard is a little jankier on their website but at least they don't play games. The rates are slightly lower than the best advertised but my experience is you'll be chasing that yield, and next year someone else will be offering the best rates.
posted by wnissen at 10:03 AM on February 13 [4 favorites]

Vanguard is not FDIC insured, technically they could "break the buck", but that would be in the event of a massive financial disruption. It is insured against wrongdoing by the brokerage firm.
posted by wnissen at 10:05 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

Vanguard does also have a pretty straight-up FDIC-insured high-yield savings account (3.65% APY). I am a huge Vanguard fan, and we have our investments there, but in my experience it's been annoying to actually use the savings account -- it seems like kind of a low-feature underbaked product at the moment, and sometimes other accounts I would like to connect with or pay to/from it don't recognize it as a bank account.
posted by teditrix at 10:23 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

I use Barclays, it is just what I need. You can deposit checks into a savings account from the mobile app now too.
posted by catquas at 10:25 AM on February 13

Vanguard money market finds breaking the buck, especially with the post-2008 safeguards, and then their not digging into its pockets to make up the shortfall, should be very, very far down your list of things to worry about.

That said: $3,000 minimum and pretty bad phone service, they say.
posted by Lemkin at 10:36 AM on February 13

nthing Ally
posted by gregr at 10:41 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

When I signed up with Marcus last year I used a referral code from an existing client and we both got something like an extra 0.5% for three months, so that may be something you want to add to your mental calculus.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:42 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

If it helps, Doctor of Credit is my go-to aggregation of offerings/reviews.
posted by glibhamdreck at 10:46 AM on February 13 [3 favorites]

Fidelity's SPAXX money market account is currently paying 4 percent.
posted by soelo at 11:02 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

SPAXX isn’t FDIC insured.

I’m using Apple Savings, at Goldman Sachs just like Marcus. Obviously only for Apple users, but it’s convenient if you have an Apple Card.
posted by lhauser at 11:06 AM on February 13

I've been using American Express HYSA for several years; it's FDIC insured. Current rate is 3.8. I've found it easy to navigate, deposit, withdraw, etc. No minimum.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:22 AM on February 13 [4 favorites]

Yeah, seconding Apple Savings at Goldman Sachs, currently at 3.90%, FDIC insured, all online for better or worse, but it's relatively easy to get money into and out of with no minimums. You probably need an Apple Card, but I got the impression that GS was mildly annoyed that they were issuing those to basically anyone who passed the entrance exam - i.e. having an iPhone.
posted by Kyol at 11:28 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

Also a customer of Capital One. I've been with them since they were ING before selling out to the man. Haven't mustered the oomph to make the switch to another bank. They're easy to work with, and it's easy to get a rep on the phone when I've had a question or concern.
posted by hydra77 at 11:31 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

I have an AmEx one that is currently at 3.8% and is no fee, no hassle. Especially convenient if you have an AmEx card since they now use the same login info and phone app. We also have an Ally HYSA, also at 3.8%, also hassle free (and seconding their great phone customer service).
posted by MadamM at 11:53 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

You might like Raisin, which is a platform that lets you trivially create, and move money between, HYSA's in a bunch of small FDIC-insured banks.
posted by kickingtheground at 1:00 PM on February 13

We have SoFi and LendingClub. Both have significantly lowered their rates since the Fed adjustment, each by almost a point.
posted by codhavereturned at 1:28 PM on February 13

I've also had an AmEx HYSA for many years and it's at 3.8%. I like the interface there and I also like that they inform me when rates both go up and go down.

I also have a Virtual Wallet Growth account with PNC that's currently at 3.8%. These rates seem to vary based on where you're located, when you opened your account, and possibly your star sign as well. My husband was getting 5% for a while there even though we opened our accounts on the same day at the same branch, and I tried moving all my money into the AmEx to see if I could trigger a 5% offer but it never happened. My regular checking/direct deposit is in a PNC Virtual Wallet Checking account so I use this as long as their rates are competitive with AmEx.
posted by jabes at 1:29 PM on February 13

Live Oak Bank has 4.2% currently and an extra bonus if your balance is over 20k for a certain time. I have some of my money in that bank in a savings account for years, I've had no issues transferring out when I needed to.
posted by dabadoo at 4:30 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

Note that Apple Savings may not stay at Goldman Sachs, who has been trying to get out of consumer banking. Marcus has been there for much longer than Apple, though, so it may be more stable. (No one expects Apple Card/Apple Savings to just disappear; it's just a matter of finding someplace to move the services.)
posted by lhauser at 4:51 PM on February 13

Betterment.com is offering 4.00% right now on their Cash Reserve accounts, with an extra .50% for the first 3 months for new customers. FDIC insured, no fees, no minimum balance, unlimited withdrawals. Have been very happy with them for the last few years.
posted by platinum at 7:18 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]

Also with AMEX for many years- easy to use and they send you an email when rates change, as jabes said. Can't speak to their customer service but transfers have been mellow.
posted by dearadeline at 8:45 PM on February 13

I’ve been using Jenius for the last year or so. It has been great; no complaints. My name is Jen so YMMV. My own analysis paralysis was short circuited by the name ;)
posted by tingting at 6:08 AM on February 14

I have Marcus. Maybe not the highest rate but good app and easy to use and reliable.
posted by haptic_avenger at 6:55 AM on February 14

I didn't want to mess around with another company, so I instead opted for CDs at my current credit union. They're approximately the same yield as HYSA right now. The downside is you will lose some of the interest if you withdraw the funds mid-term, but for me that's less of a pain point than opening yet another account.
posted by metasarah at 8:20 AM on February 14