High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

I included the rates of the popular names as well as some I found with better rates. Surprisingly, many are U.S. based (although with UIGEA I wonder if that's a good thing). Anyone have experience with these or know of others with better rates?


5.36% - Amtrust Bank (Ohio) - 1K minimum - http://www.amtrustdirect.com/

5.25% - Eloan.com - https://www.eloan.com/savings

5.20% - http://www.directhuntington.com/onli...gs-account.htm

5.07% - New Dominion Bank - Out of Charlotte, NC. $5K minimum. Supposedly free checkwriting is included. - https://www.newdominionbank.com/Offer.asp

5.05% - HSBCDirect (very popular foreign bank) - 6% teaser rate to start - http://www.hsbcdirect.com/1/2/1/

5.05% - Emigrant Direct - https://www.emigrantdirect.com/Emigr...tWeb/index.jsp

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

I don't know of any better, but E*Trade has 5.05 right now--very convenient if you have a brokerage account with them as well.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

Amboy direct link pays 5.25% APY for balances under $20,000 and 5.35% for balances $20,000 and over.

Fund transfers in and out of the account are very fast. For me, it's usually next business day or even same day.

Unfortunately, you can only link one checking account to the savings account.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

Countrywide offers 5.4% on large balances.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
Countrywide offers 5.4% on large balances.

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50k?

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

Electric Orange just cannot be beat.

Its like 4% or something but it is a checking account as well. Debit card, they will mail checks for you from the website etc etc. Very awesome service.

Obviously if you want to have straight savings where you maximise the return, add HSBC or one of the others, but ING should be the checking account of choice IMO

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
Electric Orange just cannot be beat.

Its like 4% or something but it is a checking account as well. Debit card, they will mail checks for you from the website etc etc. Very awesome service.

Obviously if you want to have straight savings where you maximise the return, add HSBC or one of the others, but ING should be the checking account of choice IMO

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Thanks,
20 minutes after reading this I was linking my bank account.

Once I clear my next credit card payment, all of my money will be in either Etrade savings or electric orange checking.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

Tax free money funds are a good deal now for residents of NY, California, and especially NYC, provided that you are in a high marginal bracket and are AMT-exempt. We're currently getting a pre-tax yield of 6.7%, which is as high a risk-free yield you can find anywhere.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
Electric Orange just cannot be beat.

Its like 4% or something but it is a checking account as well. Debit card, they will mail checks for you from the website etc etc. Very awesome service.

Obviously if you want to have straight savings where you maximise the return, add HSBC or one of the others, but ING should be the checking account of choice IMO

[/ QUOTE ]

Link?

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
Amboy direct link pays 5.25% APY for balances under $20,000 and 5.35% for balances $20,000 and over.

Fund transfers in and out of the account are very fast. For me, it's usually next business day or even same day.

Unfortunately, you can only link one checking account to the savings account.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have an account with Amboy premium and have been very happy. They have historically been at the high end of the High Yield Savings acounts.

It is true that you can only link one account, but their transfers to and from these accounts have always been really fast (under 48 hours).

They also offer a "refer a friend" deal where if you deposit $3000 + they will give you a $25 bonus (sort of like the old poker bonus whoring days [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img])

If you want a referral send me a PM.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
Tax free money funds are a good deal now for residents of NY, California, and especially NYC, provided that you are in a high marginal bracket and are AMT-exempt. We're currently getting a pre-tax yield of 6.7%, which is as high a risk-free yield you can find anywhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

Specifics? I can't find tax free funds getting much over 3% with a little googling around. I'm in CA if it helps.

eastbay

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tax free money funds are a good deal now for residents of NY, California, and especially NYC, provided that you are in a high marginal bracket and are AMT-exempt. We're currently getting a pre-tax yield of 6.7%, which is as high a risk-free yield you can find anywhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

Specifics? I can't find tax free funds getting much over 3% with a little googling around. I'm in CA if it helps.

eastbay

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The Vanguard NY MMY, VYFXX, (which is not AMT-efficient) has been paying a 7-day yield of 3.55% for quite a while. Fidelity has a NY AMT-efficient fund that is paying a little less 3.34%, FSNXX.

Start with those providers. Then run a morningstar screen for a California provider. You'll probably find Fidelity, Vanguard, TRowe, or TIAACREF will be the best.

This is a great option for high tax individuals, just be careful about AMT recapture.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

Newb question - is tax on savings interest witheld by the bank or is it up to you to pay it?

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

You are responsible for reporting it as income on your tax return.

BTW, the IRS <u>can</u> ask the financial institution to withhold 28% as "backup withholding" if they find that you failed to report it in the past. Just like withholding from your paycheck, that does not represent your ultimate tax liability.

Bottom line: you report it as interest income and it impacts your overall tax liability.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

They pay and file a 1099-INT with the IRS. If you dont report, IRS knows.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
Newb question - is tax on savings interest witheld by the bank or is it up to you to pay it?

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What DIE said. Just log onto your e-savings account and look to see how much interest you earned in '06.

Fill out Schedule 1 in your tax book. To answer your question, the bank does not take taxes out. You better report it.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tax free money funds are a good deal now for residents of NY, California, and especially NYC, provided that you are in a high marginal bracket and are AMT-exempt. We're currently getting a pre-tax yield of 6.7%, which is as high a risk-free yield you can find anywhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

Specifics? I can't find tax free funds getting much over 3% with a little googling around. I'm in CA if it helps.

eastbay

[/ QUOTE ]

The Vanguard NY MMY, VYFXX, (which is not AMT-efficient) has been paying a 7-day yield of 3.55% for quite a while. Fidelity has a NY AMT-efficient fund that is paying a little less 3.34%, FSNXX.

Start with those providers. Then run a morningstar screen for a California provider. You'll probably find Fidelity, Vanguard, TRowe, or TIAACREF will be the best.

This is a great option for high tax individuals, just be careful about AMT recapture.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, there's a hole in my knowledge here, then. Isn't the 3.x% "7-day yield" an annualized number? And if so, where are you getting the 6.7% figure you quoted above?

eastbay

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

Anyone have any negative things to say about Amtrust Bank? Is there a reason NOT to get the highest rate out there right now??

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tax free money funds are a good deal now for residents of NY, California, and especially NYC, provided that you are in a high marginal bracket and are AMT-exempt. We're currently getting a pre-tax yield of 6.7%, which is as high a risk-free yield you can find anywhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

Specifics? I can't find tax free funds getting much over 3% with a little googling around. I'm in CA if it helps.

eastbay

[/ QUOTE ]

The Vanguard NY MMY, VYFXX, (which is not AMT-efficient) has been paying a 7-day yield of 3.55% for quite a while. Fidelity has a NY AMT-efficient fund that is paying a little less 3.34%, FSNXX.

Start with those providers. Then run a morningstar screen for a California provider. You'll probably find Fidelity, Vanguard, TRowe, or TIAACREF will be the best.

This is a great option for high tax individuals, just be careful about AMT recapture.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, there's a hole in my knowledge here, then. Isn't the 3.x% "7-day yield" an annualized number? And if so, where are you getting the 6.7% figure you quoted above?

eastbay

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I believe his number was a tax- equivalent number. Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (VCTXX) has a compound yield of 3.54%. But the earnings are tax free. Assuming a 33% federal rate and a 9.3% CA tax rate you have an effective tax rate of 42.3%. You would need 3.54/(1-.423)or 6.13% in a taxable fund to achieve the same after tax earnings.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

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Countrywide offers 5.4% on large balances.

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Be sure to read the fine print in the offers that require a large balance. Sometimes only the amount over the minimum will receive the special rate. If this is the case, you could probably earn more elsewhere if you are not putting in significantly more than the 60k.

I do not know if Countrywide operates this way, my advice is just a general warning. Some banks will pay the higher rate on the entire balance as long as you have the required amount in the account.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
Assuming a 33% federal rate and a 9.3% CA tax rate you have an effective tax rate of 42.3%.

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Almost correct. The state taxes paid are deductible against your federal returns (again, subject to AMT limits), so at the 33% federal bracket, and 9.3% California bracket, the effective rate on 1099 interest income would be 39.1%. So the pre-tax equivalent rate of investing in the Vanguard California tax-free MMF would be 3.54% / [1-.39138] = 5.82%.

Again, 5.82% is likely to be better than you can get at any online savings account.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

I just read that Everbank is offering 6.01% for the first three months.

I don't know if its worthwhile chasing these teaser rates, since you probably lose some interest while your money is in transit between accounts.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
I just read that Everbank is offering 6.01% for the first three months.

I don't know if its worthwhile chasing these teaser rates, since you probably lose some interest while your money is in transit between accounts.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, at 6%, you're basically making .5%/mo. Transferring money from one e-savings account to another takes about a week. So if you kept it in the new account for the year, your effective rate would be more like 5.87% Of course, if you transfer every few months, 4 times per year, I suppose your effective APY would be like 5.45-5.50% instead of 6%.

I'm in HSBC right now, and their standard rate is 5.05%, which goes into effect on May 1, so I'll probably chase another intro-rate.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

I do NOT recommend eloan (I have an acct there) .. support SUCKS, website meh and lots of downtime where you can't do any transactions.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

higher yield means higher risk. so always beware. though unlikely you will lose your money the risk is there. even in ones supposededly insured by the fed reserve. you may get your money if the bank fails but may take a long time and dont get interest whike you are waiting.
try emailing and getting results from an online bank if it gets in trouble. remember neteller. memories are short.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
higher yield means higher risk. so always beware. though unlikely you will lose your money the risk is there. even in ones supposededly insured by the fed reserve. you may get your money if the bank fails but may take a long time and dont get interest whike you are waiting.
try emailing and getting results from an online bank if it gets in trouble. remember neteller. memories are short.

[/ QUOTE ]

HSA bank is so big. I would say its safer than putting our $ in a local B&amp;M Bank.

Re: High Yield Savings accounts revisited
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
higher yield means higher risk. so always beware. though unlikely you will lose your money the risk is there. even in ones supposededly insured by the fed reserve. you may get your money if the bank fails but may take a long time and dont get interest whike you are waiting.
try emailing and getting results from an online bank if it gets in trouble. remember neteller. memories are short.

[/ QUOTE ]

HSA bank is so big. I would say its safer than putting our $ in a local B&amp;M Bank.

[/ QUOTE ]

What's HSA Bank? HSBC?