HSBC Direct promotion ending

[prohornblower]

Anyone heard of FNBO Direct? I've never heard of them, but fatwallet says they are doing a promo. for 6% through September 28. That's pretty sweet..now I just need to find out how reputable they are.

[prohornblower]

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I am at Amboy now and am happy with the 5.35%APR. if you leave your cash in for 3 months or longer you will get a $25 referal bonus.

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Amboy just went down to 5.05%. 5.10% for $20K+. That is uncrucial.

I'm reading more about FNBO (6%) on fatwallet and it looks pretty sweet.

[Dazarath]

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can someone make a recommendation for me if i want an account where I will keep ~50-100k in? I would need to be able to access the money within 5 days.

tc

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Any of the standard high yield savings accounts will work: ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, HSBC. ING is a bit lower, though. If you'd like even faster access, Citibank and Wamu offer high yield savings accounts that you can link to your checking for quick transfers. For those, you need to sign up online, I believe. I heard if you're an AAA member, you can get an affinity account (or whatever the hell they call it) with BOA.

[DespotInExile]

I have said this before, but I'll repeat it now. Tax free money market funds are the best risk-free investment, assuming you are AMT-exempt and have a reasonable top marginal tax rate. Yield are up 30 bps or so this year.

If your combined top marginal state/federal rate is 26% or higher, you're going to get a 5.08% pre-tax equivalent yield by investing in a decent money fund like VMSXX (3.78% 7-day yield net of expenses). This beats HSBC etc.

If you live in NY, NJ, CA, OH, PA, or other high state tax jurisdictinos, the benefits become only more apparent.

[prohornblower]

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assuming you are AMT-exempt and have a reasonable top marginal tax rate.


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What exactly does "AMT-exempt" mean? I live in Texas, which does not have a State Income tax, and I am in the 25% tax bracket. Is FNBO Direct (6% pre-tax) my best option?

Thanks.

[TheMetetron]

It's close. My options don't include FNBO Direct, since I'm done playing the jump around for promo rates game. I'm either going with Emigrant Direct, ING Direct, or a tax-exmempt money market account. If your tax bracket is 25%, then it is almost a wash between the 5.05% rate and the 3.8% tax-exempt. If you made more or lived in a state with an income tax it'd probably go in favor of the tax-exmempt money fund.