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Which online savings account is best?
By DaveM | March 15, 2006
Thanks to a post I found over at the 2 Retire At 50 blog, I was able to finally make my decision as to which high-yield online savings account to open. My choices were ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, and HSBC. ING is definitely well known for their famous ‘Orange’ savings account and you’ve probably even seen their commercials on TV. But Emigrant and HSBC are giving them some good competition with great interest rates!
Right now, the rates are as follows:
- ING: 4.75% promo until April 15, 3.8% after that.
- Emigrant: 4.25%
- HSBC: 4.8% promo until April 15, and still 4.8% after that.
All three are FDIC insured and well established in the industry, so it’s really a matter of which rate you want to go with. Emigrant has a nice cash-back credit card that pays 1.25% on everything and they deposit the bonus in your account twice per year. However, I’ve heard/read some bad things about their online access and their customer support. I have no first-hand experience to base that on however.
I’d say, go ahead and read what 2 Retire At 50 has to say about it, and then make your decision. Personally, I opened an HSBC account this morning right before I posted this blog. It was a quick and painless experience. Now I just wait 2-3 days for my account to be verified and I’m ready to roll.
My plan for the new savings account is to setup a regular transfer each month from my primary checking account of all the money sitting in my budget “envelopes”that carry a running balance. You know, things that only get paid once or twice per year like car insurance, home insurance, taxes, car & pet registrations, and of course our emergency, vacation, and car replacement funds. Hey, I might as well earn some decent money on those funds until I need them, right?
March 15th, 2006 at 10:35 am
Thanks for the plug. I hope your readers enjoy the info.