It used to be that every other email in my inbox was spam for a product to enhance a certain manly part, but over the last couple of weeks those have been outnumbered by messages from online savings accounts notifying me of reduced interest rates. I guess that will happen when the Fed reduces rates twice in a week. So who is the best bet now for liquid savings accounts?
According to the thread over at Fatwallet Finance, as of today (Feb 4 2008), the prize goes to OneUnited Bank’s Unity Gold E-Savings Account at 5.15% APY, although it requires a minimum balance 0f $1000 to earn interest. Of the big names, here are the current interest rates as of this post:
- FNBO Direct: 4.30% APY
- ING Direct: 3.40% APY ($25 bonus for new customers with $250 opening deposit with referral link here)
- Emigrant Direct: 4.05% APY
- E-Loan Savings: 3.75% APY ($5000 min)
- HSBC Direct: 3.55% APY
- ETrade Complete Savings: 4.40% APY
- Presidential Premier Savings: 3.50% APY
- WTDirect: 4.10% APY (min $10,000) – updated 2/6/08
I’ve already discussed how all of rate cuts are killing the app-o-rama game, and with savings rates so low it is making less sense to keep extra cash in savings. We will likely start paying down our mortgage with our excess cash, although we will keep some in savings for emergencies. I may also apply for a HELOC in the unlikely event we need access to the cash we apply towards the mortgage later on.
