2017 Guide to Finding the Best Savings Accounts
Security and safety in your future means building a good nest egg now. The earlier you can start saving for your life down the road, the better off you’ll be.
The earlier you start, the harder your money works for you. You have greater sums of money getting interest, and that means earning more interest.
This means the sooner you find the best savings accounts, the better. Nothing grows that nest egg quite like time.
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Not all savings accounts are created equal. Luckily, we’ve put together a list of some top savings accounts to help get you started.
This list will make it easy to compare savings accounts and determine which bank has the best savings accounts for you. Once you find the one you like, opening a savings account is very straightforward.
This compilation of the best savings bank accounts isn’t listed in any particular order.
One of the best ways to start your search is by looking for an interest-bearing savings account with high APY. APY rates can change often, as can savings account offers for different banks, so be sure to visit bank websites to catch their most recently updated information.
APY
When discussing savings accounts, it’s worth spending some time on APY. APY stands for annual percentage yield. It is always listed as a percentage and refers to the amount of interest that gets calculated on your balance. That amount then gets compounded and added to your total. In short, it tells you how much your money grows while in certain savings accounts. It is a quick way to find the best savings accounts if your only concern is highest APY. The average interest rate on savings accounts are pretty low these days. Still, some are lower than others, and you’ll see this when you compare savings accounts.
The process for opening savings accounts is very similar across the board. It follows that the best way to go about opening a savings account is through a savings account comparison. Let’s look at these top savings accounts, and how to open them.
Now, let’s dive right in and compare savings accounts.
Everbank
Everbank offers a savings account with a bonus APY boost for the first year holding an account. The institution offers a 1.11% APY as part of their 1-year introductory APY savings account offers. It is a money market account and not a savings account. All that really changes between the two are some of the service offerings; from a savings standpoint, they’re very similar.
In several cases, the average APY rates on money market accounts are higher than the average interest rate on savings accounts. As you’ll see, the money market savings accounts offered by Everbank have plenty going for them.
Even after the first year introductory rate disappears, Everbank offers a yield that stays in the top 5% of competitive accounts.
- The minimum to open is $1,500
- 100% of ATM fees from other U.S. banks are reimbursed if your balance is above $5,000
- Mobile banking and mobile check deposit are available
- 24/7 access to your account and access to assistance
Everbank has secured a “Safe and Sound” rating from Bankrate, as well as the top tier award for the 1st quarter of 2016. Top Tier award recognizes the top 100 banks for offering the highest APYs in the nation. All of these features make Everbank one of the best savings accounts to look at. Applying is as easy as clicking here and choosing the Yield Pledge Money Market option.
Dime
Dime lets you open an account, one of the best savings accounts offered, in about ten minutes. With Dime, there is a minimum balance of $1,000 to open an account. Like Everbank, Dime features a money market account. Here are some of the highlights for what it provides:
- No monthly fees
- Free online banking
- Free mobile banking
- FDIC insured
- Free 24-hour automated phone service
Dime is currently offering a 1.10% APY, which is strong relative to the industry standard. They offer 6 transactions per month, which is commonly offered by savings accounts. Dime received a 5-star superior rating from Bauer Financial’s “Recommended Report.” It has plenty to offer in addition to making opening a savings account easy. That’s why Dime’s offerings rank among the top savings accounts.
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Synchrony Bank
Synchrony Bank offers high-yield top savings accounts. The Synchrony Bank savings account offers a 1.05% APY. They boast award-winning rates that consistently sit very high above the national average. Here are some of the notable perks:
- Account comes with an ATM card
- Easy online or over-the-phone withdrawals
- Online banking
- No minimum balance
- No monthly service fees
- FDIC insured
- All balance tiers receive the same APY
The most notable difference between Synchrony and the other top savings accounts in our savings account comparison so far is the lack of a minimum balance to open. As we’ve seen, not all banks offer no-minimum account opening. If you are starting small, Synchrony Bank is a great option in your search for the best savings account to open. No minimum balance makes it easy to create a savings account with little funding. We’ll never know which bank has the best savings account if we only compare three banks. Let’s keep looking.
Barclays
Barclays is another bank that doesn’t require a minimum balance to open a savings account. They also offer direct deposit banking and online transfers to and from other banks and institutions. There are no monthly maintenance fees, yet you still get 24/7 access to your funds.
The current APY for a savings account with Barclays is 1.00% APY. Their rates are also award-winning, with rates as high as 12x the national average. In addition to great rates, they offer tools to help you save. There’s a saving assistant on their site, which lets you:
- Choose your goal
- List how much you’ve already saved
- List how much you can contribute monthly
Then, the calculator does the rest, showing you when you’ll be able to reach your goal with the APY interest calculated in. Barclay’s is available by phone 7 days a week from 8am-8pm. On top of these extended hours, the anytime and anywhere online access to your funds makes this a potential best savings bank account for people on the move.
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Ally Bank
Ally Bank offers one of the best savings accounts online with an APY of 1.00% for every tier of balance amount. They have a lot of features that you’ve come to expect from the top savings accounts on this list:
- No monthly maintenance fees
- No minimum balance
- Account access anytime from anywhere
- Mobile check deposits
- FDIC insured
A standout from Ally Bank is their 24/7 customer support, where you’ll get in touch with a real human being 24 hours a day and seven days a week. They also offer daily compounded interest, as opposed to monthly compounded interest. The more frequent the compounding, the more money you make, so daily compound interest is really as good as it gets. Ally Bank has won best online bank five years in a row from MONEY magazine. It’s easy to see why Ally Bank comes up when considering which bank has the best savings account.
CIT
CIT offers savings accounts with 0.95% APY, making it a strong contender in our savings account comparison. In order to open an interest bearing savings account, you’ll need to make a minimum deposit of $100. Once the account is open, there are no fees to maintain the account. To be clear, there are no fees to open the account either; you simply have to meet the minimum balance requirement. CIT is a good choice because it offers daily compound interest. CIT also offers free online banking and a straightforward application process. It’s worth considering CIT on this list of best savings accounts.
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Discover
Discover’s Online Savings program offers a universal 0.95% APY across all balance amounts in their savings accounts.
- There is a minimum opening deposit of $500
- There are no monthly fees
- There are no minimum balances required to waive monthly fees
- There is no minimum balance fee
- The mobile app is supported by iOS and Android
Discover lets you open an interest-bearing savings account within minutes online, meaning you’re closer than ever to opening one of the best savings accounts. They also offer some services for free by eating the extra costs, unlike some other banks. Official bank checks are free, for example, as is expedited delivery for those official bank checks. The Discover savings accounts program is also a good option because it offers daily interest compounding and pays out monthly.
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Radius
Radius Bank is the only savings account we’re covering that has tiered APY. Let us show you what that means:
- Balances between $0.01-$9.99 receive 0% APY
- Balances between $10.00-$2,499.99 receive 0.05% APY
- Balances of $2,500 and up receive 1.00% APY
This is only a good option from among the best savings accounts if you have the funds to be in that top balance tier, seeing 1% APY on your balance. The interest compounds daily, and they credit your account monthly with the interest. Online and mobile banking are both offered for free. There are no monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements to keep the account open. It only takes $10 to open an account. Radius also offers ATM cards and direct deposit. They are FDIC-insured, as all the best savings accounts should be.
In Conclusion
APY isn’t the only criteria you should use to pick from the best savings accounts. Opening a savings account doesn’t take much time, but you should spend a couple hours really looking at the options. Research is your friend here, as most of the best savings accounts to open have similar application processes. You can narrow down your list by looking for high-yield savings accounts, like we did here. These are some of the best savings accounts because they will blow the average interest rate on savings accounts out of the water — which means more money for you.
Find three to five savings accounts you really like from this list and take your savings account comparison even further. There’s no harm in starting the application process for an account, to see what it’s like. Or, if the phone is your thing, give the prospective bank a ring. Either way, the best savings account to open may be different for you than for someone else, so make sure you consider your own personal finances in order to choose the account that’s best for you.
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