Whether you’re setting aside money for a long-term goal or a short-term need, the right savings account can help you save in the best way possible.
Maybe you’re looking for a high interest rate, or prefer help and incentives for meeting your goals. Or maybe you want a low-maintenance account with zero fees.
Whatever individual services you need, there’s an account for you. We’ve searched high and low for the best savings accounts available in 2021. Read on to find the one that best fits your needs.
Best High Yield Accounts
When you need to keep your cash accessible but still want to earn as much interest as possible, a high-yield savings account is likely what you’re looking for.
While most banks only offer a fraction of a percentage point as interest, there are a few financial institutions willing to pay more for the privilege of holding your account. Check out our top picks for best high-yield savings accounts.
Chime
Chime is a great option for anyone looking for an online-only savings account. There are no monthly maintenance fees or overdraft fees, and you can easily manage your account with the bank’s mobile app.
Since Chime doesn’t have any physical locations, they give their banking customers access to over 38,000 MoneyPass and Visa Plus Alliance ATMs across the country. You can use an out-of-network ATM, but it’ll cost $2.50 per transaction.
And you can easily deposit checks through the app. If you need to deposit cash, you’ll have to do this at a Green Dot location. Plus, the bank offers a rate of 0.50% APY, which is much higher than what most savings accounts offer.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs
With most high-yield savings accounts, you’re also looking at high minimum balances and other costs that can offset the interest you earn.
Not so with Marcus by Goldman Sachs, which offers a whopping 0.50% APY and carries absolutely zero hidden fees and no minimum deposit to get started.
Goldman Sachs puts the control firmly in your hands by offering access to a U.S.-based customer service team seven days a week, as well as allowing you to link other bank accounts for both incoming and outgoing transfers.
Your funds are FDIC insured, and you’ll also have insider access to the rest of the Goldman Sachs suite of financial products, including its no-fee, fixed-rate personal loans.
Synchrony
Get one of the highest rates available on savings accounts by choosing Synchrony. You’ll earn 0.60% APY without having a minimum daily balance to worry about.
There’s also no monthly fee so you don’t run the risk of losing any earnings on interest to maintenance charges. An added bonus is that you can take advantage of Synchrony’s perks program. Benefits include ATM fee reimbursements and travel discounts.
Synchrony doesn’t provide checking accounts and only has one physical location in New Jersey, so it will take time to transfer funds to another bank account. But if you’re looking for a safe place to keep your savings so you’re not tempted to withdraw your funds, then a Synchrony account might actually be a good fit for you.
CIT Bank
CIT Bank’s Savings Builder High Yield Savings currently offers a 0.45% APY if you have either an account balance of $25K+ or for balances under $25K you can qualify, by making at least one deposit each month of $100 or more.
If you miss the monthly deposit, you’ll drop down to 0.29% APY for the following month. However, it’s easy to get back up to the higher rate. All you have to do is make that $100 or more deposit before the next month is over and you’ll return to the higher rate.
Ally
Ally is a great choice for savers at all balance levels. That’s because as a customer you receive a 0.50% APY on your online savings account regardless of how large (or small) your balance is.
While many banks require a hefty balance before accruing interest, Ally gets your money earning straight from the get-go. Plus, there is no monthly maintenance fee.
You can also deposit checks through your smartphone with Ally eCheck Deposit. Snap a picture from your phone to get the funds available in your account, then mail in the paper copy.
There are several other free services available, such as free incoming wire transfers (including those from abroad), free deposit envelopes with postage paid, and free ACH transfers to any of your non-Ally bank accounts.
However, possible charges you could incur are $25 for overdrafting your account, $7.50 for a returned deposit item, and $20 for an outgoing domestic wire. Overall, though, Ally is a great choice if you want to earn interest without having deposits in the five-figure range.
Barclays
With an online savings account boasting an APY of 15 times the national average, Barclays has one of the best interest rates on the market today. Currently, you can open an account with a 0.45% APY.
Worried about fees and minimum balances?
Don’t be. Barclays doesn’t require you to open your account with a specific amount of cash. And they also don’t charge you a monthly maintenance fee. Plus, the account operates entirely online. You can transfer your savings to and from other banks and also access your funds anytime, day or night.
While you won’t have branch access to that personal touch, you certainly get a lot of convenience in addition to a great APY.
Still, both tiers are well above average compared to most other savings accounts these days. In addition to daily compounding interest, you can also appreciate no fees for opening the account or any type of monthly charge. Just deposit your cash and watch your account grow — it’s that simple.
Citizens Access
If you’re looking for a way to grow your money while also avoiding market risk, the High-Interest Online Savings account at Citizens Access Bank is a great option.
They offer APY rates of up to 0.50%, which is higher than many of the largest, leading banks in America. And although Citizens Access is a new brand, its parent company, Citizens Bank, has been in business for more than 190 years and manages more than $150 billion worth of assets — so you can rest assured your savings are in capable hands.
Although the account requires a $5,000 minimum deposit, you won’t be charged any fees, ever. You can transfer funds directly to an external bank account or have the bank cut a check and mail it directly to you once your money’s grown enough to reach our goals.
HSBC
What goes better with a great growth rate than a hefty opening bonus? With HSBC’s Direct Savings account you get 0.15% APY.
HSBC charges no monthly maintenance fees and requires an opening balance of just $1 to get started. You’ll always maintain control of your funds with 24/7 mobile banking access, including tools like remote check deposit, instant online transfers, and more.
The interest rate stands whether you’ve got $100 or $100,000 in your account, and all funds are FDIC insured for your protection.
SmartyPig
SmartyPig offers super-specific savings goals and the ability to track your progress.
Once you open your savings account, you then link it to a checking account and create recurring deposits for each of your savings goals. Your initial deposit must be at least $25, but after that, there’s no minimum.
You can enter your monetary goal with your desired deadline and SmartyPig then calculates how much you’ll need to save each month to reach those goals. The interest rate is 0.80% APY.
In order to cash out your funds, you can choose either a bank transfer deposit, a prepaid debit card, or a retail gift card that includes a cash bonus (as much as 14%).
Best of all, there are no monthly fees to deal with. Even better is that you can share your progress with friends and family via social media. A little cheerleading can be an incredible motivator to save!
Best Signup Bonus
There’s nothing to get you saving compared to free cash that can help pad your account. And a few banks offer seasonal signup bonuses to give you the nudge you need to open an account and save.
You’ll have to meet a few minimum requirements but once you do, you’ll have a tidy sum deposited into your account just for being a new customer.
Chase
Note: This offer is no longer available.
Chase is known for strong signup incentives across the board, and its savings account is no exception. However, you’ll need to be a new customer to qualify.
The current offer is for a $150 bonus after meeting the other eligibility requirements. First, you must deposit $10,000 in new money within 10 days.
That means you can’t transfer the funds from any other Chase account — it must come from another source. Additionally, you must maintain that balance for 90 days.
The account comes with a $5 monthly fee, but there are a number of ways to have it waived, such as keeping a $300 minimum daily balance or creating a repeating automatic transfer of at least $25 from your Chase checking account. The annual APY for the savings account is 0.01%.
Discover
Note: This offer is no longer available.
If you’ve never had a savings account through Discover before, now is the time to consider opening one. As long as you’re not a current or previous customer and meet the deposit requirements, you can qualify for this deal.
If you deposit a minimum of $15,000 you can receive a $150 cashback bonus. If you deposit at least $25,000, you can receive a $200 bonus. Add to that the fact that Discover’s current APY is 0.50% and it’s pretty hard to beat this deal.
Sign up now so you don’t miss out on this opportunity for an easy infusion of extra cash.
Source: crediful.com