Choosing The Best High Yield Online Savings and CD Account – Reviews of The Best Options

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Welcome! If you’re on this page it means you are looking at options for a great high yield savings or CD account. If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon and opened a high yield online savings account, some might consider you behind the times. After all, everything from paying bills to buying a car can be done online, so why should banking be any different? Especially if you can get higher rates and no fee accounts. Here then are the best savings accounts I currently recommend based on 10+ years of personal finance blogging, reviews and self-titled financial “guru-ness.”

30 second summary – I realize you are busy so I if you don’t have time to read the reviews below, here is a brief summary on the best features of the savings accounts. Choose the one that best meets your needs. EverBank is for those with some cash already stashed up and want a higher yield or savings rate with some seriously good customer service.

EverBank pays out higher-than-average interest rates on most of its savings and money market accounts and pledges to be among the top 5% of all providers (which is clearly demonstrated by their higher than average rates). The minimum opening deposit is $1,500, but after that there’s no minimum balance. The focus on customer services is demonstrated by their $50 rebate for less than 100% satisfaction. New customers can try their Yield Pledge Checking Account for three months. If they’re not completely satisfied, the bank will send a them check for $50 to show how much they appreciate them giving EverBank a try (not too shabby if do say so myself!). For those that have at least $1,500 and want a safe, FDIC insured, place to keep your funds that offer one of (if not the) highest yield available, EverBank is definitely a bank you should seriously consider.

When choosing any high yield savings accounts (HYSA), you should use the following 4 key criteria to determine which is best for you:

1. Interest rate or Annual Percentage Yield (APY) they offer – You can see what the industry benchmarks are at Bankrate.com. The account you choose should be paying more than this and make sure you look at the standard or normal APY and not only at any promotional rates they are offering.

2. No fees. Always. If an online savings account is charging you account maintenance or other similar fees, move on.

3. Ease of use. You can demo most of the reputable online banking user interfaces via their websites. See what you like and feel comfortable using. Also, ensure that linking to your checking or regular bank account is straightforward, and that you can deposit your pay directly into these accounts.

4.FDIC Insured. If you find a financial institution trying to offer you significantly above average APY’s, check their insurance status at the FDIC website. If they are not insured, then it is best to avoid them. All deposit accounts worth $100,000 and less are automatically insured by the FDIC.

If you found the information useful please mention this page to others you know who may want to make their savings work a bit harder for them. A like on facebook or a re-tweet is always appreciated. Adios friend!

CD RATES

For the best CD rates in your area see the table below:

A note of disclosure first to keep things above board lest you question my judgment. I have affiliate relationships with some of the providers above. This means when you sign up for an account, the bank (not you) pays me a small commission that allows me to keep this site going and barely pay myself the minimum wage.  However,  the reviews and recommendations are my own and I can personally attest to having accounts with all the companies I endorse. Besides if I was just doing these review for money I’d be rich and on a beach in Hawaii, rather than writing about the rather dry topic of savings accounts!