GMAC bank's money market is still at 4.5%. I get checking in addition. You have to open with $500. I've had it about 1.5 years and have been very happy.

Why would you name your business "Emigrant Direct"? so you only do business with people who are fleeing the country?

For those of you in Washington, Ga, Illinois and Texas, WaMu has a guaranteed 6.31% Interest rate (6.5% APY) on their "Savings for Success" account. I am thinking of doing it.. but the catch is you have to have your money in it for 12 months, and they sweep money into it monthly from your checking account.

[www.wamu.com]

So is there any good reason not to just go with the highest interest rate?
In this case, Emigrant.

@AngrySicilian: woops.. "APY for the sweep savings account will be our APY for that account type in your location and is subject to change daily." Forget that "Guaranteed."

Not that I'm a wamu wh0re, but their checking/saving is at 4.75 apy, 4.65 interest rate.

[www.wamu.com]

@SportsCentre: b/c it's probably going to drop soon (me thinks? I haven't been following ED's rate).

@AngrySicilian: It looks like the money in the "Savings for Success" is fixed for 12 months and it's the savings account it will go to after that timeframe which does not have the guaranteed return. Probably best to talk to a banker about this, though.

To me this sounds like a good way to work up the capital to open another long-term account that has a minimum - i.e., put aside $250 a month to buy a mutual fund after a year, and thereafter put $250 a month directly into that fund.

Emigrant hasn't dropped their rate yet in response to the latest Fed rate cut. If you're looking to open a new savings account, I would give it a few days to see who comes out on top after the latest rate cuts.

@SportsCentre: I would wait a few days to see if the others follow suit. Having never heard of Emigrant Direct, I wouldn't trust my money to them. That was why I chose HSBC over ING when I opened my savings account 2 years ago. They both had high interest rates but I was more familiar with HSBC.

Also having heard all of the horror stories of WaMu, I would never let them have my money. BoA has some really nice accounts too but they won't get my money either. A couple extra rewards and .5% more interest is not worth the crappy customer service hassles.

GAH, I am so pissed off. I found out from my Father that he opened a savings account for me at his local bank in 2002, and it was ~$1500. I told him to take it out and I would invest it in a ING CD, since I had no clue I had the money, and could do w/o it. He went to the bank yesterday, and they apparently turned the money over to NJ as unclaimed property. Meanwhile, the ING CD rates dropped, and by the time I get my money from the state, who knows how low they will be. ::Grumble::

FNBO Direct still sitting at 5.05%. We'll see how long that lasts.

@sleze69: Emigrant Bank is a real brick & mortar bank in the NYC area. They've been around for at least 100 years (not exaggerating that).

With regard to the questions about the name and reputation of Emigrant, they are a reasonably major bank with brick and mortar locations in New York and take their name from being founded by Irish emigrants (immigrants to New York) in the 1800s.

[www.emigrant.com]
[www.emigrantdirect.com]

In fact, Wikipedia claims they're the largest privately-held bank in the US.
[en.wikipedia.org]

@Sleze69: Emigrant Savings Bank of NY is the bank behind Emigrant Direct. They're a real bank. I even remember seeing a branch during one of my visits to NYC.

Sure, they're not some international mega-conglomerate like HSBC, but I personally view that as a good thing.

AMTrust Direct is and has always been a higher rate then INGDirect, and E*Trade, and insert any other bank here.

@AngrySicilian: It just dropped to 4.75 from 5.0 in January before the fed cut, I'm guessing it's gonna go down again soon :(

MOst of my money is in CDs, so those are locked. When they come due, I guess I'll have to move it, if ING can't compete.

No mention of the Charles Schwab investors account? I remember the rate being on par with those mentioned (mid-4's), but also had the ATM fee reimbursement plan. Any experiences, any reason it was omitted?

Wow, ING just dropped my rate. %$#@.

I like them so much, but uhg. Not exactly competitive.

UFBDirect is looking good still. [ufbdirect.com]

They don't have their own ACH service, so I use INGDirect to transfer money into UFB.

Keep in mind rates will probably drop again next week when the Fed cuts again.

I have been using www.fnbodirect.com for about 6 months now and they consistently stay ahead of everyone else on interest. They are still at 5.05%, but will probably drop soon.

I cannot believe ING. They really aren't trying to keep business. I guess next month once the rates from all the online banks stabilize I'll be switching banks.

Its really hard to see how the fed rate cut helps the economy when all these online banking accounts are dropping their interest as a result. I've gone to apply for a car loan and shopped around. No ones rates were lower and no one was planning on reducing their interest rates on loans. How is this supposed to help people? I'm really starting to think its just a ploy to help the big banks.

@animenick65: If banks are doing business, then that means they have more available money to lend to companies.

Most production companies live loan to loan. They take money out to buy resources, make the product, sell it, and in 90 days pay the loan back.

That money generated in turn goes to pay raises, new hires, descretionary bonuses, more spending: all which leads to a better economy.

That typically leads to higher rates. Its a float game.

The manufacturing is just one aspect of it, but it follows this path in most industries.

Wamu's still advertising it's 4.75% savings--no minimums or fees. I hope, hope, hope they don't lower it like everyone else.

i've had emigrant direct for over two years now, and never had a problem with them. my only issue is that it takes 2-5 days to get money out, but their site is always quick and has gone through several updates that have made it even more secure.

all 'round, it's a good one. and, well, currently at least, it's the highest APY.

i cried a little when it dropped from 5.25% mid-last year, tho.

I'll enjoy my podunk credit union's 7% APY (on the first $500) as long as possible. My backup plan in case the CU drops it will be Emigrant as I've always had good service from them.

Well thanks for the kick in the nuts. I only just now found out that ING Direct lowered my interest rate by half of a percentage point. Ugh. Ouch.

If HSBC is still offering the same interest by the end of this month, I'll be moving my money over there in February.