[📌 Update January, 2023: All of the FDIC or NCUA-insured banking institutions we track to compile this monthly list saw the yield on their online savings account continue to rise through the end of 2022 as the FED made their fifth and final rate hike of the year (this time of just 0.50%) on December 14th.]
High yield online savings accounts are a great place to store idle cash for future investments and/or expenditures. They also make for great emergency funds.
Plus, the fact that they can be opened and managed one-hundred percent online makes them quite flexible and extremely low maintenance.
That said, you’ll want to hone in on a few variables to ensure you’re getting the best account for your specific needs. These are:
- 📈 APY. The first is APY. If you’re in the market for a high yield saving account, then the “high yield” part is probably important. Current rates for the most competitive, variable rate, online savings accounts range from 3.75% – 4.35% APY as of January, 2023.
- 💸 Fees. A good online savings account should have no hidden fees or monthly maintenance fees. You should also make sure the account(s) don’t require opening additional accounts with the institution to avoid fees. The same goes for accounts that require monthly activities such as direct deposit or a certain number of transactions.
- 💰 Minimum Balance and/or Deposit Requirements. Depending on your individual circumstance and how much money you plan on stashing in your online savings account, you’ll want to make sure it doesn’t come with too high of an average balance requirement to earn the advertised yield. There are many great options available with zero minimum deposit and balance requirements.
- 💳 Access to Funds. Make sure that the account allows for withdrawing, depositing and transferring funds in the way you desire. If you plan on using wire transfers be sure to check their fee schedule to see how much these will cost you. Also, per federal regulation D, accounts are limited to just 6 fee-free transactions per month.
- 📊 Variable Rate Changes. Because these accounts come with variable rates, their yields can change at any time without notice. That being said, it’s a good idea to check the account’s rate change history. If the account you’re thinking of opening has frequent and/or large rate drops it could be a bait and switch rate promotion to grab new customers. Usually new account promotions tend to come with great yields, but they don’t last long. Macro-factors like the FED increasing or decreasing key rates may also contribute to rate changes, so be sure to distinguish if frequent rate changes are industry wide (likely due to macro factors) or just one or a handful of institutions and accounts.
- 🔒 FDIC Insurance. Make sure your funds are safe and secure with an FDIC-insured institution. The FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000 per individual, or $500,000 for joint accounts. Credit Unions are insured by the NCUA for the same applicable limits.
Online Banks and High Yields
Online banks generally operate with less overhead costs than traditional brick and mortar banks. This allows them to offer higher yields on deposit accounts.
Online banks also need a way to grab your attention and attract new customers. Since they don’t have any physical presence in local communities and neighborhoods, they attract users online with higher yields than their brick and mortar counterparts.
Choosing an FDIC insured online bank is a great, hassle-free way to earn higher than average yields while keeping your money safe and protected.
Best Online Savings Accounts for January, 2023
APYGUY’s top 24 high yield online savings accounts for January, 2023 are listed below.
- MySavingsDirect – 4.35% – $1,000 minimum deposit. New to the list in 2023.
- Popular Direct – 4.16% APY – $5,000 minimum deposit. New to the list in 2023.
- UFB Direct – 4.11% APY – $0 minimum deposit. New to the list in 2023.
- Fitness Bank – 4.10% APY – $100 minimum deposit. (up 0.50% APY since last update)
- Bask Bank – 4.03% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 0.98% APY since last update)
- Vio Bank – 4.01% APY – $100 minimum deposit. New to the list in 2023.
- First Foundation Bank – 4.00% APY – $1,000 minimum deposit. (up 0.90% APY since last update)
- CIT Bank – 3.85% APY – $200 minimum deposit ($100 into two accounts). Up 0.85% APY since last update.
- BrioDirect – 3.75% APY – $25 minimum deposit. (up 0.95% APY since last update)
- Citizens Access – 3.75% APY – $5,000 minimum deposit. (up 1.40% APY since last update)
- Synchrony Bank – 3.75% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 1.30% APY since last update)
- TAB Bank – 3.64% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 0.98% APY since last update)
- LendingClub – 3.60% APY – $2,500 minimum deposit. (up 0.75% APY since last update)
- Bread Savings formerly Comenity Direct – 3.50% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 0.60% APY since last update)
- Live Oak Bank – 3.50% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 1.20% APY since last update)
- Barclays – 3.40% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 1.00% APY since last update)
- Citibank – 3.40% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 1.20% APY since last update)
- Ally Bank – 3.30% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 1.05% APY since last update)
- American Express National Bank – 3.30% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 1.15% APY since last month)
- Discover Bank – 3.30% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 1.05% APY since last update)
- Marcus Bank – 3.30% APY – $0 minimum deposit. (up 0.95% APY since last update)
- SmartyPig – Up to 3.10% APY – $0 minimum deposit – $10k maximum. (up 0.60% APY since last update)
- Alliant Credit Union – 2.70% APY – $5 minimum deposit. (up 0.50% APY since last update)
- PenFed Credit Union – 2.30% APY – $5 minimum deposit. (up 0.60% APY since last update)
- Axos Bank – 0.61% APY – $250 minimum deposit. (unchanged from 0.61% APY)
MySavingsDirect – 4.35% APY
MySavingsDirect is a division of Emigrant Bank which was founded in 1850. This account features the highest savings rate in the country at the moment and requires just $1,000 to open it.
🔎 Emigrant Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1850 |
| Headquarters: | New York, NY |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and high yield savings |
| Total Assets: | $5.75b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Popular Direct – 4.16% APY
Popular Direct’s High Rise Savings account is another new account added to our list in 2023. The account comes with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000 and has online banking tools to manage your account on the web or your mobile phone through IOS and Android Apps.
🔎 Popular Direct at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 2016 |
| Headquarters: | Miami Lakes, FL |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and high yield savings |
| Total Assets: | $75b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
UFB Direct – 4.11% APY
UFB Direct offers two variable-rate accounts that feature the same yield of 4.11% APY currently. These are the “Best Savings” account and the “Best Money Market” account. The Best Savings account comes with a complimentary debit card and no minimum deposit requirement whereas the Best Money Market account does not come with a debit card and requires a minimum $5,000 daily balance to avoid a $10/month service fee.
UFB Direct is a division of Axos Bank.
🔎 Axos Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1999 |
| Headquarters: | Las Vegas, NV |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | Checking, Savings and CDs |
| Total Assets: | ~14.4 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | Not listed |
Fitness Bank – Up to 4.10% APY
Fitness Bank is perhaps the most unique and novel, FDIC-insured bank on the list. As you may have guessed, Fitness Bank is all about incentivizing exercise and movement. And in fact, their yields are tiered precisely based on how much movement you do.
For this they use daily steps to determine your APY. The tiers are as follows:
| Daily Steps | APY |
| 0-4,999 | 0.50% |
| 5,000-7,499 | 0.75% |
| 7,500-9,999 | 1.00% |
| 10,000-12,499 | 2.10% |
| 12,500 + | 4.10% |
Fitness Bank is a division of Affinity Bank.
Bask Bank – 4.03% APY
Bask Bank, an offshoot of Texas Capital Bank, originally came on the scene in partnership with American Airlines and the AAdvnatage program. With that account every dollar saved with Bask Bank turns into an American Airlines AAdvantage mile earned annually.
However, the account that comes in near the top of this list is one Bask Bank just launched in February of this year and that is their high interest savings account.
All funds are FDIC insured through Texas Capital Bank. You can learn more in our review here.
🔎 Texas Capital Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1998 |
| Headquarters: | Dallas, TX |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | high yield savings through BASK Bank |
| Total Assets: | ~$40 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $100,000 per month |
Vio Bank – 4.01% APY
Vio Bank is the online division of MidFirst Bank, which is the largest publicly held bank with FDIC insurance in the U.S. today.
Vio Bank offers standard term CDs and a high yield savings account and the Cornerstone Money Market account.
Their Cornerstone money market account has a minimum deposit requirement of just $100 and no monthly maintenance fees.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Vio Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 2018 |
| Headquarters: | Oklahoma City, OK |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and high yield savings account |
| Total Assets: | MidFirst Bank $24b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
First Foundation Bank – 4.00% APY
First Foundation Bank is a hybrid brick and mortar / online bank. They are based out of Irvine, California and have just 19 branches and 7 advisor offices in California, Nevada and Hawaii.
All of their personal deposit accounts can be opened and managed online and if you opt for a checking account as well, you’ll get foreign ATM reimbursements up to $20 per transaction credited back to your account. So no need to worry if you live outside those three states.
Their online savings account has a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 First Foundation Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1990 |
| Headquarters: | Irvine, CA |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and high yield savings |
| Total Assets: | $7b in bank assets, $4.9b in advisory AUM |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $3 million |
CIT Bank – 3.85% APY
CIT Bank currently offers three variable rate deposit accounts. The Savings Builder, Savings Connect and a money market account. The Savings Builder account is the product that offers the most competitive APY of 3.85%. The other accounts are currently less competitive in terms of APY.
To open a CIT Bank Savings Builder account, you must actually open two accounts – an eChecking account and the Savings Builder. Both require a minimum deposit of $100.
Like many banks, CIT Bank has gone through a number of acquisitions and re-brands throughout their 100+ year history. CIT Bank is currently the online brand of CIT Group which is a subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares.
🔎 First Citizens BancShares at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1898 |
| Headquarters: | Raleigh, NC |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | online savings, CDs, checking, mortgage |
| Total Assets: | ~$37 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 per depositor |
BrioDirect – 3.75% APY
BrioDirect is the online brand of Webster Bank which was founded in 1935. They are a 100 percent digital bank, but they have mobile apps for both Android and IOS phones as well as their online portal for transferring and managing funds.
Their online savings account can be opened with just $25. There are no maintenance fees and your funds are FDIC-insured by Webster Bank.
🔎 Webster Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1935 |
| Headquarters: | Stamford, CT |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | online savings and CDs through BrioDirect |
| Total Assets: | $24+ billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 per depositor |
Citizens Access – 3.75% APY
Citizens Access is the online brand of Citizens Bank which traces its roots back to 1828 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Citizens Access is a fairly straightforward online bank that only offers six deposit accounts. This online savings accounts and then 5 regular term CDs of 1 to 5 years.
The account comes with no mobile apps or mobile check deposit.
🔎 Citizens Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1828 |
| Headquarters: | Providence, RI |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | online savings and CDs via Citizens Access |
| Total Assets: | $160 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 per depositor |
Synchrony Bank – 3.75% APY
Synchrony Bank is a large publicly traded financial institution on the NYSE with over 16,000 employees and nearly $15 billion in revenue (per 2018 financials).
Although they were technically founded in 2003, they actually trace their roots back to 1932 when GE Capital Retail Bank began to help people finance GE appliances during the great depression. GE Capital Retail Bank was later spun off from its parent company and later filed with the SEC as Synchrony Financial.
There are no minimum deposit or balance requirements to earn the advertised APY.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Synchrony Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 2003 |
| Headquarters: | Stamford, CT |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | $107b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $3 million |
Their high yield online savings account has a minimum deposit requirement of $100.
Interest is compounded and credited monthly.
TAB Bank – 3.64% APY
TAB Bank, or Transportation Alliance Bank, claims to be the first online bank for truckers and is headquartered in Ogden, Utah.
Their online savings account has no minimum deposit or daily balance requirements to earn the advertised APY.
There is no debit card or ATM access associated with TAB Bank’s online savings account.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 TAB Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1998 |
| Headquarters: | Ogden, Utah |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | ~$904 million |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | None |
LendingClub – 3.60% APY
LendingClub was the first peer-to-peer lending platform registered with the SEC and at its height was also the worlds largest in terms of members and loans originated. It claimed almost $16 billion in loans originated through their platform from 2006 -2015.
Since then, LendingClub has moved on to offer more traditional personal banking accounts and now offers a number of deposit accounts all with FDIC insurance.
Their high yield savings account comes with an APY of 3.60% and a minimum deposit requirement of $2,500. All balances under $2,500 only earn 0.05% APY.
🔎 LendingClub at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 2006 |
| Headquarters: | San Francisco, CA |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs, checking and high yield savings |
| Total Assets: | ~$4.6 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Bread Savings – 3.50% APY
Comenity Direct is now Bread Savings by Bread Financial as of April 25, 2022.
Comenity Direct launched in just 2018. They had been offering highly competitive, FDIC-insured, deposit accounts prior to becoming Bread Savings.
The Bread Savings account has a minimum deposit requirement of $100 and a maximum limit of $1 million per account and $10 million limit per customer.
There is no debit card or ATM access associated with Bread Savings.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Bread Financial at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1983 |
| Headquarters: | Columbus, OH |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and high yield savings |
| Total Assets: | ~$22.5 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $10 million |
Live Oak Bank – 3.50% APY
Live Oak Bank was founded in 2008 and initially just focused on small business loans in niche industries like dentistry.
Today the bank still lends to small businesses in specialized industries in all 50 states, but also has a number of personal deposit accounts available to consumers with respectable yields.
A Live Oak Bank personal savings account can be opened with just $1,000. You can also open and manage the account through their IOS or Android apps.
🔎 Live Oak Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 2008 |
| Headquarters: | Wilmington, NC |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | Savings and CDs |
| Total Assets: | ~$6.94 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Barclays – 3.40% APY
The British multinational investment Barclays needs little introduction with its 300+ year history dating back to 1690. Their online, US-based operation however is centuries newer and based in Wilmington Delaware.
The Barclays online savings account has no minimum deposit or balance requirements to earn the advertised APY.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Barclays US at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 2012 |
| Headquarters: | Wilmington, DE |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and online savings account |
| Total Assets: | $51b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Citibank – 3.40% APY
The Citi Accelerate High Yield Savings account is a popular online product that is consistently in contention for the highest yield on the market.
That said, you’ll have to open this account with a checking account in their Citi Elevate Account package to avoid a $4.50 monthly service fee.
The Citi Accelerate High Yield Savings account has no minimum deposit or daily balance requirements to earn the advertised APY.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Citibank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1812 |
| Headquarters: | New York City, NY |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | $198b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Ally Bank – 3.30% APY
Ally Bank, a well known online bank, is the rebrand of GMAC that took place in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse. GMAC was the financial arm of GM (General Motors) originally founded to provide financing to automobile customers.
Ally Bank offers exceptionally high yields on all of their deposit products. Their variable rate online savings account and money market account as well as their fixed rate CDs come with APYs that handily beat the national average and regularly place among the top of the pack.
Their online savings account has no minimum deposit or daily balance requirements to earn the advertised APY.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Ally Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1919 |
| Headquarters: | Detroit, MI |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | $180b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
American Express National Bank – 3.30% APY
American Express is primarily known for credit cards, but American Express National Bank has some noteworthy yields on their fixed and variable rate accounts.
American Express National Bank is an online subsidiary of the well known brand. If you happen to have a credit card(s) with them AND are looking to open a savings account or CD, please note these will be done with separate accounts and are not connected in any way.
Their online savings account has no minimum deposit or daily balance requirements to earn the advertised APY.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 American Express National Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1989 |
| Headquarters: | Salt Lake City – Ogden, UT |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | $139b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Discover Bank – 3.30% APY
You may know of Discover as a credit card issuer as its the third largest in the country, however, Discover Bank has been offering competitive, online, FDIC-insured deposit accounts for quite some time.
Their online savings account comes with no minimum deposit or monthly balance requirements.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Discover Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1985 |
| Headquarters: | Riverwoods, IL |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | $93b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Marcus by Goldman Sachs – 3.30% APY
Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a subsidiary of the well known multinational investment bank. It’s an online, direct bank that began operation in 2016.
The name Marcus comes from Marcus Goldman, one of the two founders of the institution, who was a German banker, financier and businessman.
Their online savings account has no minimum deposit or daily balance requirements to earn the advertised APY.
They also advertise same day transfers from and to other banks up to $100k per day.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
🔎 Marcus by Goldman Sachs at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 2016 |
| Headquarters: | Draper, Utah |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and high yield savings |
| Total Assets: | $196b |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
SmartyPig – Up to 3.10% APY
SmartyPig is an offshoot of Sallie Mae and the account is designed to help consumers save for specific goals. The account allows you to set up goal trackers and makes it easy to monitor progress along the way.
It’s free to join, comes with a $10 referral bonus for signing up a friend or family member and pays high yields based on balance tiers. The tiers are as follows:
| Balance | APY |
| $0.01 – $2,500 | 1.10% |
| $2,500 – $10k | 1.10% |
| $10,000.01 – $50k | 1.10% |
| $50,000.01+ | 1.10% |
SmartyPig is FDIC-insured by Sallie Mae Bank.
🔎 Sallie Mae at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1972 |
| Headquarters: | Newark, DE |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | CDs and high yield savings |
| Total Assets: | ~$30.7 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Alliant Credit Union – 2.70% APY
Alliant Credit Union was originally founded as the United Airlines Employees’ Credit Union in 1935 with just $5,000 in assets. Today, they have 500,000 members in all 50 states and $12 billion in assets.
Most of their members are in the Chicago, Illinois area, but anyone in the country can join even if not connected to the area or anyone currently banking there. You’ll have to become a member of their designated charitable organization Foster Care 2 Success (FC2S). You can learn more here.
You will have to keep an average daily balance of $100 to earn the advertised APY.
Interest is compounded and credited monthly.
🔎 Alliant Credit Union at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1935 |
| Headquarters: | Chicago, IL |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | $12b |
| Member FDIC: | NCUA, yes. |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
PenFed – 2.30% APY
PenFed Credit Union (Pentagon Federal Credit Union) was founded in 1935 and today stands as one of the most stable credit unions in the country with over 2.1 million members in all 50 states plus D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and Okinawa.
Although they used to be more exclusive, today anyone in the country can join PenFed by funding a share savings account with a minimum of $5.00. The share savings account is a different account than the one highlighted on this list. You can learn about the differences here.
🔎 PenFed at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1935 |
| Headquarters: | Tysons, VA |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | IRA, CDs, money market, checking and savings |
| Total Assets: | $25b |
| Member FDIC: | NCUA, yes. |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | $250,000 |
Axos Bank – 0.61% APY
Axos Bank, once known as Bank of the Internet, is a direct bank with three locations in San Diego, CA, Las Vegas, NV, and Columbus, Ohio.
Their high yield savings account can be opened with just $250 and has no monthly balance requirements moving forward.
Axos also offers a number of digital money management tools and even a free ATM card upon request.
🔎 Axos Bank at a Glance:
| Year Founded: | 1999 |
| Headquarters: | Las Vegas, NV |
| Deposit Accounts Offered: | Checking, Savings and CDs |
| Total Assets: | ~14.4 billion |
| Member FDIC: | Yes |
| Max Deposit Allowance: | Not listed |
Methodology
The APYGUY editorial team conducts research every month on the highest yielding online savings accounts on the market. Our rate tracking system monitors hundreds of bank and credit unions’ rate pages from around the country so that our team knows in near real-time when rates have been changed by the institutions we monitor.
Beyond rate and APY changes, we also take into consideration:
- Year the institution was founded
- Total assets held
- Minimum deposit requirements
- Average consumer ratings from sources like the BBB (Better Business Bureau)
- FDIC or NCUA insured
High Yield Savings Accounts FAQs
Still not sure if a high yield savings account is right for you in 2023? Continue reading some of the most frequently asked questions consumers have regarding high yield savings accounts below.
How Much Interest Can You Earn on $10,000 Currently?
The higher the APY you receive, the faster your money will grow over time. Unfortunately savings rates on average sit at a paltry 0.30% APY nationwide (according to FDIC data) – which would only earn you $30.00 over the course of a year on $10,000 in savings.
That said, with some of the highest yielding online savings accounts mentioned above it’s quite possible to earn 10x the national average of 3.00% APY or more.
With a high yield online savings account like the ones listed above, a savings deposit of $10,000 would earn a much better yield of $300.00 annually.
What are some Alternatives to High Yield Savings Accounts?
If you’re not sold on any of the best high yield online savings accounts on the market, you have a few options that are similar in nature but differ in a few key areas.
Some alternative products you might want to consider are:
- Cash Management Accounts.
- Rewards Checking Accounts.
- Money Market Accounts.
- Series I Savings Bonds.
You can find accounts in all three categories listed above with FDIC (or NCUA) insurance. In fact, cash management accounts can generally provide more FDIC coverage than the typical $250,000 by leveraging the FDIC insurance of multiple partner banks. We’ll discuss this more below.
Cash Management Accounts VS High Yield Savings
Cash management accounts generally combine the features of checking, savings and wealth management accounts all under one roof. The companies that offer these are generally considered Fintech companies and are not banking institutions themselves. That being said, they typically partner with credible banks so that your cash balance can use the 3rd party bank’s FDIC insurance.
For example, the Affirm Savings Account offers an APY of 3.25% currently and partners with Cross River Bank, member FDIC, so that your deposits are safe and secure up to the applicable limits.
Noteworthy Cash Management Accounts and APYs
Below are the top 5 yields we’ve found for cash management accounts and the banks backing them.
| Account | Partner Bank(s) | APY |
| Aspiration | 14 partners | 3.0% – 5.0% |
| SoFi | 6 partners | 3.50% |
| Affirm | Cross River Bank | 3.25% |
| Robinhood | Goldman Sachs, HSBC, more | 1.50% – 4.0% |
| Wealthfront | Citibank, Cross River, more | 3.80% |
Rewards Checking Accounts VS High Yield Savings
These FDIC and NCUA-insured accounts can offer better yields than high yield online savings accounts, however there is typically a catch.
First, they are most frequently offered through credit unions which may have their own eligibility restrictions to join.
Second, rewards provided on these accounts are usually in the form of APY on your balance, but can also be in the form of cash back. When it’s an APY on your balance, it will likely be paid in tiers with a cap on how much you can earn.
For example, with Consumers Credit Union’s Rewards Checking account you can earn up to 4.09% APY on the first $10,000 if you meet the qualifying requirements. But if you want to deposit more than $10,000 you’ll earn significantly less. On balances between $10k – $20k you’ll earn just 0.20% APY and on balances of $20k or more, just 0.10% APY.
Third, the accounts will almost always require you to make a certain number of transactions with the account’s debit card every statement cycle to earn the advertised APY and/or cash back.
Lastly, in some cases these accounts will also require you to set up a recurring monthly direct deposit(s), sign up for eStatements or other qualifying actions to earn the advertised APY.
Noteworthy Rewards Checking Accounts
Below are the top 5 yields we’ve found for rewards checking accounts and the banks and credit unions offering them.
| Institution | Requirements to Earn APY | APY |
| Consumers Credit Union | 12 debit card transactions + more | 3.0% – 5.0% |
| T-Mobile MONEY | $200/mo in deposits + more. | 1.50% – 4.0% |
| Lake Michigan Credit Union | 10 debit card transactions + more | 3.0% |
| Mecu Credit Union | 12 debit card transactions + more | 3.0% |
| Varo Money | 5 debit card transactions + more | 2.0% – 5.0% |
Money Market Accounts VS High Yield Savings
Money market accounts like online savings accounts are federally-insured, variable rate deposit accounts that feature better than average savings rates.
Money market accounts generally provide better yields on higher sums of money whereas online savings accounts tend to come with high yields on all sums starting at $0.01.
Money market accounts function more like a checking account and provide easier access to cash. They usually come with checking writing capabilities and some even come with debit cards.
Online savings accounts, on the other hand, rarely come with debit cards and/or check writing capabilities and tend to require you to transfer money to a checking account for access.
Series I Savings Bond vs High Yield Savings
Series I Savings Bonds are issued by the US Treasury directly to consumers. These bonds are designed to hedge against rising inflation rates and tend to hold similar yields to current inflation levels. Consumers can open these, but can only deposit $10,000 per social security number.
Today, the current yield is 6.89% and is good through April, 30th 2023. To purchase this bond electronically, you’ll need to go to treasurydirect.gov. You can also read more about them in our overview here.
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