APY GUY: Maximize Your Savings & Earnings

Ally Bank

Ally Bank Money Market Account – Now up to 1.00% APY!


[📌 Update June 2022: Ally Bank’s money market account and online savings account both saw their rates increase again this month following the FED’s historic rate hike on June 15. Both variable rate accounts now yield 1.00% APY (up from 0.75% APY to start the month). See more account details below.]

Ally Bank is a one-hundred percent digital institution that has practically become synonymous with online banking itself.

After rebranding themselves from GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation) in 2009 to Ally Bank following the 2008 financial crisis, they’ve gone on to position themself front and center in the online banking world.

In September of 2019, they announced that they had soaked up over $100 billion in consumer deposits just months after their 10th year anniversary.

Today, Ally Bank offers a full suite of FDIC-insured deposit accounts with competitive APYs that always stay in-line or ahead of their peers.

Ally Bank’s variable-rate deposit account consists of an interest checking account, an online savings account and a money market account. Their fixed-rate, certificate of deposit accounts consist of standard CDs and a handful of specialty CDs.

For the purpose of this review, we will focus on Ally Bank’s variable-rate money market account.

Ally Bank Money Market Account Details + APY

Ally Bank’s money market account is about as hassle free as they come. It has no minimum deposit requirement to open the account and no monthly balance requirement once the account is opened. The account also has no monthly fees to worry about and features a decent APY.

The APY is tiered based on balance amount, however as of the time of this writing all balances come with the same yield. As the savings rate environment continues to heat up throughout the remainder of 2022, this may change.

Market Account Rate

BalanceAPY
$0 – $5,0001.00%
$5k – $24,999.991.00%
$25k or more1.00%

To put the yields above in perspective, the current national average for a savings account sits at just 0.08% APY and the national average on a money market account sits at 0.09% APY, according to FDIC data.

That said, there are a number of high yield online savings accounts featuring APYs above 1.50%.

Interest is compounded daily for maximum growth. Keep in mind though that this rate is variable and is subject to change at any time without notice.

Accessing Your Cash

Per Federal Regulation D, you are limited to just 6 withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle. If you exceed this amount, Ally Bank will charge $10 for each additional transaction after the sixth. Please note, that due to COVID-19 Ally Bank is currently refunding these excessive transaction fees. We will update this post when Ally Bank’s policy changes on this matter.

Despite limited digital withdrawals and transfers, you are allowed an unlimited amount of monthly ATM withdrawals.

Upon opening the Ally Bank money market account, Ally will send you a debit card that should arrive in the mail no later than 10 business days after your initial deposit. Your first order of checks will also come within this time frame.

With your Ally Bank ATM card you can make unlimited cash withdrawals from your account for free at any of the 43,000+ Allpoint ATMs across the country. Ally Bank will also reimburse you up to $10 per statement cycle for fees charged at other ATMs.

Adding funds to your money market account is quick and easy with Ally Bank’s mobile app for Android or IOS phones. With the Ally Bank eCheck Deposit feature you can snap a photo of your check and deposit it on the go.

If you have any issues accessing your funds or with the account in general, Ally Bank features 24/7 support with live, actual people.

You can get in contact with them a number of ways outlined on their contact page, or you can give them a call directly at 1-877-247-2559. You’ll notice Ally Bank even shows the estimated customer support wait time at the top, right-hand corner of their homepage.

Fee Schedule

Depending on how you use your Ally Bank money market account, you may encounter various fees from time to time. Below is a complete breakdown of how and where you may encounter these.

Ally Bank Fee Schedule

ActionFee
Returned deposit item$7.50
Overdraft item (paid or returned)$25
Excessive transaction fee$10 (currently reimbursed)
Expedited delivery$15
Outgoing domestic wires$20
Account research fee$25

Unlike many online banks and credit unions, Ally Bank does not charge for incoming wires – either foreign or domestic.

With Ally Bank, you’ll also be entitled to free standard or expedited ACH transfers, copies of online statements, postage paid deposit envelopes, and free cashier checks and regular checks.

Money Market VS Online Savings

Ally Bank’s online savings account is a similar product to their money market account in many ways.

The accounts pay the exact same APY and have the exact same balance tiers. They also have identical fee schedules and nearly identical account features.

Money Market Rate Vs Online Savings Rate

Money MarketAPYOnline SavingsAPY
$0 – $5,0001.00%$0 – $5,0001.00%
$5k – $24,999.991.00%$5k – $24,999.991.00%
$25k or more1.00%$25k or more1.00%

So what’s the difference?

Three automated savings tools that are only found with the online savings account.

The difference is in the tool set that the online savings account offers. The online savings account offers 3 automated savings tools that the money market account does not. These are:

  1. Recurring Transfers – Set up automatic transfers into your savings account that works for your budget. This can be a fixed dollar amount or percentage of deposit.
  2. Round Ups – This feature is powered by an Ally Bank algorithm. It tracks your Ally Bank interest checking account transactions and determines when it can round-up to the nearest dollar. Once you’ve built up $5.00 in ’round-ups’ the feature will deposit these funds into your online savings account.
  3. Surprise Savings – Another algorithm feature, this tool analyzes your linked interest checking account for funds it determines as “safe-to-save.” Then it transfers these to your online savings account.

Ally Bank CD Rates – Now up to 2.50% APY


[Update June 2022: Ally Bank bumped the rates on all of their certificate of deposit accounts again in June by between 0.10% and 0.25% APY. This June rate bump follows 2 rate bumps that Ally Bank made in May following the FED’s rate hike on May 4. They also introduced a 20 month CD special with an APY of 2.00% that is available through July of this year. See all rates below.]

Ally Bank is an acclaimed digital bank that offers a suite of competitive FDIC-insured online savings products including CDs, savings accounts, interest checking and money market accounts.

In this review we’ll focus on Ally Bank’s fixed-rate, certificates of deposit. They have seven standard term CDs ranging from 3 months to 5 years that can be opened as standard CDs or IRA CDs. They also have two promotional CDs – the “Raise Your Rate CD” and the “No Penalty CD.”

The Raise Your Rate CD is beneficial in an ascending interest rate environment. This product gives you the opportunity to increase your rate once over a 2-year term or twice over a 4-year term if the rate for your term and balance tier goes up while your CD is active.

The No Penalty CD, as the name implies, allows you to withdraw any amount at any time after the first six days of funding the account. You can keep the interest earned with no penalties.

For those that may not remember, Ally Bank is the rebrand of GMAC – the financial arm of General Motors. Following the financial collapse of 2008, GMAC fully rebranded to Ally Bank in 2009. Since then they’ve been recognized for numerous awards for online banking innovation, customer service, and their commitment to giving back to local communities.

Ally Bank CD Rates + Account Details

image credit: ally.com/bank/cd-rates/

As mentioned, Ally Bank has seven standard term certificates of deposit that come with no minimum opening deposit requirements. The terms range from 3 months to 5 years and come with annual percentage yields that beat the current national average by considerable margins and regularly place among the top rates for online banks nationwide.

Ally Bank CDs are FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor or $500,000 for joint accounts.

CD Rates

TermAPY
3 months0.50%
6 months0.75%
9 months1.00%
12 months1.50%
18 months1.75%
20 month special2.00%
3 years2.25%
5 years2.50%

To give the yields above some context, the current national average for 12 month CDs and 5 year CDs sits at just 0.21% and 0.39% APY, respectively, according to the most recent FDIC data.

The 20 month CD is a promotional term available through July 31, 2022. This will automatically renew into an 18 month CD upon maturity. Read more here.

Ally Ten Day Best Rate Guarantee

All of Ally Bank’s CDs come with a “ten day best rate guarantee.” This means that if you fund your account within 10 days of opening it and rates go up during this time, you will get Ally’s best rate for that term and your balance tier during that time. This also applies with CD renewals.

Interest is compounded daily which gives your overall APY (annual percentage yield) a boost over bank deposits that compound less frequently like monthly or quarterly.

Tiered rates by deposit amount do exist in more favorable savings rate environments; however, Ally Bank CDs pay the same APY for each term regardless of your deposit amount currently.

Early Withdrawal Penalties

Early withdrawal penalties at Ally Bank vary by CD term. They are as follows:

  • CD terms of 24 months or less will incur an early withdrawal penalty of 60 days’ interest.
  • CD terms of 25 – 36 months will incur an early withdrawal penalty of 90 days’ interest.
  • CD terms of 37 – 48 months will incur an early withdrawal penalty of 120 days’ interest.
  • CD terms of 48 months or longer will incur an early withdrawal penalty of 150 days’ interest.

Grace Period

Ally Bank has a standard grace period of 10 days where you can withdraw, add or transfer funds without incurring a fee. If nothing is done during this period, the CD will renew under the same terms at the current APY.

Ally Bank Loyalty Rewards for CD Account Holders

Ally Bank has a little-known loyalty program for those that continue to open and/or renew certificates of deposit with them. Currently, they are giving a 0.05% APY bump when you renew any CD with them. Be sure to check back 30 days before your CD matures to see what the reward is at that time.

“Raise Your Rate CD” Rates + Details

The Raise Your Rate CD offered by Ally Bank is going to be best suited for a climbing interest rate environment. Given the fact that CD rates are generally fixed throughout their duration, an opportunity to give your CD rate a bump when interest rates are on the rise, can be a huge benefit. And one that many other banks do not offer.

Raise Your Rate CDs

TermAPY
2 year1.75%
4 year1.75%

The 2 year Raise Your Rate CD will give you the opportunity to increase your rate once over the life of the deposit.

The 4 year Raise Your Rate CD will give you the opportunity to increase your rate twice over the life of the deposit.

“No Penalty CD” Rate + Details

Withdraw any amount fee-free after 6 days of funding the account.

The Ally Bank No Penalty CD comes with only one term at the moment. The term is 11 months. You can withdraw any or all of your money from this deposit at any time after six days from funding the account.

Ally Bank No Penalty CD Rate

TermAPY
11 months1.00%

As with Ally Bank’s other certificate of deposit products this APY is the same regardless of your deposit amount. In the past Ally Bank has rewarded larger deposits with higher yields; however, rates today are the same across the board for all amounts.

[You can read a review of Ally Bank’s money market account and its current APY here.]

Final Thoughts

Ally Bank keeps their CDs simple and rewarding with no monthly maintenance fees, no opening deposit requirements and even the opportunity to open a “no penalty CD” with fee-free access to your deposited funds.

The APYs on their IRA CDs and regular CDs beat the current national average(s) handily and continue to rise after the FED’s May rate hike and their commitment to more rate hikes in 2022.

Ally Bank’s digital interface – both online and through their IOS and android apps – are very intuitive and allow for easy deposits and account monitoring as well.