In this article, I’m going to share you the Top 8 High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2024. Stick around until the end of the article because I’m going to share my personal favorite too.
Introduction: Importance of High-Yield Savings Accounts
- Boost your emergency fund: Build a financial safety net with an account earning higher interest than a traditional savings account.
- Outpace inflation: Combat the rising cost of living by stashing savings in a high-yield account that potentially earns interest exceeding inflation.
- Reach savings goals faster: Watch your savings snowball thanks to the compound interest earned on top of your deposits.
- Enjoy easy access: Maintain immediate liquidity on your saved funds while earning a higher return than a checking account.
- Simple to manage: Set up automatic transfers and let your high-yield account work its magic in the background.
What is High-Yield Savings Accounts?
High-yield savings accounts are much better and more superior than traditional savings accounts because you earn more interest than you would with Chase or Bank of America. They have the worst savings interest rate of all time – 0.01%. You can make more money by finding change off the street than you can by parking cash with Bank of America or Wells Fargo.
You can also keep your emergency fund in High-Yield Savings Accounts, any cash on hand that you want liquid, easy, and accessible for you to access. It’s not locked up in any investments where you could incur a penalty for withdrawing early. In high-yield savings accounts, you can use it to park cash for goals like saving for a car, down payment, wedding, or a new baby. You can also use it to build up your sinking funds.
What is Sinking funds
Sinking funds: Sinking funds are like personal savings accounts for specific goals. Instead of one huge savings pool, you set aside money for different needs—like a vacation, car repairs, or gifts. It helps you budget for expected expenses and avoid financial stress.
In addition, your interest is paid out to you in dividends every single month. It’s like getting a little bonus cash at the end of every single month simply by having your cash saved up in this high-yield savings account.
Top Picks High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2024
- Raisin (formerly American First Credit Union)
- UFB Direct
- Synchrony Bank:
- Capital One
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs
- Discover
- CIT Bank
- Ally Bank
Raisin (formerly American First Credit Union):
First up on this list is a bank called Raisin. Well, it used to be called American First Credit Union, and now it’s called Raisin. In any case, it is earning 5.3% on their money market account. So, it’s not a high-yield savings account, it’s technically a money market account.
But there are no fees, $1 to open at a minimum, and 24/7 online access to funds. I personally don’t know much about American First Credit Union, but I wanted to mention it on this list because this was the highest APY that I had seen. You’ll want to do your due diligence and research on these banks before you decide to open one up.
What is APY?
APY stands for “Annual Percentage Yield.” In short, it represents the total interest earned on an investment or deposit over one year, including the effect of compounding. APY is expressed as a percentage and provides a more accurate measure of the actual return on an investment or savings account, considering the compounding of interest over time.
Check out reviews. What I like to do is secret shop their customer service. That is, I’m not currently a customer, but I want to call their customer support line and see how quickly and easily it is for me to reach a live person to help me if I were to have an issue with my savings account. But American First Credit Union, Raisin, is earning 5.3% APY.
UFB Direct :
The next bank is UFB Direct. You can currently open an account with them – their money market account for 5.25% APY. The cool thing about this account is this is obviously a really high-interest rate. This is one of the highest interest rates that we was able to see.
Now, there’s no monthly maintenance fee so long as you have a $5,000 balance. otherwise, it’s $10 per month. I would never do something that has a $10 monthly fee. So if you have a hefty emergency fund or hefty savings that you’re not going to be touching for a very long time, then this is where you could really take advantage of that 5 and 1/4%.
You also have 24/7 access, all this stuff, very cool. I thought it was worth mentioning here because the interest rate is so high.
Synchrony Bank:
Our next High-Yield Savings Account bank is Synchrony Bank. Synchrony Bank has an interest rate currently earning 4.75%. There are no minimum deposits, no minimum balances, no monthly fees. Really just straightforward – here you go. we’ve known some of our readers who currently use Synchrony, and they’ve had no issues with it. It does not have the fun features like the bank that I currently use, but it still has an amazing interest rate worth checking out.
Capital One:
This next one is with Capital One, and that is their 360 Performance Savings Account. It’s currently earning 4.35% interest. There are no fees, no minimum balances to open your account, and you can easily transfer to and from external banks, which is how I currently have mine set up.
Capital One, to me, is the Toyota Corolla of high-yield savings accounts. It’s going to get you the baseline model of the features, the interest rate, being able to transfer back and forth, being able to schedule those automated contributions into your savings account.
I really feel like user experience is really important in this day and age and giving me some of the data and the reporting features, and I felt like Capital One was lacking there. But I can’t snooze at 4.35%, and I’ve had absolutely no issues with them, and it was extremely easy for us to open an account online. You dont have to talk to any single live customer service representative, so easy there.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs:
The next one is with Marcus by Goldman Sachs. Marcus is currently earning 4.2% on their online savings accounts. No monthly fees, no minimum deposit. You’re backed by Goldman Sachs; it is a big name. It’s also been in hot water, so I mean, take it with a grain of salt.
Also, we really like to see the same-day transfers of 100K or less to and from other banks. Same day transfers, like that’s to us a big deal, especially if you’re wanting to access and use your high yield savings accounts for something like a Shnking fund, where you’re maybe transferring things out as you’re like, your vacation fund, If you need to book a plane ticket.” And you want to use it now, and you can transfer that out very, very quickly.
Discover:
The next one is with Discover. Discover has zero monthly fees, no minimum opening deposit, and let me show you their interest rate is 4.35%. So again, a high percentage yield. Also, keep in mind compared to last year. Last year when we did a similar check to their website, the interest rates were around 3% for a lot of these banks, and they’ve all dramatically increased. So, if this was any inclination or indication that you should be jumping on a high-yield savings account, this article should be your answer right here.
CIT Bank:
Now the next bank, CIT Bank. This one always catches our attention. We feel like we just need to go ahead and open an account with them just to see what the experience is like. But they are always on the top list of best high-yield savings accounts, and right now you can earn 4.65%, with CIT Bank, no fees.
A lot of these are just like no fees, no monthly service fees, you do online banking. This is just 2022 best customer experience institutions. open an account in about 5 minutes. But we always love seeing CIT Bank on the best list, and from our own point of view and research on the internet.
Just seeing them improve year in, year out, they used to have a really outdated website, and we can tell that they made improvements within the past 2-3 years to improve the user experience. So cool stuff.
Ally Bank: A Best High Yield Savings Accounts
Ally Bank is best, they are currently giving out 4.35% in interest on their high-yield savings accounts. What we love about Ally Bank is that you can open up a savings account and organize your money inside that account using savings buckets.
Ally Bank Unique Savings Bucket Feature
You can take a lump of $10,000, for example, inside of your savings account. You can allocate $2,000 for a down payment or $1,000 for your new car fund, and you can keep it all within one account. The beauty of doing that is that you’ve now organized it into different savings buckets, but you have that lump money collectively earning interest.
Whereas if you were to break this out into several different savings accounts, you’d only be earning interest on that smaller balance and therefore earning less interest overall.
Ally’s Outstanding User Experience and Customer Support
Ally also has great reporting features that show you your savings trends over time, which we find really motivating for us to save even more money. Plus, you can automate your contributions and move that money back and forth to external banks.
We have also checked their surprise savings feature right there, where they will find from your linked checking account any additional money that might be sitting in your checking account and move it over to the high-yield savings account.
With a checking account, you’re not typically earning any interest or little interest. This is a really wonderful way to automate finding additional savings by moving that money over into your Ally account.
Unveiling the Best High-Yield Online Accounts of 2024 – A Side-by-Side Comparison
| Bank | Account Type | APY | Monthly Fee | Minimum Deposit | Minimum Balance for APY | ATM Access | Direct Deposit | Mobile App | Customer Service | Sign-up Bonus | FDIC Insured |
| Raisin | Money Market | 5.30% | None | $1 | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Good | $100 | Yes |
| UFB Direct | Savings | 5.25% | $10 | None | $5,000 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Excellent | $100 | Yes |
| Synchrony Bank | Savings | 4.75% | None | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Good | None | Yes |
| Capital One 360 | Savings | 4.35% | None | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Average | None | Yes |
| Marcus by Goldman Sachs | Savings | 4.20% | None | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Good | Up to $100 | Yes |
| Discover | Savings | 4.35% | None | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Excellent | None | Yes |
| CIT Bank | Savings | 4.65% | None | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Excellent | None | Yes |
| Ally Bank | Savings | 4.35% | None | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Excellent | None | Yes |
Conclusion
That’s a look at the best high yield savings accounts in 2024. Which one are you going with, or which one do you currently have open? Leave me a comment below and let me know. Did I miss one out of this top best list? Let me know in the comments. Give your valuable comment.
Frequently Asked Questions
High-yield savings accounts offer elevated interest rates, outpacing traditional savings accounts. In 2024, they’re crucial for maximizing returns and beating inflation.
High-yield accounts provide significantly higher interest rates, ensuring better returns on savings compared to the lower rates offered by traditional savings accounts.
Online accounts often offer competitive interest rates, convenient access, and user-friendly features, making them an attractive choice for modern financial needs.
Key factors include interest rates, fees, account accessibility, and additional features like online banking capabilities and customer support.
High-yield savings accounts maintain liquidity, ensuring quick access to funds when needed, making them suitable for emergencies or short-term financial goals.
Absolutely. These accounts are versatile, ideal for various goals like building an emergency fund, saving for vacations, or making down payments on major purchases.
Generally, high-yield savings accounts allow easy access to funds without penalties. However, it’s crucial to check individual account terms for any specific restrictions.
Research and compare the top high-yield savings accounts, considering interest rates, fees, and features. Choose an account that aligns with your financial goals and preferences.
