Products and Rates

• Bank Products and Bonds
• Credit Cards
• Brokerage Products

Bank Products, Bonds, and Other Investments

• Savings Accounts
• Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
• Money Market Funds
• Auction Rate Securities
• Variable Rate Demand Notes
• Treasury Bonds
• Treasury Series I Bonds
• TIPS
• Agency Bonds
• Municipal Bonds
• Commercial Paper Accounts
• Federal Credit Union Accounts
• Annuities
• Comparison Chart

Financial Content

Investing, Stocks, Income, Value, Dividends, Buffett, Passive, Economy, Retirement, Dividend, Recession, Market, Stock, Money, Bank, Retirements, Banks, Stock market, Personal finance, Inflation, Investment, Credit, Savings, Fdic, Ideas.

Best Rates on Savings Accounts & Money Market Accounts

Best Rates on Savings and Money Market Accounts* - Updated July 2, 2009

Bauer Soundness Ratings. BauerFinancial periodically assesses the health of the nation's banks and credit unions using data reported to the government, its annual reports, and more. An explanation of their star system can be read here.

* This chart includes banks that have savings accounts that can be opened and monitored online as well as savings accounts that are managed through mail correspondence. It does not include certain regional or local banks that have offerings that are not available nationally.

** For a complete definition of Annual Percentage Yield (APY), please see the Financial Terminology section.

If you think we have missed a top rate please email us.

Help other savers by sharing this information:         

What to Look for in a Savings Account or Money Market Account:

FDIC Insurance - In order to secure the viability of the US banking system, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent agency of the fedral government, provides insurance in each qualified bank account for each qualified institutions. Insurance is generally provided to a maximum amount of $100,000 for an individual account or per depositor if the depositor has multiple accounts (i.e., a joint account with two holders is insured to $200,000, provided neither has other accounts with the financial institution). FDIC special rules, extended in June 2009, provide that FDIC insurance for each individual account will be provided to a maximum amount of $250,000 through December 31, 2013. However, where a depositor has multiple accounts at the same financial institution, their maximum insurance is only $200,000 per depositor (i.e., a joint account with two holders is insured to $400,000, provided neither has other accounts with the financial institution). While all deposits (CDs, Checking, Savings) held in the same type of ownership are added together and insured to up to the maximum amount, funds held in different types of ownership (Individual, Joint, Trust, Retirement) may fall under separate FDIC insurance provisions. Please visit the FDIC's website to determine if your financial institution is insured and use its "ask Edie" program to determine your coverage limits. We recommend that you deposit savings in only FDIC insured institutions and that you do not exceed FDIC coverage limits. Additionally, some major financial institutions claim that deposits over the single account FDIC insurance limits are insured because the financial institution divides your deposits between several separately chartered financial institutions; however, most of these claims have not been tested in the event of a bank failure.

Liquidity - The ease of moving money in and out of a savings account on short notice.

Money Movement - The ability to easily and freely transfer money to checking accounts and/or savings accounts at other banks.

Avoiding pitfalls when opening a Savings Account or Money Market Account

Stability of Rates - There is virtually no guarantee that a rate will not fall after you open a savings account. While some banks are raising savings rates to become more competitive, you will occasionally notice a decline in the savings rate that a bank is giving (even in a rising interest rate environment), often entirely without notice. Occasionally, a bank will pledge to maintain a rate for a certain period of time. However, if you require greater certainty and believe that short term interest rates are not likely to increase soon, you may be better off investing in short term certificates of deposit.

Introductory rates - Some banks, particularly online banks, will lure you to open a savings account with them for a promotional rate which is only good for first time account holders for a certain period.

Graduated rates - Savings accounts provide higher returns when you fund them with significant amounts of assets and lower the rate if you fall below that level.

High transaction fees for transferring money to other accounts and/or for penalties for transferring more than certain amounts within a given time.