I just opened the account and had no problems. The website was a bit cheesy but as long as its FDIC insured I have no worries.

Posted: Jan 6, 2009

The site does look awfully bad. Are you sure this is legit and FDIC covered?

Posted: Jan 6, 2009

I opened an account with them Monday, and received my welcome packet today, Wed. Turn time was quick!
The opening and transfer was flawless. Very happy so far!

Posted: Jan 7, 2009

I opened an account with them last week when I saw the listing on this site. The rate is a great one, especially since it is locked for the next two and half months. The opening process was very easy and the ACH transfer in was quick and happened the next day (no silly trial deposits). As soon as the ACH transfer was completed, I received an email inviting me to set up my web access which was also very easy. I had to call with an inquiry and the phone was answered immediately by a very knowledgeable representative who answered all of my questions. I just received a welcome packet in the mail which, to my surprise, had a $15 itunes gift certificate. Given that the only other thing that I got from a bank since the meltdown was a holiday greeting card from ETrade, this was especially nice to receive, especially as I didn't expect it. So far, I have been very pleased with this account.

Posted: Jan 13, 2009

The only negative I see with this bank is the interest is compounded monthly not daily.

Posted: Jan 13, 2009

They seem to have a few little glitches with their server as they take off on the internet here (who doesn't), but their customer service is very fast and friendly It was easy to get the first account open, so I opened 2 sub accounts (do that at the same time as it will be easier). They also allow you to link up to 3 other external bank accounts to them...using the trial deposit method. I started the process with them last Sunday and by Thursday, I have all the links set up and working, so you can see how fast they are to respond! All that and a guaranteed 3.75% APY for another couple months with a $1 minimum. Great!

Posted: Jan 15, 2009

Based on my experiences opening an online account with these guys, I highly recommend this one.

Posted: Jan 20, 2009

I just opened an account. Website seems to be good, customer service very prompt.
The only BIG problem so far is that outbound transfers are limited to $10,000.

Posted: Jan 21, 2009

Julia,

Thanks for pointing out that external transfers are limited to 10,000. I didn't know that; I'll check it out. That is a huge problem and a ridiculous policy I have found with another bank online (Apple). Not being able to move larger (> 10,000) amounts of money around is a deal breaker.

Posted: Jan 21, 2009

confirmed via live chat with rep:

you: someone told me there's a a $10,000 limit to transfer money out from chesapeake to another financial institution. like an ACH / electronic transfer. can you confirm if that is accurate?

Kristie: That is accurate. In the event that you needed to transfer more, it would have to be done on a case-by-case basis by exception.

you: is that limit a daily limit?

Kristie: Yes it is.

you: so if i had 50,000, it would take me 5 days to transfer out.

you: ok. is there an transfer limit for incoming money?

Kristie: Yes. $50,000 per day.

Posted: Jan 28, 2009

Website is down, login just gives an error message. Not sure how often it happens, but not a good sign.

Posted: Jan 28, 2009

Site up again. Willing to give them benefit of the doubt. Will let you know how it goes.

Posted: Jan 29, 2009

I notice 4 stars. Who rates this bank with 4 stars?
Also, I do not notice Clear Sky registered with the FDIC. Are they registered?

Posted: Jan 29, 2009

This is an excellent bank to work with. I just signed up and the process was very easy. Their customer service is outstanding and very friendly. I received a $15 ITUNES Gift Certificate with my welcome kit as well. I highly recommended this bank. The website is cheesy but they have alot of features. You won't be disappointed when you sign up. Yes, they are FDIC insured.

Posted: Jan 29, 2009

To Bob Z:

The bank is rated 4 stars according to Bauer Financial, an independent company that provides ratings on bank's safety and soundness. The link to their website is below:

http://www.bauerfinancial.com/home.html

They are FDIC insured under their parent company, Chesapeake Bank.

Posted: Jan 30, 2009

Just opened a Clear Sky Account today, Friday, Jan. 30th, to lock in the 3.75 and was advised via phone contact with a Chesapeake Bank rep handling Clear Sky that effective Monday, Feb. 2nd, the Clear Sky online rate will drop to 3.15. So you have through Sunday, Feb.1st, to open up and lock in the 3.75 until end of March when it will reset to ?, the new 3.15?

Posted: Jan 30, 2009

Re the the dropping of the rate from 3.75 to 3.15, it confirms what we already suspected: rates such as 3.50 and 3.75 are teaser rates and unsustainable.

I'm not sure how low this will go, but we might be lucky to find 3.00%. Note also that when DSD dropped its savings rate, (4 to 3.5), the CD rate it was offering also dropped, from 3.5 to 3.25.

For this reason, I locked in a 3.40% 19-month CD at Clear Sky Accounts. I'm not sure how long they will continue to offer 3.40% for this duration. I'm try to use CDs for rate protection. Unfortunately, the financial problems we are facing won't be cleared up by the end of 2009. YMMV.

Posted: Jan 30, 2009

Clear Sky does not want my $100,000. I tried all day Thursday and Friday to TRANSFER the funds from HSBC BANK.... The lame excuse was that there were too many log-in attempts (3 or 4 including the times the bank helped me! I requested that the bank contact Experian. They claimed they could not. I assume they pay for the service and CAN'T is not an option. I tried - push 1, push 12. etc, etc. Exerian was not going to display the report on line- they would mail the report to me. I explained I would be cruising the pacific ocean for an unknown time and that would not work! Because I was totally frustrated and had a vision of losing this good interest rate- I called Equifax - I had requested a report from 3 credit bureaus a couple of months ago. A very kind employee volunteered to check......everything looks great -no problem....I knew that.....tried another phone number for Experian-same auto answer. The cap on transfer amounts was never mentioned. Clear Sky was polite but unable to accomplish a bank to bank transfer. I spoke to several "bank managers" who said "I' ve done all I can -I have to hang up now." Can't and the computer won't let people do it are two phrases that should be stricken from the English language. Townsend's comment explains the real answer.......AH HA I knew I would get to the truth if I persisted. Who would think that a bank would refuse cash in today's environment. I plan to try depositing in Dollar Savings for 3.50% perhaps they think this is an amount worth paying attention.

Posted: Jan 31, 2009

From another website:

Just opened a Clear Sky Account today, Friday, Jan. 30th, to lock in the 3.75 and was advised via phone contact with a Chesapeake Bank rep handling Clear Sky that effective Monday, Feb. 2nd, the Clear Sky online rate will drop to 3.15. So you have through Sunday, Feb.1st, to open up and lock in the 3.75 until end of March when it will reset to ?, the new 3.15?

Posted: Jan 31, 2009

I would never put $100,000 in this account. Keep in mind that outbound transfers are limited to $10,000 per transfer and there is a limit of 6 outbound transfers a month. If the rate suddenly dropped to 0.01% it would take you 2 months to get your money out.

Posted: Jan 31, 2009

John, thats the risk you take with any bank nowadays..

Posted: Jan 31, 2009

Wouldn't it be possible to pull as much money as you want out of clear sky from the bank you want to transfer the money into? The incoming limit once the clear sky account is opened is 50,000 for example but I pulled in much more than that to open the account. And I exceeded the outgoing limit of the bank I pulled the money from and just received the statement and there were no fees, no problems. I'm just learning about this but it seems that the limits may not apply when opening a new account and the limits are higher if you make the transfer from the incoming account. Is that right?

Posted: Feb 2, 2009

Rate down to 3.15% Glad I locked in.

Posted: Feb 2, 2009

Also locked in 3.69/3.75% APY-
My experience, except for some of Clear Sky's server/website related issues, is generally positive.
-Responsive and competent customer service that is not robotic is appreciated.-
However, I also feel the narrow restrictions on outbound (or inbound, for that matter) transfers are counter-productive.
Originating the ACH request from outside of Clear Sky/ Chesapeake may be a successful workaround stategy.
Will find out once that link is finalized.
Please give any feedback on this.
Thanks.

Posted: Feb 3, 2009

here it is Friday- a week and one day since I began trying to transfer $100k from another bank..last Friday my application to DEPOSIT was denied - Monday morning I got a call from the bank saying everything was ok and the 3.75 rate was guaranteed.. and to wait 24-48 hrs for the transfer-link to complete.........today after several emails and phone calls I was told I was given incorrect information and the deposit cannot be done. All this because Experian cannot be reached to correct information. I have difficulty believing the bank cannot reach Experian

Posted: Feb 6, 2009

If i link ING with clear sky, can I withdraw more than 10K by a ING pull from clear sky account?

Posted: Feb 12, 2009

From the President of Chesapeake Bank today...


To be frank, we have been overwhelmed by deposits, and while banks are in the business of accepting deposits from customers, our capacity for any more deposits has been reached. Regrettably, that means that not only will we not be opening any new accounts, but that existing depositors will not be able to make any additional deposits into their existing Clear Sky accounts.



We recognize that this decision will raise more than a few eyebrows, particularly at a time when financial institutions are under a great deal of scrutiny. But for more than a century, we have operated through sound banking principles (we did not solicit nor did we receive any of the federal TARP funds, for example). However, given the many millions of dollars that have been deposited over the past few weeks in Clear Sky, we are at capacity for online deposits. We regret that we had to take this action.



You no doubt have a number of questions, which we stand at the ready to answer (1-877-257-7594). Meanwhile, we want to assure you of the following:

* Your deposits are safe and are available to you at any time
* You are guaranteed the 3.75% annual percentage yield rate of return until March 31, 2009


We anticipate this to be a short-term situation. We look forward to earning your trust and continuing to serve your online banking needs.

Jeff Szyperski
President and CEO
Chesapeake Bank
www.chesbank.com


THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!! BAIT AND SWITCH, I CANNOT PUT MONEY INTO MY ACCOUNT, THIS IS CRAZY.

Posted: Feb 13, 2009

I'm glad I just have a dollar in Savings with Clear Sky! I'm going to wait until after April to see what happens before opening a Checking account.

Posted: Feb 13, 2009

I can understand why a bank like this would cut off new money... so many of the best rates lately are by these tiny banks. If they have the highest rate on boards like this and people know it, they have a massive flow of money that is bigger than their ability to deal with.

Posted: Feb 18, 2009

Had $15k @3.69/3.75% at Clear Sky, but needed to withdraw $10k.
Before I could move some back in, they froze incoming deposits.
What a drag!
At least the remaining $5k is earning 3.69/3.75% until March 31st.
After that, it's probably time to move on.
CapitalOne Online has a special $50 bonus on $10k of new money in their online savings.
Open by 4/15 & fully fund by 5/8, and earn 2% while you wait.
Not bad if you've got the cash available for at least a few months.

Posted: Mar 21, 2009

This has been a very good bank to work with and I have never had any problems. I'm not happy that my rate dropped from 3.75% to 2.15% but it is still a good rate and it is a 4 Star Bank. I looked at all the other banks I was thinking of putting my money into like ING and HSBC and their rates are even lower. They even sent me a $15 iTunes card. Not sure if they still do that but it was not expected.

Posted: Apr 14, 2009

As of Friday, April 24 we are again accepting all deposits and new accounts.

Posted: Apr 28, 2009