It's called rate-swapping and it can be very easy and very profitable. Many of the banks that top the list of highest yielding money market and savings accounts are offering a high rate to capture your business. The banks know that opening a new account is difficult with the Patriot Act requirements, credit checks, and processing time and fees. Many online banks also know that by the time they have lowered that fantastic rate on your money market or savings account that either you will (a) not even notice the changed rate on the statement or (b) not go through the effort of switching banks again.

This is where the profitable part comes in. By switching from bank-to-bank an online investor could have returned over 5.50% last year and in 2008 could easily be earning over 4.00% if not 5.00%. These returns are not great by historical standards, but with a shaky stock market and the national average on bank deposit rates below 2.00% these are none-the-less attractive yields.

Banks that offer guaranteed intro-APY offers are the better deals because they offer the protection of a fixed rate of return like a CD. Without this guarantee any bank at anytime can lower rates and if you actually read the fine print the banks with the "guarantees" can even lower their rates in certain situations. Unfortunately these offers are not very widespread, in 2008 the following banks have offered a guaranteed intro-APY on their money market, savings, or checking products.

EverBank

UmbrellaBank

GCF Bank

While other banks like OneUnited Bank, Countrywide Bank, and Corus Bank have consistently kept their money market and savings rates at or near the top of the list a great many banks while just pop off a great rate, but then lower within 6 months to a less than stellar rate. This what makes rate-swapping not for the feighnt-of-heart because it does involve constant monitoring and the legwork of switching banks to keep your yields near the top. Of course this is what the banks are counting on! That you will not have the fortititude to switch banks to capture an extra 50 points better yield. The following sites will help you find the best rates in a list format:

Money-rates.com

Bankcd.com

Other sites like bankrate.com have a myriad of menus and sorting options before finding the best rates. Happy hunting.