I understand Emigrant to be very strong, but is it not troubling that they are not providing further disclosure that it falls under the same FDIC limit, especially in the current environment where there seems to be a new bank failure every day?

Posted: Aug 27, 2008

It's spelled separate. SEPARATE.

Not 'seperate' - please!!

Posted: Sep 7, 2008

DollarSavingsDirect. They withhold interest on account if zero balance at end of the month! I had an external link account to an online savings account. You are allowed to have only ONE linked online savings account. The other linked account has to be a checking account. Never to do business with them again!

Posted: Oct 1, 2008

I am thinking of withdrawing my money from dollar savings direct, just not sure how reliable this bank is.

Posted: Oct 9, 2008

I was signing up and noticed they charge $135 in BS fees to verify your account. It's hidden in the fine print at the end of the process. So I didn't do it.

Posted: Oct 9, 2008

You don't have a clue what you are talking about.
$135 in fees is YOUR BS.

Posted: Oct 11, 2008

I signed up and there is no Fee. Why post false info regarding a non-existent $135 fee? What's great about these blogs is that regular people can help each other. But then someone like "Not Sure" ruins it by posting fake info. What is your problem or is it an agenda?

Speaking BS..thanks for nothing Not Sure!

Posted: Oct 13, 2008

This guy Jaime has posted the same comment on several other bank websites. Not saying he's right or wrong, but he's got a beef.

Posted: Oct 16, 2008

I think this is the $135 fee he is referring to:

Costs Associated with Ancillary Services
The following costs incurred for ancillary services apply and will be debited directly from your account:

Balance Confirmation Letter/Verification of Deposit............................$ 30.00
Additional Copies.....................................................................................$ 5.00
Legal Fee (for processing Subpoenas, Levies, etc.)........................$ 100.00

Posted: Oct 17, 2008

Agree with ad appreciate New Yorker's comment about helping each other. This looks like a decent option for savings above $1,000 and I think I'll open an account. Does anyone out there have any *factual* negative feedback before I do so? Thanks.

Posted: Oct 17, 2008

To Micawbr - Haven't heard anything negative about EmigrantDirect and this is just a version of that bank with a different offer.

Posted: Oct 19, 2008

Do they do a hard pull on your credit? Seems ridiculous to have another inquiry on your report when you just wanted to move funds from ED to Dollar Savings Direct.

Posted: Oct 22, 2008

I might have to consider moving some money into this bank. 4% is the highest I've seen without resorting to a CD.

Posted: Oct 22, 2008

Dollar was the easiest online account that I have opened to date. Lets just hope that the 4% lasts for a while.

Posted: Oct 22, 2008

No Hard Inquiry

Posted: Oct 23, 2008

Dollar Savings Direct interest is compounded daily. Many are monthly, or quarterly.

Posted: Oct 23, 2008

Is there any info telling us how long the 4% is guaranteed for? Could this change to 3% next month for example.

Posted: Oct 24, 2008

Since they compound interest daily, how can they withhold interest at the end of the month if there is a zero balance like someone above said happened to them?

Posted: Oct 26, 2008

Easy, someone does not know what there talking about.

Posted: Oct 26, 2008

To Kerry,

From the account disclosure:
"Interest will be compounded on a daily basis and credited to your Account on the last day of the month provided the account balance is greater than $0.00. "

Posted: Nov 2, 2008

I've had the Emigrant 'dream' account for several years...everything ok with it but now I'm going to go for the higher rate with dollar saving direct.

Posted: Nov 2, 2008

Re: no interest paid if balance zero--
An obvious point, but some may not know:
It's common not to pay interest if an account is withdrawn to zero, and usually good practice to consider leaving 5 cents in your account after any withdrawal until all interest collected--
of course if there is a minimum balance requirement you may have to leave enough in the account to avoid a low balance charge or leave enough to pay the low balance charge to get your interest, or sometimes you just have to say good-bye to your last month's interest as a cost of doing business.

Posted: Nov 2, 2008

Is the FDIC limits for this DSDirect up to $250K now?

Posted: Nov 3, 2008

Found it. Yes, they do.

Posted: Nov 3, 2008

I have opened about 5 or 6 on-line savings accounts this past month, and I found Dollar Savings Direct to be the easiest and fastest by far to set up. Their web site is clear and easy to navigate. I've made several transfers from my local bank to them, and everything went smoothly. Thus, very happy with them. Various aggravation with those other on-line banks.

Posted: Nov 8, 2008

Same here Robert, lets just hope the rate remains at 4% for a while. The DOLLAR Rules!

Posted: Nov 8, 2008

I've had EmigrantDirect account for a while with their charge card. The credit card is 1.40% back on purchases. I never had a problem with withdrawing funds or communicating with the bank. I love the APY that DollarDirect offers and will apply there too.

Posted: Nov 9, 2008

The minimum amount for starting a savings account is $1,000, please change that, it wasted my time.

Posted: Nov 20, 2008

BTW, here's a site I like to use, it refreshes every few seconds as well...
http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm

Posted: Nov 20, 2008

Sorry pal, that site is always slow to update. Just look at money market where it shows b of a dow at 3.93. This changed almost three weeks ago.

Posted: Nov 20, 2008

I opened an acct.with "Dollar " and transferred money
back & forth between other accts several times.
No problems whatsoever and the people were nice
and knowledgeable,no "hang on" time out to ask someone else for info.

Posted: Nov 20, 2008

WONDER WHY DOLLAR SAVINGS GETS ONLY 3 STARS ?

Posted: Nov 20, 2008

So far no problems, it is a little slow to transfer funds, but hey, at 4% interest, I can deal with it, why does it has only 3 stars? that almost scared me, but I went for it anyway.

Posted: Nov 23, 2008

Opened an account - quick and painless. Reps answered the phones and questions - good service - good security. BIG PROBLEM for me however is that unlike many other competitor banks (HSBC, ZIONs..) this outfit will not link to my Vanguard MM account. That's a showstopper for me. As depositor I need access to money on my terms - so unfortunately, I closed the account as in these times I am leary of any banks that will not play ball. I am sure there are work arounds but the juice is not worth the squeeze.

Posted: Nov 26, 2008

The rate is great, but there are a lot of limitations:
1) You can only transfer in and out of your linked checking account i.e. you cannot make electronic transfers to pay your credit card bills, to contribute to your investment accounts at another institution, etc.
2) You can only have two linked accounts, and to link the second one you need to mail in a check
3) By their own admission, transfers take 2 to 4 business days, which is slower than average.
For me at least, it's not worth it.

Posted: Nov 29, 2008

You can do overnight ACH transfers in. There paying 4% compounded daily and your complaining about what? BTW, which bank do you work for?

Posted: Dec 1, 2008

Dollar use to be listed on Bankrate.com. I just checked this morning and it's no longer listed. Does anyone know why?

Posted: Dec 3, 2008

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?params=US,416&product=33&sort=2

Still at the top with 4%! What are you concerned about?

Posted: Dec 4, 2008

There's one obvious reason for them to open this new separate division -- they don't want to have to automatically pay their existing EmigrantDirect customers the higher interest rate.

Their ED division itself used to have one of the highest rates, but they reduced it drastically once they got enough people hooked in, and now they're casting out a separate net to get other depositors without having to make the same offer to their existing depositors.

If a current ED customer shops around then of course they will find the new offer but in that case it's okay because otherwise they might lose them to another bank anyway.

It's not very nice but it's a common strategy -- don't offer your promotional or lowest price to your existing customers so long as they will continue to do business with you at the current price.

I doubt I'll open an account with DSD since I don't like to have to actively "rate chase" like that just to keep the good rate.

I use HSBCdirect, which has been okay as far as keeping their rate pretty high over a long period of time, although they sometimes offer a promotion for "new money only". (And I like the fact that I can transfer money into an HSBC "offline" account and go to the local branch and immediately withdraw it without having to wait for any ACH transaction to clear.)

But from what I've read, FNBOdirect gets the prize for keeping their rates very high, very consistently, for the longest period of time. I haven't tried them though.

David R

Posted: Dec 5, 2008

Just to bottom-line my previous comment, it's quite naive to think that launching this new division is a "Strange Move" for Emigrant. It's an annoying but perfectly understandable strategy on their part to offer a loss leader but not to their present customers so long as they're not going elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly contact their ED depositors and tell them about DSD as soon as they try to transfer their money elsewhere :-)

Attention rate-chasers: when you move your money to a different bank to get a higher rate, don't forget to take into account the amount you will lose while getting exactly 0% interest for some number of days during the transfer into the new account *and* some number of days in the transfer *back* to the old account in the event that the new bank's rate goes down. You will find that the difference in rate has to remain pretty big for a significant length of time in order for the move to pay off for you.

I wonder whether this loss of interest during a transfer would apply to an EmigrantDirect-to-DollarSavingsBank transfer -- something tells me it would :-)

David R

Posted: Dec 5, 2008

All this ranting for what?

Its simple:

The Dollar rules at 4% with interest compounded daily and FDIC insured!

Posted: Dec 8, 2008

I am very satisfied with Dollar Savings Direct. Not only do they offer the best interest rate, their online format is straightforward and secure. I have accounts with ING-Direct as well. They, too, are first-rate. However, Dollar Savings Direct has a superior interest rate which is most important to me. I highly recommend this bank to anyone who is serious about saving money.

Posted: Dec 16, 2008

Is there any limit to the initial deposit? and is there any limits to subsequent inbount or outbound ACH's ?

Posted: Dec 16, 2008

No Limits!

Posted: Dec 17, 2008

BankRate has them down to 1 star now. That can't be good. Are they in danger?? Why only 1 star??

Posted: Dec 22, 2008

Not sure Tom. I was thinking the same. Although I think they've been 1 star since 9/30/08. Anyone got any advice? I might need the $ in that acct in the next few months, should I move it in case it goes under and the FDIC isn't quick?

Posted: Dec 22, 2008

As long as my money is safe and the return rate is good. I see no issues with this bank. All good.

Posted: Dec 24, 2008

There has not been a bank failure yet where you did not have immediate access to your funds within fdic limits. So why worry! This bank has never had a great rating. However, Wamu, Wachovia, Countrywide, etc. had good ratings and look where they are today.

My money is at Dollar and will stay unless a better deal comes along.

Happy Holidays!

Posted: Dec 24, 2008

I have a question because I am fairly new at this saving thing as I am a recent graduate and didn't have much extra money to save prior to this time. Anyway from reading the prior postings and comments I see that some people are talking about moving their money as if it can be done with ease. That confuses me because I see that the 4% APY is offered on the 16 month CD savings account and I thought that once you open a CD if you take your money out before the time of the CD's expiration (in this case 16 months) then you will pay a penalty. Is that not true? There is obviously something I am missing or misunderstanding. If anyone can help me out I would really appreciate it!

Posted: Dec 30, 2008

Yes, if you buy a CD your money is locked up for the term of the CD.
On the plus side, your rate can not drop below that.
They also pay 4% on their savings account. Money in that account can be moved after a five day hold (Which seems to be the standard)
I have had my Savings Direct account for a couple of months. No complaints at all. Did not have to pay any fees or any of that.
The thing I like best is that they show you how much interest you have earned every day and pay it every month.

Posted: Dec 30, 2008

There rate is pretty solid, especially since ING Direct and HSBC direct both lowered their rates today by almost .25%.

www.bankvibe.com

Posted: Jan 5, 2009

My account is going on 4 months at 4%, I think the end is near at this rate.

Posted: Jan 6, 2009

I've had an account at Emigrant Direct for several years and am surprised to learn that they have a new offshoot bank offering a much better rate. I will most likely transfer to the new bank but there's a part of me that wants to dump them because of this. But, money rules in this case.

I noticed that the the Dollars Savings Direct web layout is exactly like Emigrant Direct with only a change of the photo used. If the rest of it is the same, it will be easy to use, as is Emigrant Direct.

Posted: Jan 7, 2009

have been pleased with ease of opening the account & transferring funds. have called customer service 3 times & each time got right through with no wait & they were very helpful. so far so good. seemed to be a pain to have to mail in a verification & voided check to link a second funding account so just left one funding account, which is working well so far.

googled Emigrant Bank & seemed strong & in existence for a long time. you can go to the FDIC website research more like what what type of investments they are involved in. I like 'em a penny saved is a penny earned...BF love it

Posted: Jan 7, 2009

Is no one simply upset that they abandon the better rate for their long time customers ate Emigrant Direct and make them jump through some hoops to get the better rate they are obviously willing to offer? Thats if the new rate is even found by the old customers. Sort of makes me want to take all the money out from any division of theirs.

It seems to just be expected that any move by a bank that gets them a little more money is fine even if its underhanded.

Posted: Jan 8, 2009

To ck and others:

No, I could frankly care less that they are 'Aren't giving this to their old customers without jumping thru hoops'..

what I care about is ING gave me the shaft. 4 days after my account with ING got to $7500 the rate dropped to 2.5%. They gave a 3% teaser floor last summer and got me in! Then it dropped to 2.75.... now I fund it more and they drop it again? That is crap!
DSD looks good. Fact is my $ is earning $.513/day with ING and will bring $.821/day at DSD.

Posted: Jan 8, 2009

I spoke w/Ken by phone at FDIC RE: DSD. He said it's FDIC insured $250,000/ acct. holder under Emmigrant Bk. DSD is a subsidiary of Emigrant. Subsidiarys are not listed on the FDIC web page. Subsidiarys are considered part of the parent bank. I told him I was concerned about the Bank Rate rating of 1 star. He said no problem. It's FDIC insured. Also, I was told by Ken and 4 other FDIC reps that the longest wait for depositors to get their money these past two years was 2 business days and that was Indy Mac. I'm going with DSD.Maybe they're keeping the apy at 4.00% cuz they think they'll be able to pull themselves up with deposit money coming in.

Posted: Jan 8, 2009

lucy,

what number did you call FDIC? I want to call them myself too.

Posted: Jan 9, 2009

intersting their C.D. dropped to 3.5% Makes me wonder if the savings is going to drop too.

Posted: Jan 11, 2009

otherwise I have been very satisfied. a friend told me about them and have not found a better rate any where else.

Posted: Jan 11, 2009

Hey MF in GA,

ING gave you the shaft YEARS ago when they became non-competitive with their LOW interest rates. Other competitors have beaten ING's rates for years now.

Come to think of it, you shafted yourself by even associating with ING for the last few years!

Posted: Jan 11, 2009

You can link more than one account. If your OTHER bank allows more than one, link it from there. I did.

Posted: Jan 12, 2009

For those still unsure as to whether the asserted relationship betweeen Emigrant and DollarSavings is legit, you need to visit Emigrant's website (emigrant.com). On the Emigrant site is a link to its Privacy Policy. This policy (on the Emigrant site) notes the following regarding the official Emigrant Family (you’ll note that a DollarSavingsDirect relationship is indeed cited):

This Consumer Privacy Policy is provided on behalf of the Emigrant Family of companies that offer consumer-related financial services: Emigrant Bank (providing a full range of banking products); its retail banking affiliates: Emigrant Savings Bank – Bronx/Westchester, Emigrant Savings Bank – Brooklyn/Queens, Emigrant Savings Bank – Long Island, and Emigrant Savings Bank – Manhattan; Emigrant Mortgage Company, Inc. (offering residential mortgage loans), Emigrant 1031 Direct (an affiliate of Emigrant Bank offering qualified 1031 intermediary services), Emigrant Agency, Inc. doing business as Emigrant Financial Services (featuring insurance, annuity, and mutual fund products), Personal Risk Management Solutions (a division of Emigrant Bank providing insurance advisory services), EmigrantDirect (a division of Emigrant Bank offering certain banking products and services via the Internet), New York Private Bank & Trust (a division of Emigrant Bank, offering private banking services), New York Private Bank & Trust, FSB, (an affiliate of Emigrant Bank offering trust services), and DollarSavingsDirect (a division of Emigrant Bank offering certain banking products and services via the Internet).

So unless Dollar hacked into the Emigrant website (not likely) and revised Emigrant's Privacy Policy Notice (even less likely), I think this should confirm the relationship for those still not convinced.

Posted: Jan 15, 2009

I have both DSD and WTDirect accounts. Love them both-thinkWTdirect will be higher than DSD in near future as i don't see DSD holding 4% much longer. hope they prove me wrong!

Posted: Jan 16, 2009

I joined and it's been fine. It's legit. Coming over from WaMu i'm real pleased with the customer service and the user interface. ACH transactions are processed the next day and only a 5 business day hold doesn't seem like a big deal to me since it shows you that you are earning interest on those funds right away.

Posted: Jan 16, 2009

does dollar savings direct charge a 30.00 fee for withdrawals.

Posted: Jan 19, 2009

Bankrate rating for DSD is now 1 star.

What does the stars mean?

"Bankrate.com's Safe & Sound Capitalization, Asset quality, Earnings and Liquidity (CAEL)® is a proprietary, analytical product that assesses the financial condition of banks, thrifts and credit unions."

Posted: Jan 20, 2009

Banks with 3 stars have failed, and there is no charge for withdrawals.

Posted: Jan 20, 2009

Look for the competition to slam Dollar because they are still offering 4%.

Posted: Jan 20, 2009

DSD does NOT charge any fees for standard ACH withdrawals (though not likely, make sure to confirm that your linked external OTHER bank doesn't charge you a fee for processing an ACH transaction).

You may incur a DSD fee if you request a withdrwal accomadation in the form of a Wire Transfer. As such requires special handling, a fee seems reasonable (though at a cost of $30 I would better plan my movement of funds to avoid an urgency that requires a Wire Transfer)

Posted: Jan 21, 2009

Just waiting for the 4% balloon to pop!

Posted: Jan 21, 2009

I don't think they will hold this 4% rate for long. They are probably waiting till they reach a certain asset level. I had two high yield online savings account at Emigrant Direct for over two years. The initial rate attracted me, but it wasn't long before they cut it. Emigrant Direct ended up lower than my other online accounts on the internet.

So I closed both accounts. Dollar Savings will behave the same.

Posted: Jan 21, 2009

I agree that the rate won't hold forever but that's to be expected. DSD has been at 3.75% or 4% since inception back in Aug 2008. So it's been a good run and a decent investment. When/If the rate drops I'm sure we'll all revisit the current offerings by others to determine whether we should move our funds.

Regarding "townsends" approach to closing accounts, I might suggest that you consider keeping accounts open with a small balance for ease of funding should the rate improve in the future.

Posted: Jan 22, 2009

Now 3.50%

Posted: Jan 23, 2009

Yep . . . and the 16-month CD offer also dropped from 3.50 to 3.25%--before I could open account, and then transfer to funds to lock in 3.50%. Still, 3.25% is close to about the best I've found for CD rates for that duration. (I don't want to go the GMAC route . . .)

Re New Yorker, your strategy of keeping small amount is a good one. I do dislike numerous interest statements w/ small amounts to report on the 1040, but the "bait-and-switch" tactics of the banks require such strategies.

Posted: Jan 23, 2009

I wish I had joined DSD since August. I knew about them from here but somehow hesitated to go from ING to them. Anyway, I did it few days ago, but I guess the 4% ballon is popped now :) I hope it stays here at 3.5%

Posted: Jan 23, 2009

A qualification to my earlier remark.

1) I think DSD and Emigrant Direct (ED) both require a 1,000 minimum balance in MMAs. If so, then New Yorker's suggestion to maintain a small balance to keep an account open requires at least 1,000.

2) Emigrant Direct (ED) currently offers 2.40% APY. Acc to www.bankrate.com, there are about 21 banks offering a higher APY for high yield MMAs. Therefore, I see no reason to think I will need to revisit my ED accounts I closed. If/when rates go up, they will rise roughly proportionately at all these banks, so it is unlikely ED rates will rise higher and once again become more competitive than these other institutions.

3) My point is simply that some bank MM rates are more competitive than others, and that some banks rates are persistent laggers and therefore I don't need to maintain a small balance in those banks because I will not be retracing my steps. (INGDirect is another one, from my past experience).

4) Therefore, my strategy for investing in DSD is to lock in a 16-month CD to guarantee a 3.25% rate for that duration.

Looking forward to learning from others about their strategy to preserve capital.

Posted: Jan 23, 2009

With both ED & DSD you can keep your account open with as little as 1 CENT in the account. Neither will charge any penalty/fee; though the DSD APY will only be 1% if the balance is below $1,000.

Posted: Jan 26, 2009

Thanks everyone for the helpful feedback. I too was a bit disappointed to see that the rate dropped from 4 to 3.5 but am very pleased to see that it's still VERY competitive after checking comparable online accts.

Posted: Jan 27, 2009

Got into DSD just before the rate recently fell.
But, in anticipation as a hedge, also opened the Clear Sky savings with Chesapeake (very high rating).
Even though the initial 3.69/3.75% APY was slightly less than DSD's 4% APY, it offered a lock in until 3/31 which DSD did not.
So, I moved my initial DSD deposit (less $1,000 to get remaining interest) over to Clear Sky where it continues to earn 3.69/3.75% APY from the lock in.
Aside from the the poor rating of DSD, they do not allow outside ACH withdrawals (not originating from their website).
Otherwise, both banks are pretty decent.. customer service wise .

Posted: Feb 2, 2009

The web interface is a bit sparce but the site actually gives lots of feedback.

likes:

online 1099 form (so you can do your taxes a bit faster), daily tracking of interest (nice to help get a newbie in the family excited about saving). Online beneficiary form (still need to talk with CSR to change title of account!). You can set your own security questions instead of the standard favorite pet/color/city stuff.

gripes:

they ask you a random security question along with your password (makes you think for a few seconds :-) ) and they perform a nighly site meaintenance (hits around 11pm PST) where you can't see your account details which makes late night banking a bit annoying. Transfers are held for 5 days (not a huge issue if you're just saving stuff) - other online banks typically hold it for 2-3 days with the same transfer amount. Also, scheduled transfers tend to disappear for me on the day of the transfer before showing up in the history; this frekead me out the first time.

hints:

you can get your routing and account number via the deposit slip link in your account details screen (it's hidden right under your account title in blue). Also, in your 'my profile' screen, at the bottom you can opt out having your data used for marketing.

Posted: Feb 3, 2009

rate fell to 3.2% :(
well, I hope it doesn't fall more :)
I don't feel like going to other ones which may offer up to 3.5%. It is too much hassle every time you move things around.

Posted: Feb 5, 2009

The rate is dropping too fast. Hope they do not play the game too much.

Posted: Feb 5, 2009

If the rate continues to fall, I will be looking to move all my money out. Once banks start to play the game and lower the rate frequently I start shopping around. ING Direct was good for years and I kept my money with them till they started frequent rate cuts and were no longer competitive. A rule I usually live by is once I leave a bank, I'm gone for good. Nothing short of a free car will get me back.

Posted: Feb 5, 2009

Funny how those falling interest rates just gain momentum once they start going down!

Posted: Feb 6, 2009

How can DSD get away with saying "America's Highest Rate" when they are not?
Can we sue them and make a killing?

Posted: Feb 9, 2009

Its a shell game my friend, lure them in, then cut and run. Once all the depositors leave they will start a new bank and start all over.

Posted: Feb 9, 2009

DSD makes a qualified representation regarding "America's Highest Rate":

Highest Nationally Advertised Annual Percentage Yield for day of deposit to day of withdrawal savings accounts with no fees and $1000 minimum. Also I think they exclude comparision with "promotional rates" offered by others.

I haven't found this to be inaccurate.

Posted: Feb 10, 2009

NOW DOWN TO 3.05% and falling!!!!

Posted: Feb 12, 2009

EmigrantDirect is at 2.40% so one would think thats the near term floor. The whole Dollarsavings Direct was a joke to lure new money. Its was a great ride. What will be the next new bank from this company and what will the promo rate be?

Posted: Feb 12, 2009

Well, then we'll all just establish new accounts at the new bank.
That's how the "rate chasing" game is played, Baby!

Posted: Feb 20, 2009

You may want to update the rate for DSD to 2.65%
I just saw it now. Even the Ad on the top of this page at the moment says 3.05% What's going on? It was 4% like 40 days ago!!!

Posted: Feb 21, 2009

Dollar is going to see a run dropping their rates this fast. Just not worth the hassle for so little return. I said goodbye to Emigrant now its goodbye Dollar.

Posted: Feb 21, 2009

I wanted to start saving here. Not sure now. I do not know enough about any of it. I just wanted to move my money out of a regular bank account. Any other suggestions??

Posted: Feb 21, 2009

the fed is printing money like crazy, so enjoy the ride down. once obamitron is finished 'fixing' the economy, inflation will kick in. you will soon have rates as high as 15%! any questions on the price of milk or gas, google Jimmy Carter and his glorious reign

Posted: Feb 21, 2009

Were in for a long deflationary spiral where the price of goods collapse, ie. cars, housing. I would love to see some good old fashion inflation just so I could earn a decent safe return again. Stay away from Dollar, when I was with Emigrant the same game played out. Lure you in with a prom rate for three mo. then cut the rates weekly.

Posted: Feb 22, 2009

Thanks for the info. My 401k is half gone just trying to protect my savings somewhere. I guess I will be working for a very very long time.

Posted: Feb 23, 2009

Since January the rates fell from 4% to 2.65%, which sucks. But other than that, it's very easy to link your existing accounts and transfer money around. I have to admit the higher rates other places are tempting me to make a move.

Posted: Feb 27, 2009

Not the best rate now, but I like their simple application process. Only drawback is I need send in a void check to link external account.

Posted: Mar 1, 2009

These bunch of con artists, the rate of 2.50% is not Americas Highest Rate!

Posted: Mar 3, 2009

Farging eyes holes!! I really like this bank, but it looks like it's time to think about jumping ship.

Posted: Mar 3, 2009

No wonder it has one star! This bank is a cork soaker....

Posted: Mar 3, 2009

Crain's 3/2 - 8, 2009: meet NY's Wobbliest Banks.

Posted: Mar 4, 2009

2.25% and the drop continues! Americas Highest, my azz!

Posted: Mar 7, 2009

Just like Emigrant Direct, Dollar Saving Direct will only allow transfers out to a checking account. Many other online banks don't have this restriction (I can move money between my WT Direct, E-Trade, Capital One savings accounts directly). Being able to do direct savings account transfers really helps you in the rate chase, so this is a big drawback for DSD. Also, DSD is in the process of bringing rates down to ED rates, so you probably don't want to waste your time setting up an account and transfer to DSD when in just a couple months their rates will be the same. Just in the last month DSD rates have plummeted, and are not far from ED ... so it's just a matter of time. A final consideration about ED and DSD, they have very poor bank safety ratings, so if you have more than the FDIC limit in accouts combined, you would be wise to put the excess somewhere else (don't procrastinate).

Posted: Mar 7, 2009

Yes, now they are down to 2.25%, and will probably reach the ED level of 2.00% in the near future.

This is why I locked in a 3.00% 16-month CD through DSD, but like others, I have $$ I never to have semi-liquid that I don't want to lock into a fixed term investment like a CD.

I'm not worried about ED or DSD defaulting, regardless of their ratings. FDIC can't afford to allow any banks to go bankrupt. Period. Regardless of bank safety ratings. Bank safety ratings are probably worthless anyway. Who established them and are they ever updated? Finally, FDIC is covering up to 250,000 at a single institution up to 12/09. You could increase this amount through holding different categories of accounts (single, joint, revocable trusts).

Posted: Mar 8, 2009

"FDIC can't afford to allow any banks to go bankrupt" Dude, you need to watch the news, including the latest 60 minutes episode about bank failures. There has been 17 so far this year with many more to come.

BTW, do you really think 3% for 16 months is good?

Posted: Mar 8, 2009

Yes, I watched Sixty Minutes. During the segment, no depositor lost their money at a FDIC insured bank. Either a bank is covered by FDIC or not. I only put my money in banks covered by FDIC. I can't predict which banks will fail. I don't think bank safety ratings predict which banks will fail. Therefore, just invest in banks covered by FDIC.

Is a 16-month CD at 3.00 good? While all my other CDs pay more, at this time I couldn't find a better combination of rate & shorter duration. At this site, the closest comparable rate is 18-month CD at 2.95%. My rate is better and my duration is shorter, which I prefer since rates may go up in the future. 3.00% beats most online savings accounts, once you ignore the teaser rates that are only good for 3 months, and then gradually drop into the 2.00-2.50% range. If you found a better rate that is locked in for 12-16 months, please let me know.

Posted: Mar 9, 2009

Get ready for 2% folks...

Glad I bailed on this one star loser.

Posted: Mar 12, 2009

Bankrate.com is showing 2.05% for these wieners!

Posted: Mar 16, 2009

Emigrant at 1.65% and Dollar at 2.05%, Thanks Bernanke!

Posted: Mar 17, 2009

Bank Rate.com no longer has this bank listed at all.
What's the deal?

Posted: Mar 18, 2009

Probably the misleading info about being the highest rate, which is not true.

Posted: Mar 18, 2009

Can't transfer fund using ACH initiated from other bank. They rejected it even throught other bank did test deposit first.
Also, they will not allow Treasurydirect to deduct fund from this account, if I use it to purchase treasury bill.

Rate drops very fast recently, from 2.6 to 2.05 within 2 weeks.

Posted: Mar 20, 2009

Strike one!

"Interest will be compounded and credited to your account on a monthly basis".

Strike two!

No guarantee that it will be 2.80% the next day. Chasing accounts without at least a three month guarantee is a waste of time with rates this low.

Strike three!

Stay tuned.

Posted: Mar 23, 2009

"America's Highest Rate" is gone!

Posted: Apr 3, 2009

Check out Spin the Wheel above Fred!

Posted: Apr 5, 2009

Someone keeps deleting selective posts relating to Shore Bank.

Posted: Apr 7, 2009

Watch out: complaint about Dollar Savings Direct. I zeroed out my Dollar Savings Direct account mid-month and they credited me with no interest for that month. However, I called and they said they would credit the account since I asked. I'll watch over the next couple of days.

Posted: Apr 8, 2009

Thats common, you need to wait until interest is credited then empty your account.

We liked Dollar but were sick and tired of the rate dropping every week.

Also, there rating of 1 star probably means that the FDIC will pay a visit one Friday evening.

Posted: Apr 8, 2009

The Dollar is down to 2% !

Posted: Apr 28, 2009

it is down to 1.7% now!

Posted: Jul 16, 2009

I guess people don't post that much here any more :(
Well, have you noticed that on their websites they don't offer the 5-year CD anymore but they have instead a link to real estate opportunities? I wonder what's going there with them.
I like their website and the ease of transferring the money to and from the account without any fee. I wonder if there is any other internet bank out there like them in this regard which offers better interest rate. Do you know?

Posted: Aug 22, 2009

ING now offers a 1.65 % rate on their electronic checking acct ($ 50,000 or more required to get that rate). ING is a public company, rated 3 stars. Alhtough I'm locked in at 3 % on my DSD CD til early 2010, I am withdrawing all my cash in their measely 1.7 % MM. They no longer offer a competitive advantage to be willing to stay with them at 1.7 %.

Posted: Aug 24, 2009