While airlines regularly carry miles on the accounting books at 1.4 to 2 cents a miles, it is widely believed they sell miles to their credit card partners for no less than 0.8 cents a mile. In other words, the 25,000 miles - enough for an free domestic ticket on many airlines - which you were getting for opening a credit card was believed to cost the bank or credit issuer $200. In 2010, $200 seemed like a steep price for Citibank, Bank of America or Chase to pay to issue a credit card to someone who could very well be just seeking a free trip.

It seemed like the credit card rewards programs had to be cut, but they actually exploded into mid-2011. Banks are now offering more and more miles or other incentives to draw consumers in.

The extension into new still more rewarding airline programs started last year when Chase introduced a new British Airways card that offered 100,000 miles with a new account if you spent over $1,000 in three months. The offer has since been modified, is occasionally withdrawn, and, unlike most offers, requires that you pay the annual fee in the first year ($95).

Chase quickly followed the British Airways offer with a United Airlines card that provides you with 40,000 miles, and a Southwest card that offered 50,000 points.

Not to be outdone, Citibank is offering two American Airlines cards that give you 75,000 American Airlines points each as soon as you have spent $1500 on one and $4000 on the other. These programs are discussed here.

American Express has even mildly increased the points that it is giving for new card members to its wildly successful Starwood program (30,000) and its Delta program (40,000 as soon as you have charged $1000).

If airline and hotel miles with a specific airline or hotel are not entirely your thing, Citibank and Chase also have reward program (Citibank Thank You rewards and Chase Sapphire rewards) that give you flexibility to use miles across several airlines or even get cash. This article discussing the Chase Sapphire Preferred program outlines an option to redeem your Sapphire reward points for a $500 as soon as you charge $3,000 to the card!

The major airlines have made it more difficult to redeem miles for flights on domestic routes at the lowest reward levels (and made miles less valuable), yet nobody believes that they are selling these miles to credit card partners for less than they were only one year ago. Citibank and Chase are giving away hundreds of dollars in frequent flier miles for each new account; in fact, Chase will even just give you $500 instead of the miles for opening their account. It seems highly inconsistent with the world that we are living in and it is difficult to understand how the banks are making these programs possible. It also seems like something that consumers should be taking advantage of (as long as they remain cautious of the potential adverse impact on their credit scores).

The Bank of New York Mellon plans to begin charging a fee for its big custodial customers to park cash at the bank, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is doing this in response to a tidal wave of cash which was deposited at the bank over the last couple of months in the face of a slowing economy and the potential debt crisis. Because of the velocity and size of the deposits, the bank has not been able to invest the money. In addition, the bank expects that some of the cash will be withdrawn.

"Past history shows that once the storm passes, these deposits quickly return to the markets," BNY Mellon said. It cited the U.S. debt ceiling debate and the Greek debt crisis as having spurred clients to deposit more cash.

Bank of New York is the largest custodial bank in the United States. The bank will charge 0.13% plus an additional amount depending on the one year Treasury rate for accounts holding an average monthly balance of $50 million per client relationship.

So, essentially depositors are earning a -.13% just to put money in the bank. Is this analogous to consumer banking? Not exactly but the general dynamics are the same. Banks are awash in record amounts of cash as consumers shun the stock market. In addition, they are having trouble lending the money via mortgages, credit cards, etc. as lending standards have tightened and housing demand has dropped. With so much cash available and so little to do with it, banks have little incentive to inrease rates. Many checking accounts already pay 0% and average savings accounts are paying near 0.50% (although top savings account rates are near 1%). If the country dips back into a double dip recession, as seems possible, we could see savings rates dropping even further and banks continuing to raise fees for customers to park money and utilize their services.

We all know that savings account rates have been on a path to nowhere over the last three years since the start of the global financial crisis. Back in 2007, savings rates were as high as 6% but now the average is closer to .50% APY. But with a little bit of research, you can still find savings accounts at 1% APY and above - some even higher than 1.50% APY. While that doesn't sound like much, it's still a full percentage higher than the national average. So, looking at our rate database, here are a few ideas:

National Online Banks

• CNB Bank Direct - CNB pays 1.15% APY on an online savings account, the highest rate in the country according to the BestCashCow rate tables. It requires $1 to open and and start earning interest. The online bank is a division of The Citizens National Bank of Bluffton.
• American Express Savings - Personal Savings from American Express is offering a 1.00% APY online savings account. The bank has consistently received positive reviews from users and generally keeps its rate in the top 10. It's easy to open an account and there are no minimum balance requirements.
• Aurora Bank - Aurora bank pays 1.06% APY but it requires a minimum balance of $100,000.

Local Banks and Credit Unions

You can also find some above 1% savings account rates by taking a trip to your local bank. Here are some of the offers we found:

• Aflac Federal Credit Union in Columbus, GA offers a 2.41% APY savings account. That's the highest non-relationship savings account rate in the country. Membership is available to employees of Aflac Inc. (View financial information about Aflac FCU)
• First State Bank of Anadarko, OK is offering a 1.51% APY savings account with a $50 minimum balance. (View financial information about First State Bank)
• Victory Bank of Limerick, PA is offering a Fortress Savings Account that pays 1.45% APY. (View financial information for Victory Bank)

While I realize most of you do not live near these banks or aren't eligible to join the Aflac credit union, almost every state and zip code in the country has a bank that is paying significantly above the national average. Click the "Savings" tab above to view savings account rates in your local area.

There no reason to stick with a low rate when FDIC insured banks are offering to pay more. Help yourself and your pocketbook by looking to get more for your savings.