We have all heard stories about how applying for many savings or cd accounts can have an adverse impact on your credit score. According to conventional wisdom, some banks do a hard pull on your credit and these pulls can cause your score to go down, impacting your ability to get a loan or the rate on any loan you open.

So is this really true? What do banks do when you open a savings account, checking account, certificate of deposit, or other FDIC insured account? And how do the credit agencies track what the banks do and apply it to your credit score?

To find out what really happens when you open an account, I spoke to representatives from Experian, Transunion, and Equifax (the big three credit rating agencies), as well as from Fair Isaac, the company whose algorithms are used to calculate your FICO score. Most banks use FICO scores as an important component in determining a potential borrower’s credit worthiness for a loan.

Maxine Sweet, the Vice President of Public Education at Experian explained how Experian records account openings:

• Checking Accounts (DDAs) - Banks have the option of doing a hard pull or a soft pull. Banks need to use a code in their account opening system if they want the pull to be soft. Once overdraft protection or a debit/check card is added it will automatically be a hard pull.
• Saving and Money Market Accounts and Certificates of Deposit. These always result in hard pulls.

Steve Katz from Transunion wrote that whether or not they do a credit check “…really depends on a financial institution’s specific credit policies. Some may pull credit reports for CD’s and savings accounts which would then show as a hard inquiry. Most do not engage in that practice at this time.

Some financial institutions may seek to offer the consumer a credit card or other pre-approved offer of credit in conjunction with the new account. Inquiries for such a permissible purpose would result in only a soft inquiry that has no impact on a consumer’s credit score.”

According to Ms. Sweet, the impact of even a hard pull from this type of inquiry is minimal and short lasting, unless the consumer is already having credit problems. In that case, it becomes another flag that there is something going on and can have a more significant impact on your report. These types of inquiries last about 3 months and then disappear entirely from your credit report.

Ms. Sweet recommended that if you are thinking of applying for a mortgage or a car loan, you not go on an account opening binge in the 3 months prior to applying for the loan.

Craig Watts, Public Affairs Manager for Fair Isaac said that if the savings or CD account is a “hard pull” then the inquiry would be listed on the FICO report and it could have a impact on your FICO score. He said the impact might be a 5 point decrease in your credit score. The impact to a young credit file, that is someone who has just started to build their credit history, might be more significant. Regardless, he stated a string of late payments on credit cards would have far more impact than a string of inquiries from opening savings accounts.

His advice to consumers is to check your credit report, be diligent in managing credit, and mind your Ps and Qs so you don’t have to worry about minor impacts from things like opening a savings account or a certificate of deposit.

Conclusion

• Opening a checking account may or may not have an impact on your credit score, depending on the bank and the credit agency they use. If the account comes with overdraft protection or a check card, assume it will result in a hard pull.
• You can ask the customer service rep or the branch customer service personnel but they may not even understand their bank’s policies. Many do not.
• If a hard pull is done the impact on your credit score varies depending on your other credit history, and your credit age.
• If you have other bad marks on your credit score and are thinking of applying for a major loan (home, car, etc.) you might not want to open a slew of new accounts.
• Any impact on your credit score from opening a savings account, certificate of deposit, or money market account is minimal if you have good credit.

It is quite evident that every bit of extra cash of interest makes a huge difference. Selecting the best savings account can sometimes prove to be a daunting task in a market where the interest rates are finally beginning to increase.

Here a 7 tips to help you find the best option for your savings:

1. Shop around.

To identify the best bank with the most friendly interest rates, you must come out of your comfort zone and shop around. You might have had a savings account at a certain lending institution since your childhood. But, this does not imply that that particular bank is the best place to save your money when the rates are increasing.

Banks offer extremely different interest rates. It is possible to find that banks in the same geography and targeting the same market may have interest rates on similar products that are very different. One bank can offer a one percent interest rate on a certain product, while another might provide a rate of zero, and yet another might provide a rate of two percent. Additionally, keep in mind that just because a certain bank has increased its rates, it is not guaranteed that your bank will do the same.

Thus you must compare the rates among the different types of banks and other credit unions. Failure to conduct such a comparison of the rates might as well hinder your personal financial progress.

A great starting point might be the Bestcashcow.com. We enable individuals to check both local and online money market account rates, as well as yields on certificates of deposits.

Click here to check the best online rates! If you are looking to save more, check the latest cd rates!

It has been proven that most customers find it quite difficult to abandon their previous banks. This could be the moment to make the decisive move.

2. Consider bypassing the brick-and-mortar institutions.

Online banking institutions offer comparatively higher interest rates to the brick-and-mortar banks.

Most savers are always concerned with the security and safety of the online banks but you should know that these banks are always secure as long as you stay within established FDIC or NCUA limits.

The online bank accounts are insured by the Deposit Federal Insurance Corp (F.D.I.C), just like the traditional banks. Most of them are owned by big players in the financial service sector including Discover Bank, American Express Bank, and Goldman Sachs Marcus. Others include the online sub-divisions of the so-called brick-and-mortar banks.

Since banks operating online are cheaper to manage they are likely to share a part of that savings to their customers. Most of them always accept clients throughout the nation.

Older customers might be hesitant to change to online-only financial institutions, whereas younger millionaires don’t even want to be seen walking into a bank nowadays.

3. Go local.

If you want a bank that you can visit occasionally, you should definitely consider working with either a community bank or a credit union. In a rising rate environment, some such smaller institutions often increase their rates more often than the behemoths. Often, these organizations need to generate deposits much faster.

Even though the rates of these banks might be higher, on most occasions their branch network is limited. This could be a major disadvantage, especially if you are a frequent traveler who always wants to access a branch or use a fee-free card of ATM while traveling.

Yet, most credit unions are part of a network that enables individuals to conduct their banking services with any credit union that is a member and use its ATM for free.

4. Avoid at all cost bait-and-switch.

Individual banks might provide attractive interest rates in a bid to seek your attention, only to decrease them after a few months.

Financial institutions can increase or lower their respective rates on savings. But promotional or introductory rates are only meant to last for a shorter period.

You should conduct a small research and read and understand the fine print before opening a savings account.

(As a policy, BestCashCow does not list short term bait-and-switch rates or exploding rates, such as those offered by EverBank, as these are always a bad deal of the depositor).

5. Stay liquid.

Keep your cash liquid at a time when the rate is starting to increase.

The prospect of keeping your money in the savings account offers you the flexibility that a certificate of deposit cannot provide. A CD requires individuals to lock in their rate for a particular time. It could be for as short as three months or as long as several years. While CDs can always play a role in a balanced portfolio, you should be careful a large part of your portfolio to CDs if you feel that we may be entering an environment with increasing interest rates.

Most short-term CDs offer similar rates to the top paying saving accounts. Also, other CDs have even lower rates of interest. Let us assume that you purchase a one-year certificate of deposit that offers an interest rate which is the same as that of a savings account. If the rates on the savings account start rising, you will be forced to keep your money in the lower-rate CD until the end of the year. And if you withdrew the money from the CD early, so as to transfer it to a savings account, you would get penalized!

6. Put savings on autopilot.

You should look for an institution that offers a savings account that pays higher rates of interest coupled with a checking account. This way you the paycheck will be deposited into your checking account and a portion of it will be transferred automatically to your savings account.

When you first pay yourself automatically and complement it with higher rates, it makes your savings grow a little bit quicker.

7. Understand the account conditions and terms.

You must know that not each and every bank has the same conditions and terms for opening a new savings account.

Certain banks may allow opening an account with one deposit; while others might require a minimum deposit of ten thousand.

Also, you might need to keep some amount of cash in your account so as to earn interest. On the other hand, you may get a lower interest rate if you have only a few hundreds of dollars, rather than thousands, on deposit in your account.

And certain banks normally charge a service fee on a monthly basis, if you don’t keep a certain minimum amount in your account. So you should really read the account disclosures before opening an account.

We all know the expression that cash is king. But with rates on savings, checking accounts, and CDs below 1%, the question is, how much of a king? How much money should an individual hold in cash?

I spoke with Marc Freedman, President of Freedman Financial in Peabody, MA who said that individuals should "never use their investment account as their emergency fund." In general, he recommends that individuals hold enough money in cash to handle six to nine months of fixed expenses. While it's nice to get interest on your money, he said the main goal of your emergency fund is that it be safe and accessible. For this reason he recommends savings accounts or money market accounts.

--------------------------------------------------------

• View the best savings account rates.
• View the best CD rates.

--------------------------------------------------------

Good advice. I personally also like to hold cash if I have an impending big expense. If I am making a major purchase within one to two years, then I'll generally switch the funds to cash to be prudent. We've all heard stories about friends, or friends of friends who planned to buy a home and the down payment evaporated along with the stock market. In this case, a savings or money market account, or a certificate of deposit might be the right fit.

Warren Buffett keeps an enormous amount of cash on hand to be ready and liquid should the right investment opportunities arise. Since Buffett had cash-on-hand, he was able to loan Goldman Sachs and Bank of America money at very advantageous terms. Having cash when others don't can be a big advantage.

Contrarian View of Cash

There are some that argue that cash can even be part of an overall investment portfolio. Marketwatch reported in 2011 about investor Charles Almon advisory service called Growth Stock Outlook. In 1986, Almon moved the bulk of his portfolio to cash and has kept it there ever since. His portfolio is 76% cash and holds just four stocks: Altria Group, Bristol-Myers Squib, Newmont Mining, and Phillip Morris. Despite the fact that he has held mostly cash for one of the largest bull markets in U.S. history, as of September 2011, his portfolio registered an annualized gain of 8.6% versus an annualized gain for the Dow of 8.4%. This is not a truly fair comparison since the Dow annualized gain does not include dividends. But it is still interesting that Almon's cash-rich portfolio came out ahead when just comparing prices.

Two things contributed to this. Great stock selection. Almon's stocks outperformed the overall stock market. And the volatility of the stock market. During the Internet boom and the housing bubble, Almon was well behind. But the stock market fell back to a mean growth level. While there have been some big negative years for the stock market, Almon's cash holdings have never lost money. Instead, they grow and compound every year.

Is this saying that an investor should put all of their money in a 2% 5-year CD? No. But having an emergency fund in cash isn't necessarily the worst investment either.

Building a Cash Fund

Here's how I think about how much cash I should hold. I add:

1. Emergency Fund: Six to nine months of fixed living expenses.
2. Major Purchase Fund: Any major purchases I plan to make over the next one to two years (I like to pay out of savings instead of taking on debt via a home equity loan, mortgage refinance, etc.). This could include paying for a wedding, paying for college tuition, putting a down payment on a home, house renovation costs, etc.
3. Opportunity Fund: A small portion of my investable portfolio that I keep in reserve should a good investment opportunity arise quickly.
4. Peace of Mind Fund: A portion of my funds that I set aside for peace of mind. The older the investor, the larger this might be. Remember, the purchasing power of this fund may shrink over time if inflation exceeds the savings rate so this peace of mind may comes with a price.

For other opinions and to determine your specific cash allocation, speak to a qualified financial advisor.

No matter what percent you put in cash, make sure to get the best rate on the money in the bank. As Charles Almon showed, by being prudent, a cash investment can still grow. The best bank rates are often 1% higher than the average rates.

• View the best savings account rates.
• View the best CD rates.