When it comes to savings accounts, the two most important factors to consider are the interest rate and the Annual Percentage Yield (APY).

The interest rate is the percentage of your deposited funds that the bank will pay you over the course of a year.

The APY takes into account the interest rate as well as any compound interest that may be earned. In general, savings accounts with higher APYs will grow faster than those with lower APYs.

However, comparing savings account rates is important before deciding where to open an account.

Some banks offer higher interest rates for larger deposits, while others charge monthly fees that can affect your savings.

By doing your research, you can find the savings account that best suits your needs.

Here’s a quick list, but read on to learn why savings accounts are worth it and how to take advantage of banking trends – even in an environment where finding a high-interest savings account takes more effort.
Here’s a tip, though:

Savings account rates can change anytime, but the best banks for high-interest savings accounts consistently offer some of the highest rates year in and year out.

Which Banks Have the Best Savings Account Rates?

Finding the bank with the best savings account to meet your needs is as simple as using our search tool. Try it now and find your high-interest savings account.

Best Savings Accounts

• CIT Bank
• American Express National Bank, Member FDIC
• Bread Savings™
• Barclays
• Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• Citi
• SFGI
• UFB Direct
• Bank Five
• Ally Savings
• Synchrony Ban

Best Savings Account Reviews

A high-interest savings account is great if you can count on the rate to stay high. Rates are not guaranteed, but the best banks for savings accounts tend to offer consistently higher rates on savings accounts.

Earn the Best Savings Account Interest Rates

The latest survey of savings account rates showed a decline in the interest rates banks are paying to savings account holders.

Yet, most bank customers can still earn much more interest on their savings just by opening an account at one of the banks with consistently high rates.

The following select banks deserve your attention because you can earn up to five times more interest with high-yield savings account from one of these banks than with the average savings account.

By moving your savings from an average, branch-based account at a large, national bank to one of the best banks for a savings account, you can earn more interest.

CIT Savings Connect

CIT Savings Connect is a good choice for consumers who are comfortable banking online and want to do their banking in one place.

Type of Account: CIT Savings Connect

About the bank

CIT Bank was founded in 2000 in Pasadena, California. It offers commercial and personal banking. It is a division of First Citizens Bank.

Key features

CIT offers a full range of banking products to go along with its savings accounts including money market accounts and CDs. CIT has raised APYs on its base and tiered savings, which puts CIT savings account rates much higher than the national average.

Read Our CIT Savings Connect Review

American Express® High Yield Savings Account

Most people know American Express for its personal and business credit cards, but it also has the American Express® High Yield Savings from American Express National Bank, which offers savers a dependable solid return.

Type of account: Online high-yield savings account

About the bank

American Express National Bank (Member FDIC) was established in 1989 and has one domestic branch at its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Key features

The American Express High-Yield Savings Account serves its savings account customers with a high-interest rate and no fees.

The high-yield savings account can be linked to up to three external accounts to facilitate transfers in and out of your savings.

Read Our American Express High Yield Savings Account Review

Bread Savings™

Bread™ offers interest rates higher than the national average on its savings accounts and is good for people who want a simple savings account with a great rate.

Type of account: Bread Savings™

About the bank

Bread™ was formerly Comenity Bank, which was founded in Utah in 1989.

Key features

Bread makes saving money easy. Along with a savings account paying higher than average rates, customers can also open CD accounts.

Read Our Bread Savings™ Account Review

Barclays Savings Account

Barclays Bank is another large bank that keeps its online high-interest savings account in the competitive range. It offers the Barclays Online Savings Account, which maintains a low fee structure in addition to its higher interest rates.

Type of account: Online high-yield savings account

About the bank

Barclays Bank is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, with roots back to London that go back more than 300 years. It was established in 2001 in the U.S.

Key features

The Barclays Online Savings Account consistently offers one of the most competitive rates combined with no fees, and it’s also easy to open and manage your account.

Adding to your high-interest savings account is easy to do with online mobile apps and mobile deposit.

Read Our Barclays Online Savings Account Review

Marcus Goldman Sachs High-Yield Savings Account

Goldman Sachs Bank USA offers the Marcus High-Yield Savings Account, which is consistently among the best of the online high-interest savings account offerings.

Type of account: Online high-yield savings account

About the bank

Goldman Sachs Bank USA was established in 1990. The FDIC reports six branches for the bank, but only three are full-service, brick-and-mortar branches.

Key features

The Marcus High-Yield Savings Account features a competitive interest rate, no fees, and it’s easy to open and manage your account.

Electronic funds transfer and direct deposit are available too.

Read Our Marcus High-Yield Savings Account Review

Citi Accelerate Savings Account

Citi has two different savings accounts tailored to a variety of consumers, the Citi Savings and the Citi Accelerate Savings Account.

Type of Account: Citi Accelerate Savings

About the bank

Citi is the consumer banking division of Citigroup. It was founded in New York City in 1812 as the City Bank of New York.

Key features

Citi has a strong banking network in the U.S. with branches cropping up in many communities

Read Our Citi Accelerate Savings Account Review

SFGI Direct Savings Account

It’s not a fluke that SFGI Direct places high on MoneyRates’ list of best savings accounts. No matter how the economic tide turns, SFGI Direct manages to offer industry-leading rates.

Its consistency as a high-interest savings account provider drives confidence – and SFGI Direct has it hands down.

About the bank

SFGI Direct is the online division of Summit Community Bank, which has locations in West Virginia and Virginia. It is FDIC-insured.

Key features

Simply put, consistent high-interest savings account rates and low fees are the best features of the SFGI Direct Savings Account.

More about SFGI Direct Savings Account Review

UFB Direct Savings Account

If you’ve got at least $10,000 to deposit, UFB Direct offers a high-interest savings account that could keep you quite happy over the long haul.

But until you reach that threshold, it’s best to look at other options.

About the bank

UFB Direct is a division of Axos Bank, which was founded in 2000 and is located in San Diego, California. It is FDIC-insured.

Key features

Even though rates have dropped significantly, the UFB Direct Savings Account offered the highest APY in America’s Best Rates survey over the entire quarter.

It offers the convenience of online banking, including access anywhere you can go online and 24/7 service.

More about UFB Direct Savings Account Review

BankFive

During a period of serious economic headwinds, BankFive maintained the highest savings account interest rates over the entire quarter.

BankFive is a small, regional bank based in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, but its eAccess Savings is an online savings account.

Funds are 100% insured

BankFive’s offerings don’t stop at savings accounts, though. Its real strength is that all BankFive accounts (checking, saving, money market, and CDs) are 100% insured.

BankFive is a member bank of both the FDIC and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF).

So the FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000 and the DIF insures amounts beyond the FDIC limits.

There is no limit to the amount of coverage above the FDIC’s $250,000 limit. That’s a huge perk if you have large sums of money to keep safe.

Type of account: Online high-interest savings account

About the bank

BankFive was founded in 1855 as Fall River Five Cents Savings Bank. It has locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island but also operates online. It is FDIC-insured and DIF-insured.

Key features

Simply put, consistently high-interest rates and 100% protection are the best features of the BankFive eAccess Savings account.

BankFive also offers a robust banking app for iPhone and android and a special savings program for kids called the Nickles savings account.

Ally Savings Account

With online availability and no minimum to open an account, the Ally online savings account gives consumers around the country access to a Top-10 America’s Best Rates savings account.

Type of account: Online high-yield savings account

About the bank

Ally Bank operates out of Sandy, Utah and has one physical location. It was established in 2004 and is FDIC-insured.

Key features

The highly competitive interest rate applies to all balances, and Ally offers mobile deposit and other ways to manage your high-interest savings account efficiently online.

Ally also offers money market accounts, CDs of varying lengths, and even an interest-bearing checking account.

Ally offers a cool feature on its mobile app where you can visualize your savings as being in “buckets” depending on what you’re saving for.

More about Ally Online Savings Account Review

Synchrony High-Yield Savings Account

Synchrony Bank USA offers another option for savers with its competitive interest rates.

The Synchrony High-Yield Savings Account also keeps fees low, even refunding up to $5 in domestic ATM fees every month.

Type of account: Online high-yield savings account

About the bank

Synchrony Bank is based out of Draper, Utah, and has one full-service, brick-and-mortar branch at that location. It was established in 1988.

Key features

The Synchrony High-Yield Savings Account offers all of the common best features of those listed here – a competitive interest rate, no fees, and it’s easy to open and manage your high-interest savings account.

One feature that isn’t common among these banks is you can get an ATM card that charges no ATM fees, although fees may be charged by the bank that owns the ATM machine you use.

But even then, Synchrony refunds up to $5 in ATM fees every statement cycle for eligible Synchrony savers.

More about Synchrony High-Yield Savings Account Review

How We Chose the Best High-Interest Savings Accounts and Banks

At any point in time, it’s fairly easy to identify the best high-interest savings accounts. MoneyRates regularly updates a large list of savings account rates.

The problem is that savings account rates can also change at any time. There is no guarantee that the best banks for savings accounts with the best rate on the day you sign up for a bank account will continue to have the best rate in the months ahead.

However, a series of interest-rate studies by MoneyRates has shown over the years that most of the banks that are near the top in savings account rates tend to stay there quarter after quarter, year after year.

Sure, some newcomers enter the scene and occasionally one of the leaders drops back, but most of the strong high-interest savings account performers continue to offer competitive rates consistently.

For this reason, MoneyRates continuously monitors rates from hundreds of banks and tracks banking trends by measuring rates in a representative cross-section of the banking industry through its America’s Best Rates survey.

This cross-section includes 50 of the largest deposit institutions in the United States and represents nearly three-quarters of all deposits in U.S. banks.

The best savings accounts with consistently high rates are chosen from the top ten banks in the America’s Best Rates survey every quarter.

Are Savings Accounts Worth It?

Yes, they are. High-interest savings accounts are a great place to park your emergency fund, which is money you can access fairly quickly and easily.

You don’t want to put your emergency fund in an investment, because with the daily fluctuations of the market, even in conservative investments, you sometimes must wait to recoup your money when there’s a dip in the market.

A high-interest savings account is also a good place to stash money you’ll need within the next few years for a down payment on a house, a new car, or even a new addition to the family.

Even if not used for an emergency, if it’s money you’ll need within the next five years or so, a savings account is useful.

If you have hard time-saving money, high-yield savings account separate from your other accounts could help.

An online high-interest savings account can still give you fast and easy access to your money, but you may not be as tempted to spend it.

Here are three reasons why high-interest savings accounts are worth it:

• You can think of a savings account like a holding pen for your money.
• While savings account interest rates have declined over the years, a high-yield savings account will still earn you money with your money, something you typically won’t see with a checking account.
• Savings accounts are usually free or very low cost. Fees are waived in many instances, and it doesn’t take a lot of money to open one.

Taking Advantage of Savings Account Trends

A clear trend that the America’s Best Rates survey has identified is a large gap between the average savings account rate and the rates offered by the best banks for savings accounts.

That gap varies, but it has been as much as 1% in recent months.

This wide gap between the best and average rate means there is plenty of room for most savings account customers to improve their interest rate by putting their money in a high-interest savings account, since most savers earn something closer to the average than to the top rate.

If you’re among those whose savings earn next to nothing, this means you could actually raise your rate while most people earn less.

All you have to do is find a high-interest savings account and transfer your funds. It’s one of the simplest ways you can make more money this year.

The online-banking trend pays

You can take advantage of another savings account trend by switching from a traditional bank to an online bank.

A good place to find high-interest savings accounts is with online accounts.

Throughout the entire history of the America’s Best Rates study, online savings accounts have earned higher interest rates than traditional, branch-based accounts.

As of the most recent study, online accounts were earning 17 times more than branch-based accounts.

Consistency is the trend that counts

While savings account rates change all the time, the list of banks with the highest rates stays remarkably consistent.

This consistency means that shopping for rates doesn’t mean changing banks constantly.

If you switch to one of the high-yield savings accounts, chances are you’ll be near the top for some time to come.

What to Consider Before Opening a Savings Account

You might find a high-yield savings account either online or at your local bank branch.

Naturally, the idea of a high-interest savings account sounds good, but here are four things you should check on before you open one:

The legitimacy of the financial institution

Is your bank or credit union well-established and does it have a great reputation for customer service?

The extent of FDIC insurance coverage

Make sure the institution is insured by the FDIC. If you qualify for a high-yield savings account for making a large deposit, make sure the amount does not put you over the FDIC insurance limit, which is currently $250,000 per depositor, per institution.

Restrictions on access to your money

A high-interest savings account may limit how often you can access your money. If you can live with those limitations, take advantage of that strong yield.

But if not, look for a savings account that offers looser restrictions.

Should you get an ATM card?

Some accounts offer the option of an ATM card, including online savings accounts. This may sound like a nice perk, but before you opt for one, ask yourself a couple of questions:

Would easier access result in more spending?

If this account is for savings, will having easier access to your money hurt your savings habits?

Are you sacrificing a higher interest rate for the ATM card?

If so, you might be better off with a conventional checking account for your short-term funds, while finding a high-interest savings account or money market account for your long-term savings.

3 Savings Account Options and Levels of Liquidity

It is important to figure out precisely what you mean when you say you want to keep the money liquid. Is the liquidity need a short-term certainty or just a possibility that could occur sometime in the next few years?

Will your liquidity need to apply to all $40,000, or just a portion of it?

Depending on your answers, here are some options:

1. Savings account or money market account

If you need full liquidity at any time, a savings account or money market account with FDIC insurance coverage is the most appropriate option.

These allow immediate access without penalty, do not fluctuate in value, and offer the security of FDIC insurance limits up to $250,000 per deposit, per covered institution for deposits.

2. A CD with a moderate early withdrawal penalty

The trade-off with certificates of deposit is that they typically offer higher interest rates than savings or money market accounts, in exchange for locking your money up for a specified period of time.

If your liquidity need is at least several months in the future, and/or is only a slight possibility rather than a high probability, the extra yield you can earn on a CD might be worth risking the early-withdrawal penalty, especially if you can find a CD offering a relatively mild penalty.

3. A CD ladder

If your need for liquidity applies to only a portion of your $40,000, you might consider investing just that portion in a savings or money market account, while putting the remainder in long-term CDs.

If you anticipate a series of liquidity needs in the months or years to come, a corresponding series of CD terms with a CD ladder might give you the best combination of yield and liquidity.

Richard Barrington has been a Senior Financial Analyst for MoneyRates. He has appeared on Fox Business News and NPR, and has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, CNBC and many other publications. Richard has over 30 years of experience in financial services. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the Association of Investment Management and Research (now the “CFA Institute”).

Richard Barrington

Financial Analyst

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