Transferring Money: Online Savings Accounts Provide Unique Options
July 10th, 2008 by David Weliver
When it comes to high yield savings accounts, interest isn’t everything. On a $10,000 balance, the monthly difference in earnings between HSBC Direct’s 3.5% APY and E*Trade’s 3.3% is $1.60. A more important question is: With this online savings account, how can I move my money?
Today’s top three high yield savings accounts (HSBC, ING, and E*Trade) all have different policies on linking checking accounts and transferring funds in and out. You can link any of these online savings accounts with checking accounts and transfer money electronically in 2-3 business days.
But each of these banks has a unique competitive advantage when it comes to linking other kinds of bank accounts. Which model is best for you?
E*Trade — E*Trade’s high yield savings account enjoys a distinct advantage of being easily linked with a full-service online brokerage account for stock trading, as well as a free online checking account offering 3.25% APY on balances over $5,000. For anybody with a healthy checking account balance and an online stock portfolio, E*Trade is your bank.
ING Direct — ING Direct offers a 1.75% APY free checking account (3.15% for balances over $50k) along with its Orange Savings Account, but its real advantage lies in the saver’s ability to create an unlimited number of sub-accounts, making it easy to track for and save for multiple goals at one time.
HSBC Direct — Finally, HSBC Direct offers the ability to link your account to another high yield savings account (for example, ING). That’s something no other bank (that I know of) allows you to do!
For more information on where to save, read our comparison of high yield savings accounts.
On Jul 11, 2008, Katherine said:
Thanks for this. I’m in the process of researching online banks which is much more convenient than the local bank, especially since we move a lot. This is something to keep in mind.