Best high-yield checking accounts for 2024

If you want to earn a discernible amount of interest for your money, everyone knows you need to store it in a high-yield savings account… right?

Wrong.

In recent years, high-yield checking accounts have emerged as a popular banking solution. Even an interest rate of 1% APY adds up over time. If you were to keep a minimum $1,000 balance in that account, that’s $10 you’ll earn in interest. $2,000? That’s $20.

Of course, you can do way, way better than 1%. The only thing that may give you pause before opening one of these accounts is that high-yield checking accounts often come with strings attached. You may need to set up a direct deposit or maintain a minimum balance to qualify.

Is it worth the trouble? I’ve found it’s all about choosing the right bank. Let’s take a look at some of the best high APY checking accounts. You could earn up to 5.25% for relatively zero effort.

Best overall: Liberty Federal Credit Union Vertical Checking
Best for a high intro APR: Elements Financial High Interest Checking
Best for account balances above $20,000: SoFi Checking and Savings
Best for balances up to $10,000: Consumers Credit Union Rewards Checking
Best for a small account balance: La Capitol Federal Credit Union Choice Checking
Best for no minimum balance: Axos Bank Rewards Checking

APY: 3.45% APY on account balances of up to $20,000 (then 0%)
Monthly account fees: $0
Minimum monthly balance: $0
ATM fees: Up to $15 reimbursed
Minimum opening deposit: $25

Liberty Federal Credit Union is the recently rebranded name of the Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union. And despite its formerly hyper-exclusive-sounding moniker, this credit union welcomes just about anyone to open an account. If you have no affiliation via employee groups/organizations, you can simply donate $5 to the Mater Dei Friends & Alumni Association to qualify for a new account.

To earn 3.45% APY on up to $20,000, you’ll need to fulfill a few requirements each month:

Complete at least 15 debit purchases;
Receive one direct deposit;
Log into your online banking account at least once; and
Receive electronic statements.

Otherwise, you’ll earn no interest at all — and you won’t receive any ATM fee reimbursements.

Pros:

Excellent APY on abnormally high $20,000 balance.
No monthly account fees.

Cons:

Requires a $5 donation to open an account for most of us.
Larger-than-average list of monthly tasks to earn the highest APY.
You won’t accrue any interest for money above $20,000.

Elements Financial High Interest Checking: Best for a high intro APR

APY: Promotional 5.00% APY on account balances up to $20,000 (then 0.1% for any higher balance)
Monthly account fees: $0 if you opt into electronic statements
Minimum monthly balance: $0
ATM fees: $0 for transactions within the Alliance One, Allpoint, or CO-OP network (surcharges with any other ATMs will vary)
Minimum opening deposit: $0

The ability to earn 5.00% APY on up to $20,000 is virtually unprecedented. If you park $20,000 in your Elements Financial High Interest Checking account for the first year, you could potentially earn $1,000 in interest! If you’re not impressed by that, you should be.

To earn the promotional APY, you must make at least 15 qualifying transactions each statement cycle. Think debit card purchases, ATM and ACH withdrawals, bill payments, and checks. If you don’t manage to achieve this, you’ll earn an abysmal 0.05% APY that month.

Keep in mind the current non-promotional APY is 2%, and once your account has been open for 12 months, this regular APY will automatically activate on the first day of the next month. In other words, you’ll automatically begin accruing only 2% APY on your balance of $20,000 or less — although “only 2%” is still higher than the vast majority of checking accounts out there.

For any money in your checking account beyond $20,000, you’ll unfortunately still earn an unimpressive 0.1%. And you’re still bound by the 15-transaction requirement to avoid an earning rate of just 0.05%.

But before you try to collect your 4% and run, note that closing your account within 180 days of opening will disqualify you for the 4% return.

Pros:

Incredibly high promotional APY on up to $20,000.
No fees.
$5 deposit from Elements Financial upon account opening.

Cons:

Promotion ends 12 months after account opening.
Interest on balances higher than $20,000 is extremely low

APY: Up to 4.40% on all balances
Monthly account fees: $0
Minimum monthly balance: $0
ATM fees: $0 when withdrawing at ATMs under the Allpoint network (of which there are 55,000) — all others will incur varying fees
Minimum opening deposit: $0

Many high APY checking accounts begin tapering off (or eliminating) the interest you’ll receive after $20,000. Not SoFi Checking and Savings. Even if you have a trillion dollars in your account, you’ll earn 4.40% APY. The only requirement is that you set up direct deposit. If you opt not to do that, you’ll still earn a fair APY.

SoFi Checking and Savings has very customer-friendly policies. You aren’t required to have a minimum balance and you can open an account with no minimum initial deposit. It also has a neat feature that allows you to get your paycheck up to two days early.

If you want to deposit cash, on the other hand, you’ll have to go to a Green Dot retail location. Deposits can cost up to $4.95, which is nearly unforgivable.

Pros:

Extremely easy to open an account.
Earn up to 4.40% APY no matter how high your account balance is.
Ability to receive paycheck two days early.

Cons:

No reimbursements for using an out-of-network ATM.
Up to $4.95 to deposit cash into your account.

APY: Up to 5% on up to $10,000. Balances between $10,000 and $25,000 earn 0.2% APY. Higher balances earn 0.1% APY.
Monthly account fees: $0
Minimum monthly balance: $0
ATM fees: Unlimited reimbursement
Minimum opening deposit: $5

The Consumers Credit Union Rewards Checking is one of the more high-maintenance checking accounts you’ll encounter — but the APY is so delicious that it could definitely be worth the effort.

You’ll earn 3% APY on balances up to $10,000 (after that, APY sharply declines). You’ll need to:

Make at least 12 debit card purchases each month;
Receive either direct deposits, mobile check deposits, or ACH credits of at least $500 each month; and
Enroll in eDocuments.

You’ll also get unlimited ATM reimbursements by meeting these requirements.

However, if you also open a Consumers Credit Union Visa credit card, you can potentially earn significantly more APY. By spending $500 on your card each month, you’ll boost your APY to 4%. And by spending $1,000, you’ll earn an outlandish 5% APY.

If you’ve got $10,000 in your checking account, you could earn $500 in a single year.

Pros:

Up to 5% APY.
No ATM fees.
No monthly fees.

Cons:

You must open a credit card to get the highest APY.
Extremely low APY for balances exceeding $10,000.
You must pay a one-time membership fee of $5.

La Capitol Federal Credit Union Choice Checking: Best for a small account balance

APY: Up to 5.25% APY on up to $10,000
Monthly account fees: None if you meet requirements — otherwise, $8
Minimum monthly balance: $1,000
ATM fees: Up to $25 in reimbursements
Minimum opening deposit: $50

The La Capitol Federal Credit Union Choice Checking account gives you an excellent APY of up to 5.25% on up to $10,000.

Yes, you can earn more but La Capitol won’t require you to open a credit card to earn its highest APY. You’ll only need to make 15 debit card transactions per month (not counting ATM activity). If you make less than 15 transactions, you’ll earn just 0.1% APY for the month.

You’ll be charged a $2 fee if you don’t enroll in e-statements or if the accountholder’s age is under 17 or over 60 (which is… strange).

Enrolling in e-statements is also what unlocks your ability to receive up to $25 in ATM fee reimbursements each month.

Pros:

Excellent potential APY.
Earning the highest APY doesn’t require much effort.

Cons:

You must maintain a sizable average account balance to avoid monthly fees.
There are weird age discrimination fees.

APY: up to 3.30% APY*
Monthly account fees: $0
Minimum monthly balance: $0; more complicated to earn higher APY
ATM fees: Unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements
Minimum opening deposit: $50

With Axos Bank Rewards Checking, you’ll receive up to 3.30% APY*. The rate is variable, but it applies no matter what your balance is.

Limited Time Bonus

Axos Bank Rewards Checking account

The Axos Bank Rewards Checking account is a free checking account with no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements and reimbursements for ATM fees.

Earn a competitive APY and take advantage of a limited time checking bonus.

Special offer: Apply by 6/30/24 to earn a welcome bonus of up to $300! Open a new account and apply code AXOS300.

Pros:

Up to 3.30% APY*
Lucrative welcome bonus
No monthly maintenance fee
Unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements

Cons:

Multiple rate requirements to earn max APY
No physical branches

Use Code AXOS300

Here’s how it works — try to keep up:

You’ll earn an easy 0.40% APY when you receive monthly direct deposits totaling $1,500 or more.
After you’ve set that up, you can earn another 0.30% APY by making 10 transactions of at least $3 each month (or signing up for Personal Finance Manager “Account Aggregation” in Online Banking).
You’ll earn another 1.00% APY by keeping an average balance of at least $2,500 per month in an Axos Invest Managed Portfolios Account.
You’ll earn another 1.00% APY by keeping an average balance of at least $2,500 per month in an Axos Invest Self Directed Trading Account.
Finally, you’ll get an additional 0.60% APY when complete full monthly payments on an Axos Bank mortgage, personal loan, or auto loan.

These numbers add up to 3.30% APY*. A bit convoluted, but decent earning potential.

Pros:

The up to 3.30% APY*.

Cons:

Earning the highest APY requires jumping through a notable amount of hoops.
You’ll need to float thousands of dollars with Axos for the best rate.

» MORE: Sign up today or read our whole Axos Bank Rewards Checking Review

First things first: checking and savings accounts are meant to be used differently.

A checking account is where business is done. You can pay bills, freely withdraw and deposit money (for the most part), move money to other accounts, etc.

A savings account gives you more limited access to your money; it’s designed as a place for your money to gather dust (hence, “savings” account). Savings accounts may severely limit the number of transactions you can perform each month. You likely won’t even receive a debit card when opening a savings account.

No matter which best fits your goals (perhaps both do!), a high APY account will benefit you the most, as long as you can satisfy all the account terms.

There are plenty of options when it comes to high-yield checking accounts. But there’s far more to a great checking experience than the interest you earn. Examine other elements, like rewards and unique features.

Here are three things to keep in mind during your search:

Requirements and restrictions — Pay close attention to the minimum balance requirement. Some don’t start paying the higher rate until you have thousands of dollars in the account.
Access to account — Sure, you’ll have a mobile app, but what happens when you need cash? What happens when you have a check to deposit? Look at the options available to you based on where you live, and make sure you won’t pay a fortune in fees for the convenience.
Bonus features — Some checking accounts issue interest and rewards. When comparing various accounts, don’t discount this value. Earning cash back on every dollar you spend can add up, bringing in far more than you’d earn in interest over the same time period.

» MORE: Best Checking Account Bonuses

If you’ve regularly got several thousand dollars in your checking account, you’re losing money by not using a high APY checking account. Potentially hundreds of dollars, in fact.

It’s like they say — you need money to make money. The more you’ve got in your checking account, the more noticeable your yield will be. For example, if you’ve got $10,000 in an account that earns 4%, you’ll receive a whopping $400 per year for doing practically nothing.

You probably already know the importance of saving, but it’s equally important that you put your money to work for you. Low-risk, high-interest savings accounts are one of the best ways to do this. Being able to have the money in your checking account working for you is a huge bonus.

That said, a high-yield checking account may not be for everyone. Here are some people who might not benefit as much:

Diligent savers

If you’re diligent about moving most of your money over to interest-bearing accounts, the low balance you keep in your checking may not be worth it. These types of accounts work best for those who prefer to keep most of their money in their checking.

Those with low funds

Anyone with low balances who are trying to get ahead of their bills may find earning interest is the last thing they need to worry about. This mostly applies if the account you’re considering requires you to keep a minimum balance or restricts you to a fixed number of withdrawals a month.

Frequent cash users

Since most high-yield checking accounts are money market accounts, watch out for a limit on withdrawals with the lender you choose. You should also be cautious about any out-of-network fees. Many lenders will reimburse those fees, but if you’re restricted to a fixed number of ATMs, check to make sure there’s one in your area.

Although the above are our favorite high-yield checking accounts, it can’t hurt to research for yourself. I’ve given you a baseline, letting you know what’s available, but the best account for you depends on your own spending habits and typical account balance.

With a little shopping around, you can find a checking account that will provide all the features you find most important. And remember: interest rates can change at any time. It might not be the best idea to fully invest in a bank just because of the current APY it offers.

Best high-yield checking accounts for 2024