CIT Bank is consistently an online and with the highest savings interest rate. The reason why is because CIT Bank has no expensive retail chains or large overhead. As a result, savers like you and I can take advantage.
Thanks to policies by the Federal Reserve, savings account interest rates are WOEFULLY light. The average saving interest rate is around 0.1%. That is pretty pathetic as an investment return. That said, the purpose of a savings account is NOT for investment purposes!
The purpose of a savings account is for liquidity and capital preservation purposes. It’s inappropriate to compare a savings interest rate return to a stock, bond, structured note, or even a CD. The appropriate comparison to a savings account is another savings account or a checking account.
I’ve currently got about $80,000 in a savings account yielding just 0.2% because I’ve got property taxes to pay, trips to take, and a reserve just in case the stock markets get very ugly so I can invest. The problem is, I hate it when my money isn’t working for me.
It hit me how pathetic my 0.2% savings interest rate is after I noticed just a $197 interest return for the entire year with an average balance of $100,000. As a result, I’m moving my money to CIT Bank this year!
CIT Bank SAVINGS ACCOUNT REVIEW
CIT Bank currently offers around a 0.4% saving account interest rate. I’m not going to get rich off of a 0.4% return, but at least I’ll make much more in a interesting checking account. Further, I’m not risking my money in more growth stocks and other risk assets.
CIT Bank Online Savings Account Fees
A CIT Bank account doesn’t require as many fees due to the lack of overhead given it is an online bank. There’s no branch to maintain, so the savings can be passed down to the account holder in the form of fewer fees and a higher interest rate. In fact, CIT Bank doesn’t charge any fees at depending on balance.
CIT Bank Savings Account Rate
Even though this account is basically free to maintain, it still offers one of the most competitive interest rates currently available for comparable accounts. CIT Bank consistently has the highest savings interest rate I’ve seen.
Do know that the 0.4% APY is the “Preferred” rate, which you obtain by maintaining a balance of $25,000 or more. The standard rate on the CIT Bank savings account for balances under $25,000 is still 0.4% APY, or 4X the national average.
How Do I Transfer Money In And Out Of An Online Savings Account?
One of the things that tends to scare people away from online savings accounts is the fact that there’s no physical branch to visit. They wonder how it’s possible to make deposits without putting a check in the mail, or fear that withdrawing money when it’s urgently needed will take too long. While some online savings accounts are definitely less than convenient, the CIT Bank savings account makes transferring money very easy and fast.
By linking an existing checking account to the CIT Bank savings account, you can electronically transfer money in and out of the account whenever you want. The checking account doesn’t have to be a CIT Bank account either. After linking the checking account, call and request an activation of outbound transfer. I’ve got accounts open with multiple banks due to the $250,000 FDIC limit, hence access to cash is quite easy.
You also have the option of requesting a check be mailed to your home by calling. Outgoing wire transfers are also available and free for CIT Bank savings accounts with a balance of $25,000 or greater. This is one of the highest savings interest rate today.
NEVER STOP OPTIMIZING YOUR FINANCES
To build wealth, you’ve got to be persistent in looking for the best deals to earn you more and save you more. The internet makes finding the best rates easy. A 1% difference compounded over 30 years makes a huge difference to the amount of money you’ll end up with.
I’ve been sitting on $75,000 cash at 0.2% because I was just too lazy to move money away from my existing bank. Before the internet, it was a pain to move money. Now it just takes several clicks of a button. If someone were to ask me whether I’d like an extra $700 for 10 minutes of work, I would say hell yeah! Now that I’m no longer working, every basis points counts!
The key really is to take stock of all your cash during volatile times and optimize your cash for the best returns possible while you wait. We’re at the tail end of a 7-8 year bull run since 2009. Returns are much harder to come by.
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Related post: How Much Savings Should I Have Accumulated By Age?
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I use Royal Bank of Missouri online banking. 2.42% (APY) up to $25k, and you get .75% for any balance above that. I have been a customer for years, and have never had any issues. An added bonus is an ATM card that can be used anywhere (they reimburse the fees monthly, up to $25 per month). No fees for transfers in & out (I move money to & from my Fidelity accounts occasionally (1 year return on my roth +36.79%, ytd on my 401k +10.10%). And they’ll even send you a card for your birthday!
Joe, that savings rate sounds too good to be true. I checked online and it’s below 1%. Do you mind sending me a link to that online savings rate?
Thanks!
Here ya go!
Gotcha. So it’s a checking account that is fluid and requires transactions it seems. Not a bad deal for those with less than 25k indeed.
I am open to suggestions on where I should park the excess funds. 75 bps seems decent for money that I want to keep safe & liquid.
thoughts anybody?
To me, it makes no sense to keep large amount like $25K in saving account. I keep about $1K in checking and $5K in saving only. For rest of emergency fund, we use treasury direct to create monthly ladder with I-series bond. After one year the money is available with only 3 mos of interest penalty, and after 5 years without penalty. Even with CIT, the return is paltry compared to US Treasury I-series Bond with better risk profile.
I use ING and Capital One. I understand ING is being taken over by Capital One in the US so I’m not sure if that limits the FDIC cover to what is covered by one bank? Maybe I should look for another just in case?
I’d be shocked if Cap One or ING do not have the same $250,000 FDIC insurance guarantee as CIT Bank.
After the financial crisis, I spread my assets to multiple banks due to the $250,000 cap.
I meant when they were separate they had 250 + 250 coverage, now do they just have 250 combined because they are the same institution. I’m not sure.
I get .80 from my credit union – thus I will not be opening an account.
Right now I have about $50,000 there but I will make a decision about a good portion of that money early next year. I will likely use it to pay down my mortgage.
I also have about $210,000 in I bonds purchased 10 plus years ago that pay 5-8 percent interest.
Gotta love them i bonds!
Maybe in the past before the time of internet. But now, it’s actually counterproductive to keep your liquid money in 0.1% rates when the Internet has allowed us to move money and find great rates with a click of a button. Everybody certainly should be refinancing down their debts no question about it.
Earning $1,005 off of a $100,000 average savings balance might not be worth it toyou, but for me, I enjoy the added income. Making money and saving money is much an attitude as it is about doing it.
Please share what you are doing with your money.
Thx!
When I was at Wells Fargo I believe my interest rate was 0.01%. Don’t quote me, because it was a few years ago that I jumped ship, so I might not be remembering correctly. Now I’m at Ally where I’m getting 0.95%.
I used to use CIT for equipment financing for our customers. I did not know they act a bank now. Online savings has created a very interesting market for online only banks and brick and mortar banks too. I wonder if personal lending and saving may become the specialties of the internet.
For those that don’t have $25k minimum, they can open a Sallie Mae MMA, which has no minimum and offers 1.05%. I recently switched $50k over to them (from DollarSavingsDirect, which is down to 0.70%). Although I would have met the CIT minimum, I didn’t like the idea of CIT dropping the rate if for some reason I had to use part of that emergency fund.
Good to know, although Sallie Mae MMA can drop their rate anytime as well.
The only account that does not change their rates is a CD account and I’m not an advocate of CDs at current rates anymore. New post coming up.
Yes, they can drop their rate. I was referring to the tiered rate based on account balance. With Sallie Mae, you get the same rate whether you have a balance of $10,000 or $50,000.
There’s no way I would lock up money with a CD at these rates. Instead, I have been using Vanguard’s VFIIX for the last 3-4 years. Unfortunately the returns have been going down as people have been refinancing, but it has given me a better return than 5-year CDs without having the time commitment.
Savings account rates are sad now. We save with ING Online Direct and it’s been fine but it’s just insurance for times when we need cash. It does lead me to wonder if there are other places that our money should be.
I always wondered how the no branch thing works. Thanks for explaining that. Makes perfect sense. I think I will always have at least one traditional bank but I like their savings rates way more than what I’m getting now!
Makes me wonder how banks like Chase are going to be able to compete. They have branches about every 1-2 blocks in SF. Their overhead costs must be ginormous!!
Rates do change indeed. A bank can decide to raise their rates if they want more deposits, or lower their rates if they have enough and can’t find anything else to lend/invest in. Inflation, the economy, and all sorts of exogenous variables happen.
This is why I love my RateBrain widget up top to keep track of all rates for me. We need to be vigilant b/c banks have specials all the time. During the Financial Crisis, WAMU was offering 4.5% CD rates… a full 0.5%-0.75% higher than everyone else b/c they desperately needed the money! All is safe for deposits under 250K per person.
CIT and Ally have the best rate right now. I transfer my cash saving to CIT and I’m happy with it so far.
You need to call and request an activation of outbound transfer if you want to withdraw. Linking the accounts is not enough. I found out last week.
Great to know! Have included the detail in the post. Thx.
I am getting 1.35% on my savings account (in Canada) with ING with no minimum balance. You may want to check them out. They offer no fee banking as well.
Just checked online and their latest savings rate says 0.75% in the US unfortunately. Canada and US although neighbors, are different countries, have different inflation rates, and regulations etc. If I go to India, I can get a 7% yielding online savings account no problem!
It takes too long for me to transfer stuff from my online savings account to my checking. For only < 1% yield it's not worth it. For yield I usually just stick to stocks. The Fed is really forcing me to ignore SAs these days.
My current savings account offers just 0.05% interest, which is even more pathetic and lower than the average rate, haha. It’s so low that I don’t even bother checking anymore, and just assume it’s earning me 0% interest. Then again, I only have a few thousand in there serving as my “just in case”/minor-emergency fund.
1.05% sounds like a good deal! $700 for 10 minutes of work? Hard to beat that!
Wow… 0.05% interest sucks. I would be really mad if my bank just gave me that! Ask them if they have different options, like a high interest checking option at the very least. It’s the principle that counts at this point!
Seems like a decent account. I would not advice anyone to hold more than what is covered by FDIC in any bank.