Citi Ultimate Money account

[kaborka]

This looked fairly warm if you use online bill payments. I got the Citi checking + 5% savings package when they had a $200 bonus a year or so ago, but since then the savings rate has decreased to 4.5% APY. Now they're offering 5% again, but you have to reapply to get it. This new package pays 5% if you make at least two bill payments per month. The minimum balance reqt remains at $1500 to avoid fees. The only better rate I've seen for a bill payment account is at ING, but it requires $50K balance.

I didn't see any downside to this new account, so I changed my existing savings over to this new one. This seems like a decent deal, but I'm interested in feedback.

Edit: Apparently the min. balance reqt is waived altogether if you're a new Citi banking customer -- see the fine print.

 

[SoulAssassin]

http://www.fnbodirect.com

FNBO Direct is 6% until at least 9/28. No bill pay requirements, no min balance.

 

[GZeus]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
http://www.fnbodirect.com

FNBO Direct is 6% until at least 9/28. No bill pay requirements, no min balance.

Thanks for that! :thumbsup:

 

[openwheelformula1]

wamu has an online savings account with 5.00apy.

 

[kaborka]

Yup, I've got a FNBO account and a WAMU account, too. I've kept the Citi ez-checking since the bonus deal, and I was about to close it when I noticed the "Ultimate" account offer. Since I already have all my billpayments set up there, I might as well keep it. The WAMU deal is equivalent.

Incidentally, the free business checking at WAMU is an excellent deal, too. I have that for my company.

 

[GZeus]

I thought there used to be a consolidated high interest accounts thread...... anyone know where it went?

 

[Ricochet]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
http://www.fnbodirect.com

FNBO Direct is 6% until at least 9/28. No bill pay requirements, no min balance.

Nice!! Thank you, sir.

 

[enddogg]

Here are "The Directs" I've been investigating.

HSBC Direct - www.hsbcdirect.com
5.05% APY
No monthly fees / No Minimum Balance Requirement
Unlimited Number of Linked Accounts
Small ATM Network
non-HSBC ATMs - Reimburse up to 3 per month
ATM Locator: <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.banking.us.hsbc.com/HICServlet?cmd_GetUSMap=&accept-language=en-US">https://www.banking.us.hsbc......ept-language=en-US</a>

FNBO Direct - www.fnbodirect.com
6.00% APY until Sept 28th
No monthly fees / No Minimum Balance Requirement
Maximum of 2 Linked Accounts
Large ATM Network - Any PLUS ATM
non-PLUS ATM - no reimbursement
$2.50 for every withdrawl from any ATM and $1.00 for every balance inquiry any ATM is assessed
Limited to 6 withdrawls per month - I believe this is only via ACH method

ING Direct - www.ingdirect.com
4.50% APY
No monthly fees / No Minimum Balance Requirement
Maximum of 3 Linked Accounts
Large ATM Network - Any AllPoint ATM
non-AllPoint ATM - No Reimbursement
ATM Locator: http://app.ingdirect.com/atmlocate/faqs.html

Citi Ultimate Money Account - www.citibank.com
4.50% APY up to 5.00% APY
No Minimum Balance Requirement
In order to qualify for 5.00% APY, you must pay at least two bills online each month.
Large ATM Network - Any MoneyPass ATM (Any US Bank ATM)
CLAIM to offer ATM Reimbursements if an ATM is not in your area ... I have read horror stories about them not reimbursing so be cautious on this one
Limited to 6 ACH withdrawls per month
I believe this requires opening a EZ Checking Account
Rewards Program - Thank You Point Rewards
ATM Locator: http://go.mappoint.net/citiban...31xh02wfnu)/index.aspx


Citibank Ultimate Savings Account - www.citibank.com
4.65% APY
No monthly fees / No Minimum Balance Requirement
Large ATM Network - Any MoneyPass ATM (Any US Bank ATM)
CLAIM to offer ATM Reimbursements if an ATM is not in your area ... I have read horror stories about them not reimbursing so be cautious on this one
ATM Locator: http://go.mappoint.net/citiban...31xh02wfnu)/index.aspx

WaMu Online Savings Account - www.wamu.com
Includes Free Checking Account
5.00% APY
Account Balance must be a minimum of $300/day in order to avoid $4 service charge each month
Small ATM Network - Pretty much any Walgreen's Store
No non-Network ATM Reimbursement
1 fee waiver Overdraft/Non-Sufficient Funds per year
ATM Locator: http://clients.mapquest.com/wa...ocator?link=findusmain


All of this information is the data I have found from the various websites related to these programs. I take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information. As far as ATM access, if you are opening a savings account you probably aren't worried about ATM access; however, if you didn't need access to the money you'd probably invest your money somewhere else so I'm making the ATM information available for that reason.

Please feel free to correct any errors I might have presented.

I know there are other "Directs" out there but these are the ones I have investigated so far.

Update: HSBC size of ATM Network / Link to ATM Locator
Update 2: Added WaMu Details

 

[kaborka]

Nice summary, Enddog. There are some good savings-only deals about. There are ongoing finance threads at FW. I was focusing on a linked checking-billpay-savings deal where you can earn interest on the balance and move funds to checking only to cover bill payments. The Citi and WAMU deals seem to be the best ones at the moment, unless you can keep a >50K balance in an ING Electric Orange account.