AmTrust Direct CD Rates

AmTrust Direct's e-money market account is currently paying 5.30% and their CD rates are not that bad either.
Minimum deposit to open and earn interest: $1,000.00
Compound frequency: Daily

CD Term	Interest Rate	APY
6 MONTH PROMO CD	5.317%	5.46%
9 MONTH PROMO CD	5.270%	5.41%
12 MONTH PROMO CD	5.270%	5.41%
18 MONTH PROMO CD	5.023%	5.15%
24-MONTH PROMO CD	4.927%	5.05%
30 MONTH PROMO CD	4.927%	5.05%
36-MONTH PROMO CD	4.880%	5.00%
60 MONTH PROMO CD	4.975%	5.10%

Indymac Bank CD Rates

As CD rates drop across the board, Indymac Bank has substantially better rates than most. Here is a look at their Internet CD Rates:

Term		Interest Rate		APY

3 Month		5.31%		5.45%
5 Month		5.21%		5.35%
6 Month		5.31%		5.45%
7 Month		4.93%		5.05%
9 Month		5.07%		5.20%
1 Year		5.12%		5.25%
18 Month		4.88%		5.00%
2 Year		4.69%		4.80%
3 Year		4.69%		4.80%
4 Year		4.69%		4.80%
5 Year		4.69%		4.80%

Product Features and Requirements
·	Minimum to open is $5,000 (Internet Only).
·	Terms are from 90 days to 5 years.
·	For customized terms, other than those listed above, please call our Customer Contact Center.
·	Interest is compounded daily and paid or reinvested into the account monthly or at maturity. The interest rate depends on the term of the CD.
·	A penalty will be assessed for early withdrawal.
·	For your convenience, your CD renews automatically for the same term at the current rate at that time.

GMAC Bank Rate Drop

GMAC Bank's online savings account rate dropped from 5.25% to 5.20%. Their CD rates dropped as well.

E-Loan Savings Account Rate Drop

E-Loan Savings account rates dropped from 5.50% APY to 5.38% APY. As you might have noticed E-Loan has dramatically slashed down their rates on CD from 5.75% to 5.25% and below. Where CD rates depend on the balance. I personally am disappointed with E-Loan. They have had one too many glitches, other problems and rate drops. What's in store for E-Loan? Only time will tell. Tomorrow we shall see what the other online savings banks are going to do with their rates like GMAC who update their rates every Friday. They might be slashing down their rates very soon.

Online Savings Accounts Rates Change

Today, GMAC Bank's savings rate changed from 5.30% to 5.25%. Their CD rates fell as well. ING Direct savings accounts had a little change from 4.40% o 4.50%. They are now sending invitation for their checking accounts. More details to follow tonight.

GMAC Bank Rasies Savings Rate to 5.30% APY

GMAC Bank has raised their savings and CD rates today. They raised their online savings account rates from 5.25% to 5.30% APY. GMAC offers an ATM card, check writing and ACH transfers.

E-LOAN Savings Update II

I finally got a reply from them and this is what it said:

"Thank you for your message.
Interest is calculated using the daily balance method and credited on the monthly anniversary.
For example: If you opened your account on October 24th, the interest would post the 24th of every month. Please reply to this message or call (866) 576-7283 with any questions. Thank you."

E-LOAN Savings Update

I still have not received a response from them. I contacted them via their secure messaging service twice. According to Banking Guy,

"It turns out that your account balance is updated monthly from your anniversary date of your account opening. I opened the account on October 2nd and I my account was credited with interest yesterday on November 2nd. However, electronic statements are issued at the end of each month. On the statement, you'll see interest credited up to the end of the month. On the monthly anniversary, that month of interest will be credited to your account and will be shown on your account page."

I guess that solves the mystery. E-Loan has a long way to perfect their website as there are many issues with it. It's very amateurish if you will. But I can't complain when they have a 5.50% APY !

E-LOAN Savings Account Issues

The relatively new E-Loan savings account has a lot of glitches and problems. First of all, if you make a deposit, for a day or two it shows up as a "debit" rather than a "credit." According to a CSR that is going to be fixed soon. Secondly, I was informed that my e-statement was ready. When I logged on my balance had not changed, I looked at the statement and saw that I earned like $15 in interest on 10/31 but that is not reflecting in my account as of 11/3. What's up with that? I sent them a secured message on 11/1 and am still waiting for a reply. I might call them tonight and check up on that. I will post my findings as soon as I can.

$25 From HSBC For Using Bill Pay

HSBC is offering $25 for using their Bill Pay and paying 3 bills by Nov 30.

"Now, for a limited time offer when you use the free Bill Pay service to pay 3 bills by November 30, 2006, we'll send you a $25 HSBC MasterCard® Gift Card. Sign up or log on today!

*Gift card will be sent 6 to 8 weeks after expiration date. Limit one per household. Limited time offer. Only payments made using the Bill Pay service are eligible for this offer."

Promotion Link

$25 Sign Up Bonus Citi e-Savings Account

Well well well! Citibank finally came out with the sign up bonus of their e-savings account! You can get $25 for opening up a new e-savings account. However, you need to open up an EZ checking account as well. I will let the AD do the talking Click here for the promotional page.
Code: CSCL

Citibank does perform a hard credit pull to open these accounts.

AmTrust Direct CD Rates

I have never used AmTrust but they have very attractive CD rates with low minimums. The highest yield is in the 12 month CD with the 5.71% APY this might be a good option for those who are looking to lock in a good rate. Even their long term CDs have much better rates that other banks. AmTrust Direct is FDIC insured. I am going to look into this any maybe put away some money for a while.

Certificates of Deposit Rates (Copied from the AmTrust Website)

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	Interest Rate	APY	CD Term	Compound Frequency	Min. to Open
6 Month Promo CD	5.459%	5.61%	6 months	Daily	$1,000.00
9 Month Promo CD	5.450%	5.60%	9 months	Daily	$1,000.00
12 Month Promo CD	5.554%	5.71%	12 months	Daily	$1,000.00
18 Month Promo CD	5.402%	5.55%	18 months	Daily	$1,000.00
24 Month Promo CD	5.364%	5.51%	24 months	Daily	$1,000.00
30 Month Promo CD	5.317%	5.46%	30 months	Daily	$1,000.00
36 Month Promo CD	5.289%	5.43%	36 months	Daily	$1,000.00
60 Month Promo CD	5.317%	5.46%	60 months	Daily	$1,000.00

CD Rates Drop Again

Citibank's 5.50% 6 month CD rates just dropped to 5.25% Whereas GMAC Bank has a 5.40% 12 month CD, their rates are better than Citibank at the moment. ING Direct - Don't even ask! E-Loan has a 5.75% 18 month CD with a $10k min.

As far as savings accounts are concerned in my book E-Loan leads the way with 5.50% and GMAC bankl follows with a 5.25% and coming in third is HSBC DIrect with 5.05% and Citi's 5.00% e-savings account is fourth.

With falling CD rates and no sign of any rate hikes it might be the time to lock in any good rates for a longer period. It has been said that we might see some drop in the prime rate next year which means that we will see a drop in the online savings accounts and CDs.

Savings & CD Rates

After weeks of slashing rates, this week we see a little improvement. GMAC Bank raised their savings rate from 5.00% to 5.25% and today they raised their CD rates up from 5.30% to 5.40%
GMAC BANK (Min deposit $500):
Term: Rate: APY:

	3 months	5.12%	5.25%
	6 months	5.21%	5.35%
	9 months	5.21%	5.35%
	12 months	5.26%	5.40%

On the other hand World Savings has been slashing their rates. Their 6.01% CD went down to 5.76% a few weeks ago and now that's gone too! Their highest paying CD is 5.61% for a 4 month term only. For their online banking their rates are as follows (Note that they have no 6, 9 or 12+ moth CDs!):

Term APY
3- Month 3.16% APY
4- Month 5.61% APY
5- Month 5.26% APY
5- Year 5.14% APY


Another attractive option at the moment is from Citibank that is still running their 5.50% 6 month CD special with a minimum deposit of $500 and 5.00% e-savings account.

E-Loan is still offering the 5.50% online savings account. Refer to me earlier post regarding the E-Loan account.

E-LOAN Savings Account Opening Process

I finally opened the new E-Loan Savings account currently paying a sweet 5.50% The account opening process is quick and painless. You enter your personal information, select a username and password. Enter the information for the external account you want to link either checking or saving and you are done. Keep in mind that they will do two trial deposits and then later withdraw those out. If you are linking a savings account this process will take three withdrawals so make sure you don't go over the limited 6 withdrawals that you are allowed.

GMAC ONLINE SAVINGS RATE: 5.25%

In a startling turn of events, GMAC BANK raised their savings account rates to 5.25% from 5.00% This is a big change considering GMAC had been reducing their rates weekly on CD's. A few good features about GMAC that I have mentioned before is that they offer check writing, check card, online transfers (faster than most banks) and have a history of higher rates than others. There is one downside, they require a $500 minimum balance. Apart from that this is a great account, I have been with them almost a year now and love it. Mostly because I can write checks and fund my checking account at BoA who credit me the amount next day and keep earning interest on the money till the check actually clears.

Time For High Yield Savings Rates To Go Down?

Emigrant Direct's rate went down from 5.15% APY to 5.05% now matching HSBC Direct. ING DIRECT remains at 4.40% and Citibank at 5.00%. With interest rates falling on CDs and savings accounts you might want to consider parking your money in a CD that is paying at least 5.50% or higher.

As mentioned in the earlier post, E-LOAN's high yield savings account is paying a 5.50% on balances over $5000 and 5.25% for balances below that. Please refer to that post here.

E-LOAN Savings Account Update 5.50% APY

Here is the response I got from E-LOAN:

"Thank you for contacting E-LOAN.  In response to your question there are no fees
associated with our savings accounts.  Upon verification of funds in your
account you will be able to make unlimited deposits and up to six withdrawals of
any amount in every calendar month.  However, your interest rate will vary to
reflect current balance of the account.  We do require that you maintain a
balance of at least $500 or your savings account will be subject to closure.

We do not do a credit check for savings accounts.  Your social security number
will be used for identification purposes only.

If we can be of any further assistance please reply to this e-mail or call us at
(866) 576-7283.  Thank you. "


Important Things To Note:

• Min deposit of $500 required otherwise your account maybe closed.
• No hard credit pull!
• Interest varies - by how much? I will call them and get more information.
  

Another Online Bank Joins The Race With 5.50% APY

Forget about ING DIRECT (seriously), and the likes of Citibank, HSBC etc because a new online savings account is in town! Its the new "Free High Yield Online Savings Account" by E-LOAN.
Here is some information from their FAQ's:

• Minimum to open: $5000
• Withdraw/Deposit Money via ACH transfer through E-loan. You can only withdraw money using E-loans withdraw money, no outside debits are allowed.
• You can link only one account and change it only four times a year. (Need more clarification - Emailed)
• Statements issued Quarterly electronically.
  
• Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly. (Good!)
• For balances under $5000 the rate is 5.25% (Confirmation needed)

I have emailed their customer service with many questions. As soon as I get the details I will post them here. One important question I asked them is whether they perform a hard credit pull or not. I have to say this is a very attractive offer and I might open the account, depending on their response. I want to make sure there are no fees, minimum balances etc.

Online Savings Account Mini Review

If you are reading this blog chances are you are already aware of many online savings accounts but here is my personal mini review of a few that I use. I am rating them from 1 star to 5 stars, where 5 stars is the best deal for the buck.

ING DIRECT (****)
This was my first online savings account. Their website is very user friendly ans easy to access. Their current yield is 4.40% that is low compared to other online banks. You need cancelled checks to link external accounts. They currently have a refer a friend program where you get $10 and the person who opens the account with a minimum of $250 gets $25. Apart from their lack of competitiveness in interest rates their customer service and website is great.

Citi e-Savings (***)
Offers 5% APY with no minimum balance requirement but requires a checking account with citibank. The best checking account is the EZ Checking account that is free if you maintain $1500, pay 2 bills online a month or have direct deposit. One good thing about citibank is that they offer good rates on CD's like their 6 month CD is at 5.50% (6% in Texas). They also offer Thank You points that add up and you can get gift cards etc. They also have free online bill pay.

GMAC Bank (*****)
For me this was the best deal! Right now they are offering 5.00% APY. They offer a check card, and checking writing (first 50 checks free!). I find this very appealing as I use Bank of America to pay bills online as they deduct money on the day funds are delivered to the person rather than taking them out 3 - 5 days in advance. So I schedule a payment say for 9/12 in the amount of $500, on 9/12 I go to the bank and deposit my check from GMAC for $500 this way I earn the most interest as it takes time for the check to actually go through plus I put it in the day the payment is deducted (Do not try this if you get holds on your accounts or it is for a larger amount, what works for me might not work for you). You can link many external accounts, they verify using the trial deposit method.

HSBC Direct (****)
The current yield is 5.05% APY apart from their slow funds transfer to and from external accounts it is pretty good. I have their checking account as well so I transfer into the checking and write checks. They have been very competitive with their rates.

Which account is the best for you? That is your pick on what you are looking for. If you have more specific questions feel free to email me and I will be happy to answer any of your questions.