Comments on: Dollar Savings Direct: 2.05% APY Emigrant Clone

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:22:46 +0000

No one pays interest… for one simple reason. While in transit the money is at the Federal Reserve who does not pay interest. With DSD, transfers have usually appeared in my linked account the nest business day.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:09:57 +0000

Bill, thanks for the tip on First Trade Union Bank. I’ve just spoken to them, and checked them out at the FDIC Web site. They’re really small, with total deposits of $377 million. They’re owned by the New England Carpenter’s Annuity Fund. The FDIC certificate number is 32551.

They confirmed that they will accept ACH transactions in and out initiated by other banks, or you can mail or fax a letter requesting a check, which they will mail the same day. They have branches in Boston and New York where you can do deposits and withdrawals.

They wouldn’t, of course, say anything about how long they’ll be offering >3%, except to say that they intend to “remain competitive”.

Looks like a great find.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:44:58 +0000

I looked at Centeniel Bank but they do not have any online access to view statements, transactions or transfer funds. Everything must be done via phone, or mail.

I opened an account at First Trade Union Bank. Also 4 Stars at BankRate.com. Their APR is 3.04%. Their web page states they won’t have transfers until July 2009 but at least they have online visibility and you can link an external account to make deposits or withdrawals until then……

“When opening your account with First Trade, your initial deposit must be made by check.

External transfers cannot be initiated through your First Trade account at this time. This functionality is targeted for July 2009.

External transfers can be initiated from another financial institution to or from your First Trade account”

By: New Jersian

New Jersian — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:18:48 +0000

Does anyone have experience or opinion with Centeniel bank, 4 star rating? They offers 3.3% APY, it seems to be highest saving interest rate.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:04:41 +0000

I had a difficult experience with Everbank. It somehow opened two accounts, and no one at Everbank was able to resolve it — I’ve e-mailed and called many times. They tell me they will close the accounts, but it just doesn’t happen.

I canceled my initial funding, and decided not to bank with them at all, but to this day (two months later), I have two accounts at Everbank with zero balance.

Plus, I just visited their site to see if my accounts were still active before posting (they are), and I see their first year APY is 1.87. It’s really less 1.65, but they massage the numbers because you get a “bonus rate” of 2.51 for the first three months.

If you have more than $10K, Capital One is at 2.01. Their site isn’t as user friendly as ING, where I’ve been since 2006, but the rate is quite a bit better.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:58:53 +0000

Well, I know it’s not relevant to everyone, but in the case of Omni bank last week FDIC did not cover amounts over $250,000. Some people thoughtlessly bought $250K CD’s, and didn’t realize that their accumulated interest would be uninsured. They will become general creditors, and may or may not get that money back. When there is a takeover, even the uninsured money has usually been safe and immediately available.

Not a big deal, but when there are safe banks around (either because they are really safe, or because they are in the “too big to fail” category, e.g. Citi and BofA) why not go there?

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:49:23 +0000

GMAC is a fine bank, I haven’t heard anything bad about them since the whole issue with them converting to a bank holding near the end of last year.

By: Jae

Jae — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:49:22 +0000

I’ve switched over to GMAC from DSD. Everything is very similar to DSD except when you transfer $ out of Gmac to your external bank account, it usually takes 3-5 business days to get to the other bank. Meanwhile the amount of $ you transfer out of gmac gets deducted from your main balance immediately. Who pays interest for my $ while it’s en route to my external account? shady…

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:48:58 +0000

The number of banks failing has increased but I have yet to hear of a glitch, have you?

By: Charlie

Charlie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:42:09 +0000

@Tom: I have both savings and CD accounts at GMAC. They have great service, friendly people, and they get everything right. That, plus a **** rating from Bankrate.com makes them, I think, a good bet.

@Jim: I can’t agree about ratings not mattering. FDIC insurance guarantees you will get your money eventually, but it doesn’t guarantee a hassle-free experience. They’re now starting to shut down more banks, and actually pay out the insurance, as opposed to their traditional practice of finding another bank to take over the accounts. Because of this, there are bound to be delays and glitches.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:32:36 +0000

Jim, I appreciate your help very much…

I had a look at your “high yield interest rate page.” Since my balance would be less than $9,999 the interest rate would actually drop to 1.39% after the 3-month bonus rate.

At that point, GMAC would be more interesting.

Do you, or anybody else, have any experience with this bank?

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:22:07 +0000

For a bank? I try to maintain a list of updated interest rates at this high yield interest rate page.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:37:53 +0000

Thank you, Jim…

Would you have a specific recommendation where to look?

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:34:24 +0000

Everbank has one of the best rates now but their system is a bit antiquated, lots of paperwork involved and not as clean and crisp as many people have come to expect. I think, with rates so low, time is better spent elsewhere and you should just pick a bank that has good rates. Dollar Savings Direct isn’t bad but they have low marks from Bankrate and Bauer Financial in terms of capital risk and other factors (but they are FDIC insured so those rankings are meaningless to me).

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:29:10 +0000

I have been doing some research on OSA’s and came across this thread.

Very informative!!!

I have no experience with investing, saving accounts, CD’s, stocks, etc.

OSA’s seemed like a good starting point to learn about how money can work for me, a form of “investing”.

Everybody here seems so experienced.

What OSA’s would you consider a good choice right now?

I read up on Everbank and it had horrible reviews from many, many customers.