TyrconnellFL t1_iuioyy1 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 5:01 PM

With online banks it’s not all that much effort to open new accounts and shuffle money around. For a big jump, like from Bank of America to anywhere, it’s worth it. The more money you have in savings, obviously, the more a difference in APY is worth.

I’ve done it, but less than 0.5% isn’t worth it to me. It is to other people. It’s individual! Differences pop up more in more volatile times, like right now.

Rates mostly track with the fed. I haven’t heard of any banks going down while rates are rising.

To me, the quality of the bank also matters a lot. I don’t want to get locked out of my account when I need money, I don’t want to fight with customer service forever, and I do want reasonably robust and functional services. All it takes is one problem because you can’t actually get your emergency fund and all the interest differences are eaten. I’ve found SoFi to have not the absolute best rates but close to it, and with reliably user-friendly website/app and accessible and responsive customer service, so I’ve stuck with mostly them even when their rates have lagged some of the other offerings slightly.

DontDoxMeDaddy OP t1_iuisvg4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 5:26 PM

Yeah I figured as long as the Fed were raising rates, I wouldn't see a drastic drop in rates.

But doing some research on savings accounts in this sub, I've seen some people mention that they've had their bank introduce new account types with higher rates, while their rate gets quietly cut back.

I didn't consider really the customer service aspect. I would indeed be using this account as an emergency fund, and would hate to be locked out on a rainy day.