With all of these different online banks around, it’s hard to keep clear which banks do what when comparing with new banks or answering people’s questions. I don’t know how many times I’ve searched the bank websites for the same info that I just searched for a week ago. So I’ve decided to make an information post for each of the banks that offer a good savings rate and that I have an account with. First up, Capital One 360.

Home Page: INGDirect.com
Current APR: 1.25% APY
Interest Compounding: Compounded and credited on a monthly basis.
Minimum to open: $1
Minimum to avoid monthly service charge: None.
Other fees of note: None
Download formats available: .ofx, .qfx files*
Number of external bank account links allowed: 3
Routing Number: 031176110
Opening Bonuses: $25 referral bonus

Deposit Hold Times: (from their site) Generally, you can’t withdraw a deposit for 5 business days. However, when you first open your account, you won’t be able to withdraw any money for the first 10 business days. As with all non-cash deposits, interest will begin to accrue no later than 2 business days after the banking day on which the funds were deposited. (Here’s an example – if you make a deposit on a Sunday, we will process it on Monday, and interest will begin to accrue no later than Wednesday.)

Safety of Deposits: Capital One 360 Bank, fsb is FDIC insured up to $100,000. Still, this does not mean all banks are the same. BankRate.com’s Safe & Sound Rating assesses banks’ relative financial conditions. Capital One 360 has a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.

How to add external link:
– Send them a personal check (for at least $1.00) made out to yourself, and drawn against the account you want linked.
– Include the word “Link”, followed by your Capital One 360 Customer Number in the memo field of the check, make sure you sign it, and send it to the address below.

Contact Information:
Email: sales@ingdirect.com
Mail:
Capital One 360
P.O. Box 60
St. Cloud, MN 56302-0060

Phone:
– For new customers, call 1-800-
– For existing customers, call 1-888-
– To access your account through our Interactive Phone Service call 1-888-

Customer Service Opinion: I actually don’t remember ever having to call or e-mail them, which is interesting since this is the account I have had the longest. I guess it could also be considered a testament to how user-friendly their website is, how their bonuses and interest post promptly, and how simple their structure is. Anecdotally, I’ve heard positive things about their customer service.

User interface Opinion:I think it’s sparse and utilitarian. It works, and I’m happy with it. Here is a screenshot of what you’d see if you had an account:

Other things to note: One cool thing with them is that you can open multiple sub-accounts and label them “Vacation Fund” or “Car Maintenance Fund” and have nice little organized baskets of money. You can also set up automatic transfers to these sub-accounts. To open one, just click on “Open an Account” after you’ve logged in.

* .ofx is Microsoft Money’s current format, .qfx is Quicken 2005+ format, .qif is Quicken 2004 and older and also older MS Money format, .csv is Comma Separated Values which is a more generic spreadsheet format.

[Rates updated as of 1/13/10]

Capital One 360 now pays 3.30% APY, up from 3.15%.

MyBankingDirect.com is another ‘ICanBeLikeING’ Direct bank that is offering a 3.75% APY rate. Nice, but they require $5,000 minimum to open. If you keep the $5,000 in there for 3 monhts, you also get a $25 bonus. Minimum balance and fee information information available here (tiers, etc.).

UFB Direct is currently paying 3.67% on their Jumbo Money Market Account ($50,000 min), and 3.60% APY on their no-minimum balance High Yield Money Market Savings. Open with $200 and get a $25 bonus. I am not opening an account at either of these last two banks, but it’s good to keep an eye out.

[Update: This review still applies, but the rates are a bit old. Currently rates for this account can be found here. As of 4/3/06, it is 4.62% APY.]

Now that Presidential Bank has raised their Premier Savings Account rate even higher to 3.87% APY*, I thought I’d post a brief review of the account since I have one. I previously posted a review of the Presidential Bank Internet Plus Checking Account.

Pros:
Great Rate! They have consistently good rates, now beating Capital One 360 by 0.72%. I’ve found their customer service to be very satifactory. The interface is fine by me, although I’m a “Does it work like I want it to?” kind of guy, and don’t need too many bells and whistles.
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Very nice. Up from 3.75% APY. See their site for more info. Their Internet Plus Checking is now at 3.75% APY. I’m going to write a quick write-up about the pros and cons of the Premier Savings account for the curious.

Something’s up, my last post disappeared. Anyways, I’ll check on it later. Quickly, some banks raised rates recently on their accounts (others too, but I only have accounts at these three):

Capital One 360: now at 0.75% APY
Emigrant Direct: now at 3.50% APY
Virtual Bank: now at 3.25% APY

Previously: Presidential Bank Premier Savings at 3.75% APY. (This is where most of my cash is, but please note that it is not a “no-minimum no-fees” savings account.)

As I mentioned in my latest Net Worth update, my savings and free money borrowed at 0% interest are earning 3.75% APY now, thanks to a recent uptick in the Presidential Bank Premier Savings Account (mentioned previously). In addition, the money in my checking account there (Presidential Bank Checking Review) is now earning 3.5% APY. This is good news for people like me who are saving up for a downpayment in the future and not trying to get a low low mortgage rate right now. At 3.75%, my current cash holdings of $58,000 would earn $2,175 a year. Not bad, hopefully inflation will stay at bay as well.

A reader (Thanks Johns) just pointed out that World Savings Bank is offering a promotional 4.16% APY 7-month CD, with a minimum opening balance of $10,000 (max $100,000) [more discussion here]. Offer ends July 9th. This is a great rate, and I really doubt any online savings account such as ING (now 3%)or Emigrant-Direct (review) (now 3.25%) will be able to beat it over a 7 month period even with future rate hikes.

World Savings is a pretty good-sized bank, I’ve walked past their branches, but they are not everywhere (branch locator). However, there are no residency requirements to open an account. You can open an account right online. The 4.16% CD is the very first option to open. They have a 3-star “Performing” Safe & Sound Rating from BankRate.com.
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Ok, so in the last couple of weeks I’ve gotten both a baseball cap from Emigrant Direct and a tote bag from Meadows Credit Union (click image to enlarge):

 

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[Update: This review still applies, but the rates are a bit old. Currently rates for this account can be found here. As of 4/3/06, it is 4.37% APY.]

Since Presidential Online Bank offers a great product, their Internet Plus Checking, but hasn’t had a great amount of publicity (and they don’t seem to have an active advertising campaign either, unlike Capital One 360 or Emigrant Direct), I thought I’d give a review. I’ve been with them for over a year and a half now.

First, some facts: This is an online checking account, and Presidential Bank is FDIC Insured since 1985, so it’s legit. Their Internet Plus Checking account requires a minimum of $1500 to open, and a minimum balance of $1,000 to avoid a $5 monthly service fee. More importantly, it also requires a monthly direct deposit of $200 per month from “payroll, annuity, pension, or a business account.”. They actually check this, so a transfer from PayPal, VirtualBank, etc. won’t work. I realize the preceding has already turned away some people. Did I mention that it also offers 3.25% APY on an account with unlimited checkwriting abilities, free initial checks, ATM access, and free online Bill Pay?
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VirtualBank is currently running a promotion that gives new clients a $20 bonus if you are referred by an existing member, and open with a minimum of $100. The referrer also gets $20. I’ve referred my entire family and many others, amazingly still without any complaints as the bonus shows up quickly and they have solid customer service. You must keep the account open for 180 days to avoid an early-closure fee. But since there is no minimum balance, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Interested? These referrals are limited, and if I send one out and it is not used, it is gone forever and is basically a lost $20. So, so please only ask if you are serious about opening an account. Just send me an email mentioning Virtualbank along with your First and Last Name, and I’ll get a referral e-mail to you promptly. Again, you must send your correct First and Last name and it has to match your bank application or the bonus will not go through without an extra phone call and manual entry.

Be sure to keep the referral e-mail and note your referrer’s names, in case you need to follow up on it.

[Updated 5/10/07 – Still have referrals available]