A high-yield savings account is a great place to put unexpected windfalls, such as a tax refund or an inheritance, while you decide on how to invest the money over a long-term period. It’s also a great place to park your emergency fund so you have easy access when you need it, plus have the power to regularly make contributions while earning interest. A high-yield savings account is also a good place to put money for a short-term savings goal, such as a vacation or a down payment on a car.
Although banks may modify APYs slightly from time to time, high-yield savings accounts are less volatile than stocks or mutual funds, plus you can expect to get a fairly standard rate of interest back over a short period of time. What’s more, you won’t lose any money you deposit if there’s a bank failure as all of the accounts listed above are federally insured by the FDIC, for up to $250,000 per person, per institution.
Our approach
CNET reviews high-yield savings accounts based on the latest information posted on bank, credit union and neobank websites. We evaluated APYs, minimum deposits, monthly maintenance fees, minimum balances and other terms and conditions for saving accounts from more than 50 organizations. We selected the savings accounts with the highest APYs and the best terms for banking consumers.
The banks, credit unions and neobanks we reviewed include: Affirm Savings, Alliant Credit Union, Ally, America First Credit Union, American Express High Yield Savings Account, Axos High Yield Savings, Bank of America Advantage Savings, Bank of the West, Bank5 Connect, Barclays, Bask Bank, Bread Savings, BrioDirect High-Yield Savings, Capital One 360 Checking, Charles Schwab, Chase Premier Savings, Chime, Citibank, Citizens Online Savings Account, Colorado Federal Savings Bank, Consumers Credit Union, Discover, First Internet Bank of Indiana, LendingClub, Live Oak Bank, M&T Bank, Marcus, My Banking Direct, Nationwide My Savings, Navy Federal Credit Union, NBKC, OneUnited Bank, PenFed CU, PNC, Popular Direct Select Savings, PurePoint Financial, Quontic Bank, Rising Bank, Salem Five Direct, Sally Mae Smarty Pig, Santander Bank, Synchrony, TAB Bank, TD Bank, TIAA Bank, Truist Bank, U.S. Bank, UFB Direct, Union Bank, USAA Bank, Varo, Vio and Wells Fargo.
