Online Savings Accounts & Current Rates

[poundwise]

Ahem... I missed nothing. The change happened after I reviewed rates that morning. So there.

And, PW (aka poundwise) is not a she. Just FYI.

Thanks for the heads-up and the compliments.

[kv968]

Ahem... I missed nothing. The change happened after I reviewed rates that morning. So there.

And, PW (aka poundwise) is not a she. Just FYI.

Sorry PW, I didn't know. Keep up the good work anyway

[poundwise]

Update 04/03/07

Citibank down from 4.75% to 4.50% APY

Other account offerings remain the same

[m3racer]

FNBO Direct

I just opened an online savings account with FNBO Direct largely based on the positive feedback I read on Getting Green's website, the 4-star rating on bankrate.com, and the 5.25% APY. The sign up process was easy. They appear to have good customer service although they incorrectly told me there was no atm fee. To clarify, there is a $2.50 fee for any atm use including atm's within the bank's network. However, they do allow "3 external linked accounts" and not just 1 as previously mentioned. I'll post an update on this account in the near future when I get a chance to use some of their online features.

[poundwise]

I just opened an online savings account with FNBO Direct largely based on the positive feedback I read on Getting Green's website, the 4-star rating on bankrate.com, and the 5.25% APY. The sign up process was easy. They appear to have good customer service although they incorrectly told me there was no atm fee. To clarify, there is a $2.50 fee for any atm use including atm's within the bank's network. However, they do allow "3 external linked accounts" and not just 1 as previously mentioned. I'll post an update on this account in the near future when I get a chance to use some of their online features.

Great! It's always good to get first-hand feedback.

[poundwise]

Reviewed 04/09/07

No change in current rate offerings

AmTrust has a newly updated look to their web site

[sweeps]

No surprise here, but just received an email that HSBC will in fact return to 5.05% after the promotion ends at the end of the month.

[sweeps]

GMAC bank up to 5.30%. Boomshakalaka.

[poundwise]

GMAC bank up to 5.30%. Boomshakalaka.

LOL

Now taking bets on how many days it will be before GMAC lowers this rate!

I'm going with 10. (Uh oh, there I go being cynical again.)


(For those with GMAC accounts, like Sweeps apparently, I hope I'm wrong.)

[kv968]

LOL

Now taking bets on how many days it will be before GMAC lowers this rate!

I'm going with 10. (Uh oh, there I go being cynical again.)


(For those with GMAC accounts, like Sweeps apparently, I hope I'm wrong.)

About as long as it takes to transfer money to and from a HSBC account

[poundwise]

About as long as it takes to transfer money to and from a HSBC account

Hahaha, ok... I'll put you down for one week then.

[abbynormal]

Another new FNBO Direct customer

A friend sent me this thread and it's extremely helpful. I've been with ING for a couple years now, but their savings rate is now pretty disappointing.

I chose to test out FNBO Direct's offering and I signed up for an account with them a week or so back. My plan is to see how I like them with a limited deposit before I completely jump ship on ING. So far, my experience with FNBO has been poor, but I'll withhold final judgment until I've had a few months of experience with them.

To begin with, I accidentally entered the wrong username for a bank account I wanted to fund my new account with. FNBO just told me it was wrong and thus couldn't use it for initial electronic funding. No opportunity to correct the mistake. Next, I found it tricky to figure out how to setup online account access. Finally, I was unable to log into my account this morning and the website kept giving me an error that it was unable to verify my credentials. I assumed that meant I misspelled something or typed an incorrect answer to a question, but I came back 15 minutes later and logged right in.

Alas, not all was working correctly. Upon logging in, I received a message basically saying that their system was down. To make it even more exciting, the error message popup was raw HTML!

Since this morning, the message I get has changed. Now a "Technical Difficulties" page appears with the text "We are unable to validate the information you entered...."

I'll see how FNBO pans out over some time, but I have a sizable amount of money I'd like to put in a higher interest savings account and I'd be afraid to do that here with what I've seen so far.

-an

[m3racer]

A friend sent me this thread and it's extremely helpful. I've been with ING for a couple years now, but their savings rate is now pretty disappointing.

I chose to test out FNBO Direct's offering and I signed up for an account with them a week or so back. My plan is to see how I like them with a limited deposit before I completely jump ship on ING. So far, my experience with FNBO has been poor, but I'll withhold final judgment until I've had a few months of experience with them.

To begin with, I accidentally entered the wrong username for a bank account I wanted to fund my new account with. FNBO just told me it was wrong and thus couldn't use it for initial electronic funding. No opportunity to correct the mistake. Next, I found it tricky to figure out how to setup online account access. Finally, I was unable to log into my account this morning and the website kept giving me an error that it was unable to verify my credentials. I assumed that meant I misspelled something or typed an incorrect answer to a question, but I came back 15 minutes later and logged right in.

Alas, not all was working correctly. Upon logging in, I received a message basically saying that their system was down. To make it even more exciting, the error message popup was raw HTML!

Since this morning, the message I get has changed. Now a "Technical Difficulties" page appears with the text "We are unable to validate the information you entered...."

I'll see how FNBO pans out over some time, but I have a sizable amount of money I'd like to put in a higher interest savings account and I'd be afraid to do that here with what I've seen so far.

-an

Yikes!!! I have yet to experience such problems...knock on wood.

[abbynormal]

It gets worse with FNBO

The saga continues for me with FNBO. I received the following email from them which indicates that they are unable to fund my new account with the account they successfully verified previously. They request that I mail them a check, but there's no address provided! Check it out. I made privacy modifications with brackets.:

==================
You recently initiated a request to fund your new account(s) with [amount] from [my account]. Unfortunately, we were unable to fund your new account(s) using your source account.

Please mail us a check for [the amount]. Mail check to: <<FI_REGULAR_MAIL_ADDRESS>>

If you wish to discuss this further with a Customer Service Representative, please send an email to service@myaccount.fnbodirect.com or call 1-877-370-3707. Please reference your applicant ID # when you contact us.

We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for choosing FNBO Direct for your Online Savings Account.

FNBO Direct Customer Service
==================

So I sent an email back explaining that this looked suspicious, and the email bounced back to me! If no one else reported using them, I would think it was a Nigerian scam (except I suspect scammers would be better at taking your money if you try to give it to them).

-an

[abbynormal]

Well, I called FNBO ready to cancel my account, but I spoke with a gentleman who was able to straighten everything out for me and fix the online problems I've had. Kudos to them for excellent customer service.

I should be off and running for now and will see how everything works out.

-an