Best Savings Account for
Growing Your Money in 2020

Choosing the best savings account with the highest rates and most flexibility is essential for reaching your financial goals as soon as possible.

Best Savings Account: Online vs. Regular Savings

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Gone are the days of putting money in a regular savings account at a local brick-and-mortar bank and earning next-to-nothing for your hard-earned cash (or worse yet, putting money under your mattress and earning literally nothing). 

Now the best savings account options are with online banks, allowing us to earn substantially more interest on our money. Low overhead costs allow these institutions to pass a portion of these savings on to the consumer in the form of higher interest rates.  

An online savings account that offers a 1.30% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) will earn you approximately $13 per year. This won’t make you rich, but it sure beats the alternative of using a regular savings account offering an average 0.06% APY, which earns about 60 cents per year.

That being said, it absolutely makes sense to transfer most if not all of your money currently held in a regular savings account over to one of the options online. Read on for things you should look out for when choosing the best savings account for you.

What to Look for When Choosing the Best Savings Account?

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While it might be tempting to choose the account with the highest yield, this might not be best savings account option for all people. There are other factors you should take into account before making your selection.  Here is the complete list:

• APY Rate
• Minimum required to open 
• Monthly minimum balance requirements
• Administrative fees
• Customer Support
• FDIC/NCUA Insurance

The APY represents the interest percentage that the bank will pay you for holding your money, so the higher the better. However, you should also do a quick check of the opening requirements and potential fees you might incur. Good questions to ask are:

• How much is the required minimum deposit to open the account? 
• Is there a minimum balance you must maintain to avoid a monthly fee?
• Does the bank limit the number of outgoing transfers I can make each month? 

You also want to make sure that the account where you are putting your money is FDIC/NCUA insured.  This means that if the bank goes under, the money in your account is backed by the Federal Government, typically up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. Most major U.S. banks are FDIC insured, but be sure to check for peace of mind.

Choose the High-Yield Savings Account that is Right for You

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Looking for the best customer service?

The best online tools?

Or just the highest APY?

We’ve sorted through the various high-yield savings account options out there to bring you the best options to fit your needs.

Here are some of our top picks:

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Marcus by Goldman Sachs

Best All Around

Goldman Sachs has historically catered to high net worth clients, but they have now created a savings product that appeals to everyone with the Marcus high-yield savings account.  With no minimum deposits or fees, mobile banking, electronic check deposits, and one of the highest interest rates around, Marcus has all the features you’d look for in a great high-yield savings account.

• 1.05% APY
• No minimum deposit or fees
• Mobile banking
• U.S.-based customer support, open 7 days a week
• FDIC insured

Varo Savings Account

Best Savings Account for High APY

The Varo savings account gives you the opportunity to more than double the APY you earn each month, but it comes with a catch.  If your account balance is under $10,000, you make at least five transactions per month on the Varo Visa Debit Card, and direct deposit at least $1,000 per month into your account, you can watch your savings grow much faster than any of the other accounts on this list. If you don’t meet the monthly requirements, don’t worry; you will still earn 1.21% APY which is higher than most accounts out there.  

• Standard 1.21% APY 
• Increased 2.80% APY with qualifying activity
• No minimum balance requirements
• No fees
• FDIC insured

American Express Personal Savings

Best Savings Account Customer Service

Dependable American Express has been around for over 170 years. Everyone knows them for their credit cards, but they also offer great high-yield savings account with a competitive 1.15% APY.  Available all day every day to answer your questions, this is a brand you can trust.

• 1.00% APY
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance
• 24/7 account access
• FDIC insured

Ally Online Savings

Best Online Tools

Ally offers one of the highest interest rates around.  In addition, they offer top-notch online tools that allow you to organize your savings account into buckets. No need to open multiple accounts for each of your goals. Save money for everything that matters to you all in one place.

• 1.10% APY
• No monthly maintenance fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• 24/7 customer support
• FDIC insured

Barclays Online Savings

Best for Its Simplicity

The easy to set up, no minimum / no maintenance fee Barclays Online Savings Account is one of my favorites.  Transfers move in and out fairly quickly, and its current interest rate is a solid 1.15%.  

• 1.00% APY
• No minimum balance to open
• No monthly maintenance fees
• Tools to help you save
• FDIC insured

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