Have you ever considered why you chose the bank that you bank at? Was it because your parent’s bank there, it’s close to your house, or that it was the first place you stopped at? Most of us end up banking at large mega-banks with billions of dollars in assets, even though these types of banks offer some of the worst deals out there when it comes to savings and investments.

These major mega-banks are not terribly concerned that average Americans with average incomes become their customers, rather they put their emphasis on scoring big accounts because those are much more profitable to hold. Many of them don’t put much of an effort in the products they create or the marketing that they do for the average customer.

Many of these banks have very lousy products for the average consumer, especially when it comes to savings accounts. Wells Fargo is offering a meager 0.05% on their standard goal savings. Bank of America is offering a 0.2% interest rate on their regular savings and Wachovia is offering 0.15% on their “Premium” savings.

Most of these banks have very lousy checking accounts as well. You might get a free checking account with the first set of checks for free, but that’s about it. No ATM refunds to speak of, no free checks later on, and if you want to just about anything out of the normal, you’re going to end up paying a fee to make it happen.

There are so many better options when it comes to your checking and savings accounts, especially when you shop for them online. There are a number of banks, such as HSBC Direct, ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, IGO Banking and E-Loan that are offering high-yield savings accounts to their internet customers offering rates anywhere between 2.75% and 3.50% APY. Corus, the curent leader in online savings accounts, is offering 3.85% APY on savnigs, which is 77 times greater than that of what Wells Fargo will give you for a basic savings account.

When it comes to checking accounts, you probably won’t earn a dime in interest from any major bank, but when you go online you can easily get from 3% to 4% APY on the money that’s sitting in your checking account. Some of the accounts available will even refund any ATM fees that you incur!

Major mega-banks have been giving their regular customers a raw deal for far too long, if you still keep your money at one of these banks offering you an abysmal savings rate, it’s time to move your money.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pm and is filed under commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

• Sunday Money Madness: Bootacular Edition Happy early Halloween! Welcome to yet another edition of the Sunday Money Madness Roundup. I hope you enjoy the posts presented below. Start browsing! Debt | Debt Leveraging: What Happens to a Joint Mortgage if One Partner Declares Themselves Bankrupt...
• 6 Percent Online Savings Accounts: Fact or Fiction Many Americans have been looking online to get better rates of return on their money in the last few years. Some individuals chase ultra high-yield investments which often turn out to be scams, but they’re the exception rather than rule....
• Banking Reviews: ING’s Electric Orange Checking Account Just a half-decade ago, the term online savings account was known to very few. Online banking was merely in its infancy. Some banks were allowing people to view their accounts online, but that’s about it. ING changed the name of...
• Looking For The Best Rates On CDs, Checking And Savings Account? Look no further than Rate Brain. Let's face it, interest rates on savings accounts, CDs and checking accounts are near historic (if not historic) lows. With interest rates so low, it's almost not worth the inconvenience of keeping your money...
• Skiing Goggles It is truly dangerous for anyone to go skiing without having the right equipment. If you go skiing without the proper equipment you can end up hurting yourself severely. Skiing goggles is one such piece of equipment that is vitally...