Update 12/19/23. Rate is now 5.00% APY. They also have now a signup bonus found at this link. (ht Anthony P.) The tiers aren’t great, but it’s still something for someone who wants to use them anyway:
- Update 11/2/22: Rate will be 3.3% from 11/4/22.
- Update 7/29/22: Now 2.00%
- Update 10/24/20: Now .35%.
- Update 1/13/20: Now 1.78%
- Update: now 1.82%.
- Update 9/20/19: Rate reduced to 2.07% due to fed rate cuts.
- Update 8/1/19: Rate reduced to 2.32% due to fed rate cuts.
- Update 6/26/19: Rate increase from 2.51% to 2.57%. Wow, they are leading the pack.
Offer at a glance
- Interest Rate: 2.57% APY
- Minimum Balance: $1
- Maximum Balance: $1M
- Availability: Nationwide
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Insured: Funds held in FDIC accounts
The Offer
- Wealthfront offers a high yield Cash Account with an interest rate of 2.57% APY.
The Fine Print
- FDIC insured up to $1 million.
- It only takes $1 to open and there are no additional deposit requirements.
- Interest earned will be reported on a form 1099-INT.
Avoiding Fees
This account has no monthly fees and no other fees.
Our Verdict
It’s not technically a bank account, rather a brokerage account which holds the funds in an FDIC accounts (hence the ability to have up to $1M, more than FDIC limit of $250k), that does add a bit of risk. Looks like currently it’s more of a savings account than a checking account since they don’t offer a debit card, bill pay, check writing, etc, though they are considering adding those things. You can see their FAQ here. An advantage this has over savings accounts is that there is no limit to the number withdrawals per month.
Readers note in the comments that Wealthfront transfers, both in and out, must be initiated from the Wealthfront account to/from the external account. It can’t be done from an external account pushing/pulling to/from the Wealthfront account. Another thing mentioned is that they make it difficult to pull money out of the account, unless you transfer it back from the funding account where it came from initially.
We’ll add Wealthfront to our list of Best High Yield Savings Accounts. This account tops the best rates shown on that list by a little. If anyone has used this bank, please share your experiences in the comments below.
Thanks to reader Vlad, Kevin, and jcn
No referrals in the comments below.
Chuck
Source link
