Best Nationally Available High APY Liquid Accounts

Thanks shinobi. I do have Patelco CU, have had an IRA acct. there for many years.

I immediately opened $2k- 2% Money Mkt Select. Like you said small $ deal. :relaxed:

Merchants Bank of Indiana is offering what they call a money market/savings account paying 1.00% APY. You need at least $50 to get started. You are limited to six withdrawals per month. There is no minimum balance.

Bank is in Indiana which is distant from where I live. I put my zip code into the online application and there were no hiccups. So if there is a geographic limitation I am unaware of it.

This is not an RCA. There are not any such annoyances:

Link to liquid account paying 1.00% APY

1 Like

*The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 3/16/2020.

Def not a rapid mover, but could be due for a cut.

An important post just went up over on Ken’s website. Credit for the quoted information goes to poster scubabelle:

If you are lucky enough to be a KFCU member, you likely have the HIMMA+ account. The “+” means you’re getting 1% over the regular HIMMA but this “+” is only for six months. My HIMMA+ reached the six month mark today so, with a cringe, I called to see what my options were. What I learned is KFCU takes away the “+” so you go down by 1%. However - you can open a new HIMMA+ as long as you bring in new money. Furthermore, per convo with CSR, it is totally acceptable to pull your funds out of KFCU and immediately put them back thereby creating “new” funds. Of course I asked him “why wouldn’t you guys just give clients another six months on the account already open rather than going through the rigamarole?” and he said that is simply the way the account is created. So - the bad news is we have some rigamarole but the VERY GOOD NEWS is that we can quite easily get a new six months on their fabulous HIMMA+ :slight_smile: Merry Christmas!

My own read on this is: “good news and possible bad news”.

The good news comes for persons for whom your six months expires in the near term. You have a great opportunity once again to lock in a liquid money interest rate of over 1% APY.

The possible bad news comes for persons like myself for whom the six month initial promise does not expire for another month or two. Because for us who knows whether or not the HIMMA Plus deal will still be around and active at that time. :thinking:

1 Like

What about the idea of closing our present HIMMA+ account now? Reopening the account would guarantee the % rate of today for another 6 mo. Who knows in 2 months time if the rate could drop?

Are they limiting it to one account per person? Simply pull out enough of your funds to open a new account, then open a second account right now to extend your promo period. Or as Patty says, close your current account and open a new one.

I dunno. And it’s Christmas Eve so I’ve not telephoned them.

This cannot be done. Such is disallowed under KFCU rules. Only new money is permitted to be deposited into any HIMMA Plus account. Money already on deposit with the CU may not be used.

I actually had some reward money, earned with my Keesler CC, that I attempted to direct straightaway into my HIMMA Plus. The attempt was disallowed and the money was deposited instead into my Keesler savings. I had to pull the funds out of savings and into Alliant, thence ACH the funds from Alliant back into my HIMMA Plus. Sounds crazy I realize but them’s the rules and Keesler enforces those rules strictly.

Right? Thus pulling out money from your existing account, to then use to fund the new, second account.

Unless things have changed in the last two months at the Kees, there is no bad news. You can have more than one HIMMA+ account. I currently have three.

If you’re not liquid enough to open another account immediately, might I suggest withdrawing some funds from your current HIMMA+, move it to your external account of choice for a week or so, open another HIMMA+, and move it back, to fund your new HIMMA+.

Ya’ know, I kind of liked typing HIMMA+ once, but it got old quick. :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes

You can do that, as Honkinggoose explains, but you must first run that same money through an external entity, Alliant in my example. The latter move, in Keesler’s eyes, causes those funds to become “new” money.

The news from Honkinggoose that more than one HIMMA Plus is permitted is BIG news, at least to me. I’m gonna jump all over that one ASAP!

Thanks Honker, I’m also going to jump on a second HIMMA+. To bad we can’t do anything until Monday. Crazy Xmas has messed up movement. :wink:

For me it’s gonna be New Year’s Day that fouls me up.

And how long can money sit in a Keesler savings and still be considered, by them, to be “new money”? Cause I can only move $25k at a time out of Alliant. Sure would like to “get 'er done” while we still are in 2020. Not sure it will be possible given we lose next Friday.

I have a good deal with Alliant when I need to transfer out a large $ amount.
I have 3 accounts, Trust, Patty & Spouse. $25k per acct.

Remember when Alliant had $100k max transfer. Times gone.

Still might be hard to make move in 2020. HIMMA+, 2nd acct I’m going to try.

2 Likes

I mobile deposited two five figure checks on Christmas Eve, Alliant has more than half of the combined deposit amount “on hold” until January 7th. I guess they at least pay me interest starting from today. I might need to use another bank for large checks if I want immediate access to my funds.

1 Like

Regulation CC allows the bank to put longer holds on the amount above $5,000 of a check.

I would be curious to hear if there are banks that waive the hold based on how much you have on deposit.

1 Like

Alliant Credit Union is a not a bank, so I wouldn’t think the FDIC’s regulations apply to it. The NCUA may have a similar regulation.

Regulation CC also applies to Credit Union:

2 Likes

Just off telephone with KFCU. Here is what I was told about HIMMA Plus:

  1. Only one HIMMA Plus account is permitted at a time for each social security number. You may have a succession of HIMMA Plus accounts. But only one such account is permitted to be open at a time, per SS number.

  2. The “new money” needed to open a HIMMA Plus account cannot reside in your savings for more than three days, after which those funds become ineligible “old money”. Two days is safer. This is relevant when you encounter ACHing limitations such as those in place at Alliant.

  3. Person I spoke with expects the HIMMA Plus account type to survive the new year. She warned the interest rate might adjust. But the account type should survive.

So here is the plan:

  1. Next week move funds for new HIMMA Plus out of old HIMMA Plus and into Alliant (actually this ACH xfer will be initiated at Alliant this coming Thursday with the funds arriving at Alliant on the following Monday).

  2. On Monday, and also on Tuesday, move funds via ACH from Alliant to Keesler savings. This transforms those funds into “new funds” way Keesler looks at things.

  3. On Wednesday, January sixth, telephone Keesler and request all residual funds in existing HIMMA Plus be moved to Keesler savings and existing HIMMA Plus closed. Then, with the old account closed, request to open a new HIMMA Plus using the funds ACHed in on Monday and Tuesday.

The rep warned me the residual funds would not be eligible for deposit into the new HIMMA Plus because they are not new funds. Those residual funds must first be ACHed from savings to Alliant, thence back to KFCU into the new HIMMA Plus as new funds.

It sounds complicated but it is well worth the effort to lock in the high HIMMA Plus interest rate for liquid funds for another six months

1 Like

I’m looking at Honkinggoose’ earlier remark. Maybe he has an extra SS#.

Yes it does seem complicated. I’m transferring funds from my TIAA MM acct over to Alliant now. But I thought we could have more than 1 HIMMA+ acct at once. So I must change my plan!

I’m impressed with your write up here, shinobi. Great up to date info.

I believe I opened my HIMMA+ acct in late August. So I can either wait until Feb or go for your plan.
Waiting until Feb could possibly mean that the % rate could be lower

Thanks.