Thank you. I setup my account at virtual bank today. Once I validate the external account will close out my Ally No Penalty (1.75%) and move the money to Virtual Bank.
My only concern is the Ally account was what I considered “quickly available funds” since I had checks and the cd can quickly be closed out to the checking for emergencies.
There will now be an extra step but should still be able to do an ally next day transfer and either wait to cut the check or go ahead and cut it then on the assumption they would not pull the funds until at least a day later…a bad assumption nowadays since many banks now do immediate pulls so I’d probably wait the day.
update And of course right after I open my account Northpoint raises it’s rates to 2.05% and guarantee’s the rate for 1 year (min 25000 kept in account to earn 2.05) Details are on depositaccounts.com Oh soft pull for those concerned.
At least one detail on depositaccounts is wrong – the max is $1m.
Looks like Northpointe Ultimate Savings offers a 12-mo rate guarantee, but based on the wording:
(For accounts opened 5/14/2018 or after)
I’m guessing that open accounts do not benefit from any rate increases. Also I can’t find a landing page for this account, only the description on the Rates page. Is this a new account? We don’t have it in the wiki.
Does the rate on their open Ultimate MM accounts also not change for existing customers? If so, we should probably mention this restriction in the wiki.
I think the liquid account marketplace is becoming frothy. I did apply at VB (Virtual) and found a comedic menagerie. Right now I’m sticking at PurePoint where people are sane . . . . . so far.
T bill yields are finally taking off after a 10 year hiatus. Consider the Vanguard US Treasury Money Market Fund. Invests in 100% US Treasury bills, which is arguably as safe as a bank with FDIC insurance. Right now 1.71% compounded yield (and a low .09% management fee), which can be free of state taxes (YMMV depending on state/tax situation if this is beneficial). Free checking writing for amounts of $250 or more. The good thing is that the you are not limited to 6 withdrawals, transfers, or checks per month like most money market accounts at banks. Minimum $50,000 to open an account, but after that I have let the account drop to a few thousand and they never asked me to increase the balance. The yield adjusts daily. The yield has gone up about 0.10% in about 2 weeks, so it tracks the market. Many of the banks adjust their liquid account yields very slowly, so in a rising rate market the lag is significant.
It does look like Popular Direct has lowered their savings rate. My account summary shows 2% as of last posting. But looking at savings rates advertised on link, it shows 1.85%. Then it also warns a $25 fee if acct closed before 180 days.
shinobi, I’d say your right. Bait & switch. Makes me so angry!!
IIRC, Vanguard’s Treasury Money Market fund was discontinued some years ago, and its minimum initial investment was 3,000. Vanguard’s website does not show a Treasury Money Market, the closest is their Federal Money Market, also with a min. initial investment of 3K
Is the US Treasury MM that you refer to something only available to institutional investors?
In 24 hours, the yield increased from 1.71% to 1.72% compounded for Vanguard’s US Treasury Money Market Fund. I just searched for it in Google and it is still active:
It even has links to open a new account. However, I didn’t click all the way through to see if it works. Maybe I was grandfathered in? I think those interested should call Vanguard.
I owned both the regular UST and Admiral UST funds for over 10 years and the UST fund #0030 became fund #0011 and t hey dropped the admiral name. As an alternative the prime or federal MM funds have a higher yield, but slightly higher credit risk than the UST MMF.
Maybe not certain. But I think I’m sensing a bit of froth in this marketplace. I do not like froth.
I’m still at PurePoint which has been a good service provider and a reliable partner so far. But if they lower their rate (only at 1.75% now so not that high) I really dunno what I’m gonna do. I really like PurePoint’s “instant interest” feature, though.
Guess if PurePoint turns turtle I can always go back to just keeping my liquid funds at Alliant.
I have a Popular Exclusive Savings account at Popular Direct. I called to see if the rate had decreased to 1.85%. The rep told me that I was grandfathered in and that since this product is no longer offered, I would keep the 2% rate. I asked for how long I would keep that rate and she said the rate would never decrease. I’m not absolutely certain she knew the truth, so, I will pay close attention.
She said the new account that is at 1.85% is called Popular Direct Plus Savings.
Got the same info so fortunately for those of us who went with Popular it’s not a bait and switch. The Exclusive Savings account is grandfathered at 2%. The new account - Direct Plus - is the only savings account available to new customers and is 1.85%.
I just assumed my Popular Direct Exclusive Savings was discontinued. It’s to late to call now, but I will call tomorrow to confirm this info. I was ready to withdraw funds from my Popular Direct account & open some other savings with a 2% interest.
As others have said, Popular Direct has no intent to lower my Exclusive Savings & it will remain 2%. She made a point that she didn’t know how long it will last.
I’m beginning to think the same…I did the micro transactions 4 days ago…I sent them two secure messages asking where we were because I still had not received account information and have received no reply. I guess tomorrow I will call them and tell them to terminate the transfer and go with northpoint.
Acknowledged. I mean, what the heck. Northpointe paid me three bucks to apply ($100 charge to my Alliant CC with 3% reward). Truth is I would have jumped in anyway because of the rate guarantee. But three bucks is three bucks.
That rate guarantee though, for me, was pivotal. I will be closing a bunch of AgFed no penalty CDs and moving the dough to Northpointe. Without that rate lock it would have been “no dice”.
