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December 2024's Best Online High-Yield Savings Accounts

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We maintain strict editorial integrity in our writing and assessments. This post contains links from our advertisers, and we may receive compensation when you click these links. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone. | Advertiser Disclosure
We maintain strict editorial integrity in our writing and assessments. This post contains links from our advertisers, and we may receive compensation when you click these links. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone. | Advertiser Disclosure

Finding the Best Online High-Yield Savings Accounts

Online banks, which don’t have the burden of needing to maintain branches, have an edge over traditional banks in terms of the perks and interest rates they can offer. Still, not every online bank may be a good fit for you. At SmartAsset, we took a look at several online banks with high-yield interest rates and determined the best. To see which online high-yield savings account is right for your needs, read on. 

Bank
APY tooltip icon
Min. Deposit Highlights
Synchrony logo Synchrony 4.10% $0
  • Completely online banking
  • Simple features
Learn more

Highlights

  • Completely online banking
  • Simple features
PNC Bank logo PNC Bank 4.25% $0
  • Good APY
  • No minimum balance to open an account
Learn more

Highlights

  • Good APY
  • No minimum balance to open an account
American Express National Bank, Member FDIC logo American Express National Bank, Member FDIC 3.90% $0
  • 3.90% Annual Percentage Yield as of 11/27/2024
  • Minimum to earn APY = $0
  • $0 minimum to open and $0 monthly fees
Learn more

Highlights

  • 3.90% Annual Percentage Yield as of 11/27/2024
  • Minimum to earn APY = $0
  • $0 minimum to open and $0 monthly fees
Affirm logo Affirm 3.85% $0
  • No minimum deposit required to access rate
  • No monthly service fees or minimums
Learn more

Highlights

  • No minimum deposit required to access rate
  • No monthly service fees or minimums
TAB Bank logo TAB Bank 4.52% $0
  • Great APY
  • No monthly service fees
Learn more

Highlights

  • Great APY
  • No monthly service fees
Barclays logo Barclays 4.10% $0
  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • No minimum opening requirements
Learn more

Highlights

  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • No minimum opening requirements
Ally Bank logo Ally Bank 3.85% $0
  • Great customer service
  • Mobile app with check deposit
Learn more

Highlights

  • Great customer service
  • Mobile app with check deposit
Discover® Bank logo Discover® Bank 3.90% $0
  • Great online and mobile interface
  • No monthly fees or minimums
Learn more

Highlights

  • Great online and mobile interface
  • No monthly fees or minimums
Capital One logo Capital One 3.80% $0
  • No minimum opening requirements
  • Variety of account options
  • APY as of 12/6/24
Learn more

Highlights

  • No minimum opening requirements
  • Variety of account options
  • APY as of 12/6/24
Marcus by Goldman Sachs logo Marcus by Goldman Sachs 4.10% $0
  • Competitive APY
  • No monthly fees
Learn more

Highlights

  • Competitive APY
  • No monthly fees

How We Determine the Best Online High-Yield Savings Accounts

SmartAsset’s team of personal finance experts rounded up an exhaustive list of different online savings accounts. We scored each on their APY, low fees and an easy to use mobile app for on-the-go banking.

Synchrony High Yield Savings

With the Synchrony High Yield Savings account, you’ll earn a solid 4.30% APY on all balances. There are no minimum requirements and no monthly maintenance fees, as is the case with many online banks. There are certainly accounts out there that will earn a higher interest rate, but with Synchrony you’ll still earn well above the national average, even that of only high-yield accounts.

In addition to there being no monthly fees with this Synchrony account, you can become an account holder with any amount of money. Synchrony doesn’t charge ATM withdrawal fees itself, but there may be fees associated with using a certain ATM. However, account holders can get up to $5 in domestic ATM fee reimbursements per month.

The Synchrony High Yield Savings account operates entirely online. As a result, the bank doesn’t have any physical branches. While this could be an issue for some prospective customers, you’ll always have the option to contact a representative online or over the phone if you need help with your account.

PNC Bank High-Yield Savings

With PNC Bank’s High-Yield Savings Account, you get to earn a 4.25% APY, which is one of the better rates on the market. And while there are several banks available that earn a higher APY, the High-Yield Savings Account only requires you to maintain a minimum daily balance of $1 to earn the APY. 

With this account, there is no minimum opening deposit and there are no monthly fees. However, PNC won’t reimburse you for using another financial institution’s ATM, so you may deal with a charge if you elect to use an ATM outside of PNC’s network.

American Express® High Yield Savings Account

Widely known as a credit card company, American Express also offers a high yield savings account. As of November 27, 2024, this account boasts an annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.90%, with $0 minimum to open the account and a $0 minimum required to receive the APY. 

American Express National Bank, Member FDIC, has $0 monthly fee for this account, which means everything you save will remain in your balance. 

The mobile and web banking platforms at American Express are the only ways you can manage your account, since it's an online bank. These tools allow you to check the balances and transaction histories of both your American Express bank and credit card accounts. You can also link up to three outside bank accounts, allowing you to seamlessly send money between them. 

American Express National Bank is a savings-only financial institution. That means you can only open savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs), so there are no checking account offerings. If you want a checking account under the same roof as your savings account, Amex might not be a good choice.

Affirm Savings Account

If you’re looking at the Affirm Savings Account, you’re likely focused on its fantastic 3.85% APY. And the best part is there are no minimum deposits required to access this rate. So as you deposit money in your account, you are guaranteed to make some gains in your savings. And to help keep your account on track for savings, you don’t have to worry about monthly fees here. 

Affirm is 100% online banking company whose services are based around its mobile app. So you if you are comfortable banking on your mobile device or computer, Affirm is a good place to start. And as an account holder with Affirm, you will have access to making online purchases at different stores at your convenience.

TAB Bank High-Yield Savings Account

The TAB Bank High Yield Savings Account boasts one of the highest APYs on the market at 4.52%. It’s quite easy to qualify for this APY, as you only need to maintain a $0.01 daily balance to earn it. This is unlike similar accounts at some other banks which use tiered APYs, high account minimums or balance caps to limit interest earnings. Account holders also won’t pay monthly maintenance fees, which is always a major benefit. 

While TAB doesn’t have any physical locations, its online and mobile banking offerings are quite robust. The bank has highly rated mobile apps and its online user experience is easy to navigate. Through these platforms, you can pay bills, deposit checks, transfer money and more. 

You can open this account with any amount of money. If you’re interested in more than just savings, TAB also offers a range of other banking products, such as money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and checking accounts.

Barclays

Barclays Bank offers customers online and mobile access to deposit and withdraw money at any time. To earn the 4.10% APY, you must maintain a minimum balance that would earn you at least $1.

While the bank sets no minimum balance to open an account and it charges no monthly maintenance fees, it will charge $5 for each transaction with insufficient funds. 

In addition to basic online services like direct and electronic check deposits, as well as online transfers, Barclays also offers clients tools to help them set goals for their savings. Customer service is also available 12 hours every day.

Ally Bank Savings Account

Ally's Online Savings Account offers a competitive rate of 4.00% with no fees or minimums. However, this account is at its best when it's paired with Ally's Spending Account. Yes, you can also get a free checking account at Ally, which will make transferring and withdrawing funds much easier. Rather than waiting for money to transfer, you can internally move money between your spending and savings account whenever you please.

Ally’s checking accounts also come with an interest rate of their own. Furthermore, Ally will reimburse you up to $10 per month for out-of-network ATM fees, in addition to having a selection of thousands of in-network ATMs.

Discover® Online Savings Account

Discover’s Online Savings Account features a restriction-less 3.90% APY, which is one of the better rates on the market. Discover stands out for a number of reasons. First, there’s no minimum deposit requirement to open a savings account with Discover. On top of that, you won’t be subject to any monthly minimums or monthly service charges. Interest earned on this account is compounded daily, which can speed up your long-term savings potential.

Discover is an entirely online/mobile bank. So if you’re thinking about delving into online banking, this could be a great account for you. Discover’s mobile app is highly rated, as its website’s user experience and the interface is one of the best and most straightforward on the market. You have plenty of options when it comes to your account, as you can transfer money, deposit checks, view your account history and even check your credit score online. Discover offers other banking products as well if you want to open more than just a savings account.

Capital One 360 Performance Savings

The bank that best marries a high-yield online savings with branch access is Capital One. Banking entirely online can be difficult for some, and Capital One provides a happy medium. Capital One has branches in the Northeast, Texas and Louisiana, and it offers CDs, kids and teen bank accounts, credit cards, IRAs, auto loans and more.

The 3.80% APY (as of 12/6/24) attributed to the 360 Performance Savings account is competitive with the highest rates on the market. The account also has no monthly fees and doesn’t require a minimum balance.

Capital One provides customer service seven days a week, so you'll always have access to a representative if you have questions. The bank's mobile app is also well-rated at 4.9 stars out of 5 on the Apple app store and 4.6 stars out of 5 on the Android app store.

Marcus Online Savings Account

The Marcus Online Savings Account is backed by Goldman Sachs and comes in with a great 4.10% APY, which is one of the higher rates on the market. The savings account offers no minimum opening deposit and it comes with no monthly fees, which allows you to keep more money in your wallet regardless of how much you’re starting with.

The Marcus Online Savings Account allows account holders to move their money in larger amounts and faster than most banks. The account allows you to transfer up to $100,000 to and from other banking institutions with same-day transfers. The Marcus Online Savings Account offers great customer service with 24/7 customer support every day of the week.

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