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AmericaNet 5.25% APY Checking Account

Posted in Checking Accounts, Expired Deals by RateRunner
February 18, 2009 05:54 PM - 20 Comments

AmericaNet Bank’s Rewards Checking account is paying an incredible 5.25% APY on average daily balances up to $25,000. (Anything over that earns 2.25%.)

At a time when it’s tough to find savings or money market accounts paying more than 3%, this looks like it could be a very smart place to park your short-term savings.

The only catch we can see is that you must make at least 10 check card purchases per billing cycle (approximately every 30 days) to qualify for the 5.25% APY.

But how hard is that? And this checking account allows you to use other banks ATMs for free. How convenient is that?

AmericaNet is the Internet banking division of All American Bank, which has a couple of branches in Oklahoma City and Mustang, Okla.

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Comments (20)
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  1. Money said:
    on February 18th at 06:07 pm

    From their website: “There is a $5 fee for each withdrawal after 6″

  2. RateRunner said:
    on February 18th at 06:21 pm

    That’s for the money market account, not the checking account. Take another look.

  3. 1st Place Runner said:
    on February 18th at 07:21 pm

    6.01% offered through Union State Bank with same terms….

  4. Larry Hopkins said:
    on February 19th at 02:19 am

    I’ve never seen anyone keep praising these fantastic checking accounts paying 5-6%. That’s because it’s a teaser rate and most people will fail to comply with the terms (and probably get charged some exorbitant fees by these bank rip-off artists. You’ll notice all of these offers are from small capital deficient banks.

  5. Eric said:
    on February 19th at 03:32 pm

    Union State Bank is 5%, so AmericaNet bank is better. I’ve been using these accounts for a year now and have had no problems. I now have three accounts earning ~$4000 per year off of credit card arbitrage money. Not bad. These are not teaser rates and the terms are easy–just make 10 transactions by paying a bill in small installments every month instead of in one shot.

  6. 1st Place Runner said:
    on February 19th at 04:35 pm

    There is a Union State Bank that is near my house, they must have just lowered it within the last week.

    First Robinson Bank is still offering 6.01% APY on checking though…

  7. BloggingBanks said:
    on February 19th at 04:46 pm

    I am a big fan of rewards checking accounts. Most people don’t qualify for them. Some people are even going to spend more than what is in their account, thus giving more $$ to the bank in terms of fees.

  8. Larry Hopkins said:
    on February 20th at 02:55 am

    Eric, if you’re not a bank shill I’m going to take advantage of this. Blogging Banks-why don’t MOST people qualify for them? I’d think only a small percent of people wouldn’t qualify. They’d want people who write bouncing checks.

  9. Rassi said:
    on February 20th at 11:58 am

    Reward checking accounts do work and can be great. I have had one from AZ Bank & Trust for nearly a year now. They opened up available nationwide, but have since made it “local only” for account holders. Still, since I already had my account, I was able to keep it. I started last May at 6.01% interest, guaranteed to stay there until April 2009. In Jan 2009, they changed the rate for NEW accounts to 5%. My account will go to 5% after my guaranteed rate expires. Still, it has worked well. They have increased the number of required card uses though – 15 now. I don’t have a problem with that, but some might. All in all, it’s great for many people.

  10. Rassi said:
    on February 20th at 12:01 pm

    Just looked at the link to the First Robinson Bank – it’s only for people in their general area in Illinois. Not available nationwide (at least according to their website). Union State Bank, on the other hand, is available nationwide.

  11. Daniel said:
    on February 20th at 04:00 pm

    5.26 % at Bank of Ripley in Ripley, TN (for the first $ 25K) is what I have been earning every month for past 11 months consistently. NO Gotcha’s, Excellent Customer Service. 6.01 % interest rates can be found by going to http://www.checkingfinder.com

  12. Jim said:
    on February 22nd at 06:48 pm

    reread it and it looks like Money is right..$5 charge for every time used over 6 times. That means minimum of $20./month…

  13. Jim said:
    on February 22nd at 07:06 pm

    Also First Robinson bank sys you have to reside there in Illinois. What about the other ones? Can you live say in Ca and apply?

  14. Larry Hopkins said:
    on February 25th at 12:34 pm

    How does one go about making 10 debits per month (ATM transactions don’t count). Can you just go to grocery stores and gas stations and run the total up to 10, I’m guessing? Some of these banks suggest or require that your signature be on the debit receipt. so just paying all your credit cards, utility bills, etc. wouldn’t count.

  15. Dollar Bill said:
    on March 4th at 12:18 pm

    Larry if you want to be on the safe side, go inside gas stations, fast food places, and sign your receipts just to be on the safe side. Otherwise, call the banks that have these requirements and ask for specifics. Write down the name, time, date, and location of the person to whom you spoke.

    I keep lists of transactions for banks that wanna try to get me to jump through hoops. Same with rebates—delivery confirmation with return receipt every time baby. It’s the only want to guarantee you’re going to get what they offer.

  16. Dollar Bill said:
    on March 4th at 12:23 pm

    AmericaNet is going benefit A LOT from all the displeased customers that try at First Robinson. Larry Hopkins is right that many of these banks are sure suffering from the negative publicity that Bankaholic is giving them. More and more First Robinson is looking like a “rip-off artist” as Larry put it. Beware folks.

  17. Tracy said:
    on March 17th at 03:53 pm

    Looks like the terms of this deal have changed, it is now paying 5.25% on the first $10,000 rather than $25,000.

  18. fobulous said:
    on March 20th at 03:49 pm

    1. Do you have to reside in the states these banks are located?

    2. Where did you read the rule about using Visa Checkcard more than 6 times and incurring a $5 fee?

  19. RateRunner said:
    on March 23rd at 10:36 am

    fobulous,
    The offer from AmericaNet is nationwide. And the $5 fee is for the bank’s Money Market Account, not its Rewards Checking Account. The checking account requires you to make at least 10 check card purchases a month to qualify for the 5.25% rate.

  20. Always Looking For A Deal said:
    on March 25th at 12:03 pm

    I have some credit cards that give me 2 to 5% on some purchases, so I wouldn’t want to use this for some of my large grocery shopping or restaurant purchases. Can the 10 transactions be small purchases or do they want you to make large purchases with your debit card? Thanks.

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