Comments on: Bank of Sierra 4.51% Reward Checking

By: CrankySaver

CrankySaver — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:11:15 +0000

Guys. Look at the date on this post. It's almost a year old. You can't expect banks to be honoring their rates from 2009. We just posted a list of the five reward checking accounts still paying 4% or more yesterday. You can't get any more up-to-date than that. And Bank of the Sierra isn't on the list.

By: George

George — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:34:58 +0000

Watch out. Your e-mail address will be published.

By: Chuck Taylor

Chuck Taylor — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:22:56 +0000

Called Bank of the Sierra and they said that they are the ones who used to offer the 4.51 APY, but it is now 3.09, Bankaholic is not up-to-date with their information!

By: Chuck Taylor

Chuck Taylor — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:46:31 +0000

I logged on to Bank of the Sierra and thier APY rate is 3.09 and not 4.51. I also logged onto Bank of Sierra which only gives other bank websites to refer to. What is the correct log-in address for the bank that is offering 4.51?

By: Nicole

Nicole — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:34:54 +0000

This is by far the best bank I have ever dealt with. I bank locally and had no problems with my rewards checking application. I have been receiving my 4.5% for the past year. In addition, their customer service is excellent. I have spoke to other locals who have also rated this bank highly. I am shocked by the negative comments due to my extremely positive experience.

By: don

don — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:33:27 +0000

Great bank. Contrary to the two previous unhappy comments, I’ve been very satisfied with their cooperative help. It’s a great deal! Go for it.

By: jaime

jaime — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:51:33 +0000

I am experiencing the same problem with the online reward checking application. It keeps telling me my information is inaccurate and customer support was useless. I can’t believe they are making the CUSTOMER do the work of fixing their problem. What a joke.

By: Unhappy Former Potential Customer

Unhappy Former Potential Customer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:38:06 +0000

What a joke- I applied online, they told me that my application was denied because I did not pass my identity verification. I called for help, they said you have to email this address. I emailed that address, and what a joke their customer service was. They did absolutely nothing. They would not provide any help until I emailed several times, and then they told me that I had to call the credit reporting agencies to figure out where the discrepancy was. So I actually did (the credit reporting agencies even thought it was amusing that a company would have ME do this), and all of my information was completely accurate. So I emailed them again, and they just kept repeating over and over we are unable to help if you didn’t pass your identity verification. No way to reset the application, or to verify the identity in any other way. I guess they don’t want to do business with me, which is perfectly fine- I can’t imagine dealing with this company and trusting them with my money! I have now seen online that this is a common issue with them. Beware of Bank of Sierra!

By: Henry

Henry — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:30:44 +0000

Rick,

Keeping old accounts is not good. They usually will not have a good rate once they dropped to the bottom. And most importantly, there is inactivity fees for most RCAs. FAB&T is especially brutal, charging fees after three months. So dumping old low-rate RCAs may be more prudent.

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:46:19 +0000

The great thing about this account is it is national. There are plenty at 5% but they are all local, here is a list: http://www.rickety.us/rewards-checking/bank-rewards-checking/

I signed up for Bank of the Sierra, no trouble. They were responsive to email questions. One thing I had difficulty with was finding the link to sign up for Estatements. The link is on the homepage, bottom right. You cannot get to it logged into your account. It doesn’t use the login and password you establish for your account but uses the first login and password you receive. Also, a PDF pops up with a link that you have to click on. I missed this the first time around. The bill pay was simple enough though.

These rewards checking accounts are great. I have had several accounts over the last two years. Be prepared to change accounts every so often but keep old accounts open with $1 or the minimum balance. I have returned to old rewards checking accounts when they became competitive again.

Many of these accounts start as national then quickly go local. One strategy is to sign up for national accounts and have them ready when your current bank drops their rate.

Hope this helps.

By: Roger

Roger — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:01:28 +0000

I tried to open this account online and kept getting refused. It said the info I was giving is wrong. I went into a local branch and opened an account but not this one. I called customer service and they pretty much refuse to help in opening this account. I even had the VP of business loans try and open the account in my name and it was refused. All the questions asked were answered correctly.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:09:21 +0000

I just opened an account with Sierra. I have spoken with them on the phone and they have been very helpful and gone out of their way to help.

By: Dollar Bill

Dollar Bill — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:45:33 +0000

Be prepared for a hit on your credit report, and expect to get declined if you have any fraud alerts on your credit report. Oh ya, and when you call customer service, expect no help because no one knows anything.

By: Rao

Rao — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:25:56 +0000

is the bank of sierra deal 4.51 apy is legit. has anyone tried?

thx

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:09:38 +0000

Wow. This is really a great rate. I’ve heard a lot of positive things about Bank of the Sierra as well. With the economy the way it is right now, a high-yield checking account is the ticket to earn easy interest. Great find.