Considering that the Federal Reserve has cut the target federal funds rate to below 0.25%, it is shocking to see that DollarSavingsDirect is still running a 4.00% APY online savings account.
I’m curious how they can afford to pay out such a high interest, and I’m also very wary of the fact that they have a 1 star Bankrate Safe & Sound® rating. But hey, this is a killer rate and it’s FDIC insured, so this could be a nice place to stash some cash.
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Your late to the party pal, I have been getting that rate since October. The Dollar rules!
The Dollar rate seems to be a 3.5% advertised rate on their site with a yield of 4%. Not sure how they are calculating it though…seems high. Also, this is a variable rate savings account that the rate can change any time? Unless I missed something by going to their site.
Fred
Yea, whats up with this?? I did some digging into this as well and it appears they are a branch or subsidiary of Emigrant Bank. They came on the seen pretty fast and their whole website just seems to be one giant landing page. Good rate though and FDIC insurance is music to my ears!
The rate is good, too bad the rating is low. For a small investment I would consider it. I mst admit, that I do not feel comfortable entrusting my money to any ONE institution.
Dollar, so what is your result since October?
I have $120,000 at Dollar Savings Direct. Who cares if they’re 1-star rated? They’re FDIC insured!
The 3.5% rate is for a 16-month CD. 4% is for savings.
Hope they keep it up a bit longer.
3.5 rate is for their CD. Savings rate is 4.00% APR. No problems w/transfers.
This definitely seems like a teaser rate in order to attract new funds. I would much rather lock in a fixed CD rate now as opposed to hoping they won’t cut my APY..
AVOID this bank as if it were the plague. Terrible customer service, painfully slow transfers, and just all around sketchy. I took my money out and went with a lower rate from a bigger and safer bank.
My HSBC fell to 2.6%.
1 star rating is ok if I’m going to keep it there only till the rate falls- which its bound to do.
This bank is terrible! Slow transfers, poor website design, in times like these you would have to mad to put your money here. I don’t care how high the rate is.
Don’t let the rates fool you. This is bank is third class in every sense. Smart money banks with HSBC or something comprable to them. I closed my account after 4 weeks and had to pay a heft penalty.
Feh! You’re better off keeping your money in the trunk of your car.
I’ve been with Emigrant Direct for a couple of years and found Dollar Direct on this site. Same bank but different minimum requirement to get the 4%. I’ve been with Capital One Bank and FNBO, both of which take 3 days to post your deposit and 3 days to return your funds. Emigrant and Dollar Direct are next day transfers, offer higher rates and FDIC insured. This is like a big duh………teaser rate or not, I’ve been collecting 4% since September and love this account.
Well, all’s well that ends well, but this is a very involved process. The rate however, is excellent and worth the aggravation. Be prepared to open one account (savings) to open another form of acccoutn (CD). Also, if you have placed your money elsewhere recently and opened accounts to accomplish that, be prepared to be declined from the process, understanding that you will have to contact them to find out why and establish that you are not a terrorist. Good luck with this. I did get my savings account and 2 CD’s.
After few days I like this bank already. I have been with local bank Corus with 3.8% APY but they compute interest every month not like Dollar that does this every day. Transfers are very quick. There is only one problem money after a transfer are available after 8 days.
this bank is the tops people. fast transfers good phone support and highest interest rate. been with them for over 7 months
Have been with Dollar Savings Direct since November. Very knowledgeable customer service representatives who have been easy to reach. Fast transfers,user friendly website, interest posted to date. They do put a hold on new incoming transfers for a week so you don’t have access to it, but it is posted and earning interest from the day they receive it. I’ve encountered no fees, no problems, and since they are FDIC insured, will continue banking with them.
I’ve had at least one account with Emigrant Direct since 2004 and have never had one problem. Granted I put money in and rarely take any out but when I have the transfers have been quick and painless.
Dollar Savings Direct being a branch of Emigrant has been exactly the same for me since Sept of last year when I opened my account, absolutley no problems. Very easy to do business with.
I found some credit unions CD’s yielding 7% but you can only invest a few grand.
link:
There are 2 banks that offer CHECKING accounts with a 6.01% APY.
The max is $25,000 and you have to have 1 direct deposit or debit per month and use their debit card at least 10 times per month. One bank is Page Valley Bank in Luray VA (5 star) and the other is Charter Bank in Albuquerque NM (3 star).
I used Emigrant a few years ago and was happy with the service but their rates were no longer competitive. Then I found DSD in November and it is, from what I can tell, the same exact service. I’ve had many online accounts and this one rates near the top. Just a couple comments:
* transfers in are fast but sometimes need to happen a couple days into the future
* transfers in are held for about a week, but they make it clear, and interest accrues on day one
* customer service is great and I typically get an answer via email the next day
* there are no checks or atm cards or anything, all transfers and done electronically and online
If those things work for you I think you’ll be happy with them.
I switched from Bank Of America to Dollar Savings………. have been treated very well and satisfied with the service. Will stay with them unless the interest drops………
I’m glad someone has finally mentioned the phenomenon of DSD – while every other bank’s been dropping rates like bad habits, DSD has stayed at 4.00% since October 9 I believe. This ain’t no teaser rate – investors have been locked into that rate for three months and counting. In this environment, DSD is like a liquid CD. It really does seem ridiculous with the FED rate so low. I’d put my money there if I didn’t have my 5% Rewards Checking.
I’ve been banking with EmigrantDirect for some time, and DollarSavingsDirect is simply another portal to effectively the same platform. I’ve found the website simple to use and transfers within acceptable timeframes (I don’t recall specifics, but I also don’t recall being aggrevated with undue delays, although bank transfers are rarely instantaneous). There is a higher minimum deposit for DollarSavingsDirect. Also, this is guesswork, but b/c both sites feed into Emigrant Bank, I would play it safe and keep your aggregate deposits in both websites below the FDIC minimum for one institution, i.e., treating both sites as one bank. I don’t know if this is in fact the case, but I think it’s the prudent thing to do.
Can someone tell me what DSD stands for?
Thanks.
It’s a teaser rate and will change in a few months I’m sure.
Then we play the shell game again looking for the one offering the highest rate till they change etc…and the game goes on.
Good service, transferring in and out is no problem.
what is the link to the home page of DSD ?
I don’t know what’s with all the people (shills for other banks probably, or just losers) who are hating on this site.
Yeah, it’s 1-star rated, but so what? Stay under $250K FDIC limit and it doesn’t matter.
Transfers are extremely fast (1-2 days), rate is great. What else do you need?
Rate has been this way for since early October, it has not been a teaser rate. However I don’t think 4% savings can last for much longer, given the rates other banks are offering that are much lower.
Signup was simple, no problems, no need to call customer service for anything.
Got the 4% 16-mo CD while it lasted (only a few weeks), and it instantly accepted funds from the savings account. Supposedly, you can transfer out accrued interest from the CD at any time without penalty into your savings account.
Steve: DSD = Dollar Savings Direct
Chuck: http://www.dollarsavingsdirect.com
Something tells me if you’re asking these questions then an online account probably isn’t for you.
I was a happy Dollar Savings Direct customer.
However, when they made a BIG mistake, they immediately went into denial mode and refused to help remedy the problem.
Thanks solely to the bank which I had linked my DSD account to, I was able to recover my savings at DSD.
When things run smoothly, DSD seems great. However, their customer service has proved to by abysmal, and their stunts, combined with their extremely low safety rating at Bankrate, makes me want to scream RUN!
You might not get as good of a rate elsewhere, but DSD’s rate isn’t worth the risk
Dollar Savings Direct is a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank of New York–
a great bank around since the 1800’s. Why it has only one star is
somewhat puzzling, but I have had no problems with transfers in or
out. It has the same next day service as Emigrant. Why take 2.5
percent when you can safely get 4 percent!!! Other banks may have
a great name but they offer a lousy rate. If Dollar does decrease their
rate, switch to another that has a high rate. FNBO is a great bank
that recently dropped their rate from 3.25 to 2.80 so I transferred
the funds to Dollar Savings Direct. It;s that simple. In these times
of low rates, you have to go to the bank that offers the highest rate
provided it is FDIC insured. I do not believe Dollar will falter. They
say they are able to offer this rate because they do not offer ATM
cards, checking accts, credit or debit cards, etc. They are purely
a savings bank unlike its parent Emigrant which offers all of those
things and only pays 2.50 percent.
I’m with Mike M –
Their customer service is absolutely horrid.
The rate may seem great, and they may be FDIC insured, but all that doesn’t matter since their screw-ups lead to hefty fees to correct the damage that offset the higher rate.
I’ve had my savings at DSD since mid 2008 when the rate was 3.75 and has since increased to 4.00. I’m perfectly comfortable with DSD. FDIC insured…transfers are easy…yes the money isn’t available for 7 days but if you are SAVING why would that be a problem? In this economy it makes no sense not to stash your cash where the highest FDIC insured savings rate exists.
RESPONSES, PLEASE – - Have any of you asked/challenged your local bank (etc) to match this 4% rate? I know it’s a different world now, but it’s been very successful for me in the last year. And I have 6 CDs maturing between Feb and Aug of this year at 4 banks, and that’s my plan.
Response to Bish:
Great idea and it works. Just last week I asked my credit union to match a 3.75% 15 month w/bump up rate and I didn’t even have to show any ads. They were happy to and I’m especially glad because now the rates went down. I will ask them again to match or go higher on another cd I have coming due. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
DSD just lowered the savings account rate to 3.5%. Bummer but I figured the fairy tale had to end sooner or later. No alternative with a better rate for now.
3.5% is still better than anyone else. Others have lowered their rate recently, so it still pays to keep your cash in DSD.
Their rate is now 3.5%, but they also lowered the “My Way CD” to 3.25%, which is always a leading indicator for Emigrant/DSD where their interest rates are going. Expect another cut to 3.25% for DSD within 2-3 weeks.
At 3.5% vs. 2.8% at good, solid, stable banks with good customer service, the risk at DSD simply isn’t worth it.
I’m STILL fighting to get them to pay up for their error when they made an unauthorized withdrawal on my linked account (leaving it overdrawn).
Their customer service STINKS.
I like the DSD rate and will be looking into these Credit Union rates (why are they not showing up on BankRate???)
I have been with DSD for 3 months now and have been mostly happy. disappointed the rate just went down, I wish they would have at least notified me of the new rate.
One word of caution, as an on again off again avid rate chaser I often hooked up bank accounts to my paypal account so i always had a way to transfer money between any 2 bank, though at some delay.
DSD will gladly accept a deposit into your account from paypal, but it will deny any outgoing transfers that were initiated on the DSD website, including transfers you authorized through paypal by providing your account info/routing number and confirming the deposits.
also no need to worry about the 1 star rating, that is what FDIC is for. And truth be told, your money is safer with a small bank that is about to collapse than a large bank that might collapse as the large bank might actually wipe out the FDIC insurance fund, which depending on the political winds might leave you high and dry. But FDIC can easily absorb small bank failures.
You people need serious help.
DSD seems like the best rate out there for now
I just transferred 250k into my account, hopefully the 3.50 will stay there for awhile. Also, all of my 250k is covered by the FDIC right?
Focusing on the process and not the interest rate, although its the second highest, I found opening a new account an easy process and comparable with most other online saving/money market accounts I have opened in the past. I was going to open an account with another, who’s rate was .01 higher, but they wanted a bunch of documents faxed to them. My current bank did not want to match the APY, so here I am again moving my account.
I opened on 1/15 with $80k for the 4%. Last week the transfer was made and account opened. Of course, as you all know now, the rate dropped to 3.5. Dont think I had the 4% more than a day. Bummer is right. Sounds like its best to stay for a while since it’s the highest rate going now. I would like to know why FRED thinks we need help since he’s on here reading the comments but not offering anything.Who needs a life?
Dollar Savings Direct, as of January 26, 2009 is now down to 3.50 apr on savings accounts. Still better than most.
Seems just this week the advertised rate dropped to 3.5%. FDIC. Seems like safe haven for our stimulus checks.
Some of you stated that DSD has the highest rate available but that is incorrect. Bank of Internet has an advertised rate of 3.51 and Chesapeake Bank’s online banking derivative Clear Sky Accounts is adbertising 3.75 until March. Both banks have a high bankrate rating and don’t require $1K to open an account. I just opened an account with both of them.
Regarding the clear sky bank…looks like a short term teaser. Found this comment on another respected bank website:
Just opened a Clear Sky Account today, Friday, Jan. 30th, to lock in the 3.75 and was advised via phone contact with a Chesapeake Bank rep handling Clear Sky that effective Monday, Feb. 2nd, the Clear Sky online rate will drop to 3.15. So you have through Sunday, Feb.1st, to open up and lock in the 3.75 until end of March when it will reset to ?, the new 3.15?
DollarSavingsDirect has lowered their rate to 3.50% APY; still good with the current fed fund rate
Read the small print relating FDIC insured deposits . They will insure and will pay but they do have an eight year pay back clause.
DollarSavingsDirect back on top, highest rate listed, 3.50.
At Dave, that is good information. I already had an account opened two weeks ago so I guess I’m locked in. Even if it is a teaser rate, I have until April to collect 3.75 APY(which is the highest I’ve seen) at which I can just move my money somewhere else.
Doller savings decreased their interest rate to 3.5% APY
6.01% APY for checking account upto $25,000 Balance. Some requirments for higher APY but still very attractive.
https://www.smbtonline.com/personal/checking/premium-rewards.html
Dollar Savings just dropped the interest rate again today from 3.5% to 3.2% APY.
Dollar Savings Direct decreased their APY to 3.2 today.
Just found this out after a quick search on the web. Doral Bank Direct, which is of Doral Bank FSB, has a promotional rate of 3.5 APY guaranteed for the next three months. There are a few strings attached: $1000 is the minimum initial deposit, you have to maintain the $1K minimum to earn the yeild and $250 minimum balance must be maintained to avoid a monthly service fee. Also Bankrate has given Doral Bank its highest rating(5 stars). I have not opened an account with them yet but this might be worth a look. Anyone with any more information on this bank?
Just dropped again to 3.2%
The Red Canoe Credit union said they will have a grand opening intrest rate of 4.25 about 2/26/2009. I’m waiting for it.
Now down to 3.05% as of today.
Any recommendations on where to put 50k? i would like to stay away from the markets right now, thank you for any imput
PETER do you have a link for the red canoe credit union? Thanks
H&R Block Bank has a 12 month cd at 3.25% fixed and is FDIC insured. I just opened one online and funded it in about 10 minutes or less with no problem. May want to look there Joe.
FYI – Dollar Savings has taken bailout funds to the tune of $267 million through their parent company.
The bigger problem for them might be that they’ve been employing the wife of the House Republican Whip…. as a director of a branch that the employees say has no customers.
Dollar Savings dropped to merely 2.65% now. Take your money and stuff it under a mattress.
“You people need serious help.”
Umm no – were just bankaholics…stacking our chips up at the highest rates on the net. haha
DSD is the best. Fast, easy to use, great service thus far and usually the highest rate!
I had trouble opening an account at DSD because of anomalous state laws in WI. I ended up having to call them twice and everything went smoothly. Haven’t had any problems since. Rate is falling lately as expected but it’s still relatively good.
Dollar Savings dropped again down to 2.50% APY now. Not surpising but disapointing.
Now 2.25%. Time to move money!
The rate is now 2.25, not worth it.
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