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| Good deals return on high-yield checking |
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| For most consumers, a free checking
account is hard to beat. Free, according to the federal Truth in Savings Act,
means no minimum balance requirement and no maintenance or activity fees. A maintenance
fee might be a monthly service charge, while an activity fee could be a charge
for writing more than a specified number of checks in a month.
While some free accounts are interest-bearing,
it's much more likely that a free account will not pay interest.
But if earning interest on your checking account balance is important
to you, these accounts are worth a look. There are probably many
other banks that offer a checking account with a fine interest rate
-- this is just a sample of accounts available nationwide.
City
National Bank
Reward Checking
3.45 percent APY on balances up to $25,000
$100
minimum deposit to open
No minimum balance to earn interest
No monthly
service charge
Monthly requirements to earn interest include:
10 Visa check
card point-of-sale transactions (excluding ATM)
Direct deposit of payroll or
government benefit check
Receive monthly statement electronically
Provide
valid e-mail addressPresidential
Bank
Internet Checking Plus
3.75 percent APY on balances up to $25,000
$1,500
minimum to open
$1,000 minimum balance to avoid monthly fees
Account can only be opened online or by phone
Account requires monthly direct deposit of at least $200
Everbank
FreeNet Checking Account
4.5 percent introductory APY applies for three months after account
is opened. After that, a tiered APY applies based on the average
daily balance in your account. The lowest tier is 2.51 percent for
balances below $9,999; the highest tier, 3 percent for balances
of $100,000 or more.
$1,500
minimum to open
Imperial
Capital Bank
iChecking
2.5 percent APY on minimum
daily balance of $1,000 or $2,500 average daily balance
$1,000 minimum to open
$15 monthly maintenance fee can be avoided by having direct deposit
or by maintaining the balances necessary to earn interest.
AmericanBank
Online
American e-Checking 3 percent APY
on deposits up to $9,999.99
A
minimum APY of 1.75 percent on deposits of $10,000 or more with a tiered structure
detailed on the Web site.
$100 minimum to open
$1,000 average monthly balance
needed to avoid $5 maintenance fee
eBank
ePremium Checking
3 percent APY>
$100 minimum to open
$2,500 minimum daily balance or $5,000 average daily balance to
avoid $10 monthly service charge
Unlimited, free worldwide ATM usage
Bank
of Internet USA
Freedom Checking
3 percent APY on balances up to $24,999
$100 minimum to open
$1,000 minimum average daily balance required to avoid $4 monthly
maintenance fee
Senior
Checking
3 percent APY on balances up to $24,999
$50 minimum to
open
No monthly fee
Must be at least 50 years oldBoomer
Checking
3 percent APY on balances up to $24,999
$50 minimum to
open
No monthly fee
Must be at least 40 years old |
