Author Topic: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?  (Read 4508 times)

wealthviahealth

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3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« on: January 17, 2015, 08:23:32 AM »
I am looking at opening a checking account at a local credit union that offers 3% interest on up to 15k.
There are a few minor caveats to this but my biggest hang up is that they will require a hard pull to open this account.

Do you think this is worth a hard pull? I have a good score but a relatively short credit history so I dislike the idea of having my score being impacted as a result.
(I have 3 hard pulls over the past 1.5 years from 2 cc's and a car) The bank will give a cc at the same time and only require one pull but the cards benefits are not all that hot.


lr

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Re: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2015, 09:18:51 AM »
That's like 10 or 20 times more than you'd get from other places. What's your current banking rate/perks? Are you planning to do any big financial stuff, like buying a house?

SaintM

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Re: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2015, 10:42:53 AM »
Are there other conditions, like you must use your debit card XX number of time per statement cycle?

The hard pull is probably only for the credit card, and you may be required to have the combination of accounts to get the interest rate. I don't see why they need to know your credit for a deposit account.

A hard pull stays on your credit report for two years. After a few months, has less of an effect. If you don't apply for credit for the next two years, it won't matter at all.

rmendpara

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Re: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2015, 09:09:24 PM »
I am looking at opening a checking account at a local credit union that offers 3% interest on up to 15k.
There are a few minor caveats to this but my biggest hang up is that they will require a hard pull to open this account.

Do you think this is worth a hard pull? I have a good score but a relatively short credit history so I dislike the idea of having my score being impacted as a result.
(I have 3 hard pulls over the past 1.5 years from 2 cc's and a car) The bank will give a cc at the same time and only require one pull but the cards benefits are not all that hot.

Why are you afraid of a hard pull? It will temporarily affect your score, but it's different than a hard pull for consumer loans/credit... it's a check to open a savings account.

Unless you regularly borrow money, the small hit won't really impact you negatively for long.

Dodge

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Re: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2015, 09:18:34 PM »
These type of accounts always require x amount of debit card purchases a month to get the reward.  I never found them to be worth it honestly, especially since I hate using debit cards vs credit cards.  I also had no interest in something that both forced me to spend money, and forced me to keep track of how much I spent.  Make sure you know all the details, including the penalties for not keeping up with their requirements.

Ricky

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Re: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2015, 11:39:06 PM »
3 reasons why its a waste of time:

1. You will get burnt out on keeping up with it.
2. The rate won't last, so you'll be stuck with a useless account that you have to close.
3. You can do better with stocks/bonds for little risk.

wealthviahealth

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Re: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2015, 03:46:59 AM »
Perhaps this sounds weird but a big part of my motive is as follows;
CC's reinforce spending with cash back, this checking 3% account requires spending( purchases not price requirements)  to hit 3%, but would otherwise reinforce saving/ keeping the balance as high as possible since it is getting 3%.

I have been enjoying all of the 5% cash back stuff on my ccs but I must admit that I have likely been spending a bit more
when using these cards since this bonus is in the back of my mind/ since they are on 0% aprs for a bit.

My returns from various funds/ stocks have of course been much higher than 3% but the idea of making this my emergency fund
and getting 3% on the 15k max balance is pretty appealing considering what my cash is getting otherwise.




frugaliknowit

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Re: 3% interest on checking account worth hard pull?
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2015, 04:59:03 AM »
I wouldn't be concerned about the hard pull.  I don't think it affects your credit the same as a loan application.  However, there are similar accounts that don't require a pull (you can try kasasa.com).

I have 2 accounts of this type to manage my cash.  If this one is similar, beware you need to keep careful track of the statement cycles and how many debit card purchases you have made during each statement cycle.  One of my accounts requires 10, the other 12.  I do tiny purchases with them (cup of coffee, pack of gum, etc.), using the rewards cards for the significant purchases thereby optimizing rewards.  As a result, I earn an average of 2.75% on my cash.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!