Author Topic: Ally bank vs ING Direct  (Read 17558 times)

jtmoney

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Ally bank vs ING Direct
« on: November 30, 2012, 12:44:12 PM »
I did a search for something like this and couldn't find it discussed anywhere.  I am about to switch to a high(er) interest savings account.  It seems that currently Ally bank is offering .95% as compared to .75% from ING Direct.  ING gets a lot of love from the financial blogging world, so I just want to see if anyone knows of a reason why I shouldn't go with Ally instead.  Maybe the rates of ING have gone down/Ally have gone up, but I just want to see if there is some information I don't have before opening the account with Ally.  Some stats on the accounts:

Neither has a monthly fee, minimum opening balance, or minimum no-fee balance.  APY Ally: .95%, APY ING: .75%.  Neither account offers free ATMS, a debit card, or bill pay.  Both offer up to 6 transactions without fee per billing statement.

It seems like the clear winner here is Ally, as all things are equal except the interest rate.  Anyone have objections to Ally?

The_Dude

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2012, 12:49:30 PM »
Ally > ING and has been for YEARS!

I've have had and still have account at both for years now.  I pretty much keep the ING accounts so I can get a few bucks on referral bonuses. 

Ally, rocks and similarly to ING has a very very well designed user friendly site (IMO).  They have consistently beat ING's rates for years.  They have the BEST deals on CD's with respect to their early withdrawal penalty.  If this is cash you won't touch for 6+ months I'd put it in a 5 year CD for example rather than just the online savings account. 

The only blip that annoyed me about Ally is that when the banks were getting bailed out I heard a rumor they had to reduce rates to comply.  No idea if true but Ally's rates were far higher than others and since then have been slightly higher (except for right after bailout time when they were a few points lower).

Keep in mind if you have smaller amounts of cash and are willing to jump through hoops there are higher rates obtainable.  Also, some local options can sometimes be better.  For me I stick with Ally.

Another Reader

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2012, 12:53:50 PM »
I dumped ING several years ago when they became uncompetitive in interest rates.  Now they have been purchased by Capital One, even more of a disincentive to do business with them.  I have had Ally accounts for at least 5 or 6 years, going back to when they still were part of GM.  Never any problems, good customer service.  You may also want to look at Sallie Mae Bank, which is paying 1.05 percent on their FDIC insured money market fund.  Here's the information page link:

https://banking.salliemae.com/login.do?_flowExecutionKey=_cD8630350-B9E3-F488-2F4E-F204AA32A604_k65592BDE-6E44-90EA-237F-3418BC88517F

tooqk4u22

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2012, 01:14:54 PM »
This was discussed before.  I can't speak to differences between the two because I have never uesed Ally - but if Ally is user friendly then go with Ally. 

Ally pays a higher rate for two reasons - (1) it has significantly lower brand recognition so it has to entice people to make the switch (i.e. buy the business and (2) Ally is financially struggling due to its mortgage business although this nothing really to worry about due to the FDIC insurance limits (if you have more than the FDIC limits I wouldn't exceed that with Ally).


giggles

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2012, 01:30:13 PM »
I also jumped from ING to Ally and Discover Bank.  Ally also has fairly flexible early CD withdraw fees.

chicagomeg

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2012, 01:50:04 PM »
I'm all about Ally. Great rates, outstanding customer service, all the things you want from your internet bank.

Confused about your comments though. I have free ATM's w/unlimited rebates, a debit card, and bill pay (I think, although it might only work w/my checking account). Maybe you're looking at the savings account instead of money market? They're identical except the debit card comes w/the money market and not the savings account.

One complaint others have about Ally is the lack of mobile deposit. Frankly, I don't care, as I just push money there from my normal bank, but it's worth noting.

tcklord

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2012, 03:11:24 PM »
I'm all about Ally. Great rates, outstanding customer service, all the things you want from your internet bank.

Confused about your comments though. I have free ATM's w/unlimited rebates, a debit card, and bill pay (I think, although it might only work w/my checking account). Maybe you're looking at the savings account instead of money market? They're identical except the debit card comes w/the money market and not the savings account.

One complaint others have about Ally is the lack of mobile deposit. Frankly, I don't care, as I just push money there from my normal bank, but it's worth noting.
Very recently like last week they added Mobile upload from the android app. Now I can deposit checks without using a scanner. I have been with Ally about a year and love it so far.

smedleyb

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2012, 03:34:12 PM »
Ally bank would not exist if not for billions in government bailouts.  Uncle Sam currently owns about 75% of the bank, and is owed roughly 12 billion.  Ally is in the process of selling off assets (when they're not throwing them into bankruptcy, i.e. Rescap) in an attempt to pay back debts. 

If they offer an above average rate of return on cash, it's because they are desperate for capital.  Selling shoddy mortgages and car loans while paying rates beyond what treasuries yield in addition to being primarily owned by the US government is no way for a bank to go through life, IMO.

Investors beware. 

Another Reader

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2012, 03:52:59 PM »
I'm not buying their stock, I'm depositing funds in FDIC insured accounts.  Their rates are competitive with Sallie Mae and American Express Savings and a little better than ING.  Their 1 year CD rates are lower than Pentagon FCU. They are unwinding their residential mortgages and put ResCap into bankruptcy, where the vultures are currently fighting over the carcass.  Bank of America is dealing with the much bigger Countrywide mess, and they aren't going anywhere.  I got some really good CD rates from Countrywide that B of A had to honor, and some from Wachovia that Wells Fargo had to honor.  If someone buys Ally or it's liquidated, what's the big deal?  And the customer service is really good, a pleasant surprise in the banking industry these days.

sheepstache

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #9 on: November 30, 2012, 03:55:20 PM »
+1 to mlipps' point on the different accounts.  The bill pay is indeed only on the checking account, though.  And the free ATMs means they refund the fee the machine charges you up to $6 a month or at least that was the deal when I opened my account years ago. 

Also, all savings accounts are going to limit you to 6 withdrawals a month; that's a federal regulation.  Or maybe it's a tangential response to federal regulation about maintaining capital by discouraging people from using savings accounts like checking accounts and this is the industry standard response, but at any rate it's common.

Another Reader

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2012, 04:04:17 PM »
Here are Ally's current deposit rates:

https://www.ally.com/bank/compare/?INTCMPID=SavingsMenu_tileL_Default

Here are the details on the checking account:

https://www.ally.com/bank/interest-checking-account/#tabs=details

And the interest rates on the checking account:

https://www.ally.com/bank/interest-checking-account/#tabs=rates

These are darn decent rates with no fees.  Works for me.

chicagomeg

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #11 on: November 30, 2012, 06:59:00 PM »
I'm all about Ally. Great rates, outstanding customer service, all the things you want from your internet bank.

Confused about your comments though. I have free ATM's w/unlimited rebates, a debit card, and bill pay (I think, although it might only work w/my checking account). Maybe you're looking at the savings account instead of money market? They're identical except the debit card comes w/the money market and not the savings account.

One complaint others have about Ally is the lack of mobile deposit. Frankly, I don't care, as I just push money there from my normal bank, but it's worth noting.
Very recently like last week they added Mobile upload from the android app. Now I can deposit checks without using a scanner. I have been with Ally about a year and love it so far.

Nice! I never use their app because I just push money to them and use Mint to check my balance, but I pulled it up and lo and behold, I have mobibe deposit on my iPhone. Sweet!

kudy

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Re: Ally bank vs ING Direct
« Reply #12 on: November 30, 2012, 07:47:27 PM »
I recently opened an Ally money market as well as a Sallie Mae money market; Sallie Mae wins on interest rate, buy Ally seems to have more features and easier access to money (they sent me a debit card, but I have checks and transfer options for both accounts as well).