UPDATE: As of JULY 2016, this offer has now been reduced to
5% interest on the first $1,000, then 1% on any amount after that. This makes it much less desirable I believe. I will likely be closing my accounts, but it was nice to get the 5% for the year I had it there.
I heard about the 5% interest Savings account that you can get by opening a Netspend or Brinks pre-paid card. I opened a couple accounts last November to give it a try.
You can receive 5% interest up to $5,000. It worked and I received the interest into the account. The interest is doled out quarterly. I now plan to take the bit of interest earned and throw it toward my student loan. Every bit helps. Read a more in-depth article about it here:
http://cashcowcouple.com/investing/5-interest-savings-account/So if you are interested in stashing some short-term money (which for us was our down-payment savings and used car fund money), this would be a great way to get more than the 1% you see from the online banks.
(A note, there's a 90-day inactivity fee of $5.95. To avoid this fee, I just set up a monthly ACH transfer of $1 from my credit union to the card. Done, no issues, no fee.)
Edit: Forgot to add a link to the prepaid cards. Below are two links where you can receive $20 for opening an account, and I'd receive $20. There's no need to go through this link though. Just want to spread the word to those looking for a place to park your short-term savings:
Brinks referral linkWestern Union referral linkHas anyone else had success with receiving interest from either Brinks, WesternUnion, or Netspend accounts?