Ally bank savings acct.

[ObviouslyNotAGolfer]

I am going to open a high interest rate savings acct soon. I am contemplating Ally Bank with their whopping 1% APY. Does anyone have any experience with them? Easy to deal with? Any issues?

https://www.ally.com/bank/online-savings-account/

[Joel]

I've been using Ally for over a year now. They have great customer service and web interface.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

I've found I can generally trust Ally.  Many 5-year CDs penalize you for a year of interest on early withdrawals, but Ally's CD penalty is just 5 months on a 5 year CD.  So besides having great rates, Ally seems to be reasonable about fees.  Their interface has been easy for me to use.

I'm not sure if you can deposit checks without using Ally's mobile app.  I've had problems trying to find a mailing address, or using my ATM card to make a deposit and eventually gave up and deposited elsewhere.  So don't close your other account if you need check deposit.

[ObviouslyNotAGolfer]

Hi Thanks for your replies. I just want to be able to transfer funds online from/to my credite union's savings or checking accounts when I feel like it. I am guessing this is fairly easy?

[JetBlast]

Yes, the transfers are easy but can take a few days. If you plan to move money back and forth often it would be inconvenient. If you're looking for a place to stash some emergency cash or save up a downpayment Ally works great.

[ObviouslyNotAGolfer]

Sounds good. (BTW do you like gladiator movies?)

[GoingConcern]

I just created an account a few weeks ago for the 1% savings rate.  So far I like the user interface since it is quite simple. 

But I don't have direct deposit or pay my bills using Ally. 

[oldladystache]

I've been using them for many years. No complaints.

[Car Jack]

I've also been with Ally for over a year.  I find that transfers from my credit union and back consistently take 4 days before the funds show "available" on either end.  I plan ahead and transfer well before I might need to use the funds.

There is a higher interest place to go.  Redneck Bank.  Yah, sounds sketchy.  It's the internet branch of All America bank.  Turn on the sound effects on their main page for entertainment.  1.25% APR.  They limit transfers either way to $1k for some amount of time.  They say 30 days, but 3 months into my account, I'm still limited to $1k.  Understanding this, I work it well in advance.  Oh, another thing is that outside of business hours, it allows no transfers.  So forget about moving money on a Saturday afternoon.

[Stashaholic]

I've had Ally for many years. They're super easy to use and I've had no problems linking multiple bank accounts and setting up transfers. 3-4 days is a standard transfer time, but not a big deal if you don't need the funds immediately. I even use Ally as a hub between several bank accounts if the other banks do not offer outside transfers. Setup everything through Ally then you can push and pull funds between all of them.

Note that if you are opening a joint account, make sure to create your own Ally login. I found the hard way that if you do not initiate the linking to a personal account through your own login (with your name) the other bank may lock up the funds transfer if the names do not match between the linked accounts.

[LZZ]

I use Ally for all my personal accounts.  I highly recommend.
Transfers from by business accounts at Chase take 1-2 days and always have. 
Bill payments/transfers outs take 1-4 days (eg, American Express card payment 1 day, Electric bill 2 days, rent payment 4 days).

[Lucky Recardito]

Ally is super-great -- love them. Easy to set up transfers to other banks; great app; great interface overall. Been banking there for years and recommend them regularly.

One limitation I've run into: they do not do international wire transfers. Not a limitation that will bother everyone -- but it's come up for me when planning travel overseas and making bookings in places that don't accept credit cards or PayPal.

Also, their POP money service (sending $$ to others) is a little low-fi and sub-par -- it works, but it's slow and hard to use. But I wouldn't be surprised if they improve this in the near future.

[Rubic]

One limitation I've run into: they do not do international wire transfers. Not a limitation that will bother everyone -- but it's come up for me when planning travel overseas and making bookings in places that don't accept credit cards or PayPal.

My default savings account is Barclays for just this reason.  It also pays a 1%
rate, similar to Ally.

But my first $15K goes into Lake Michigan Credit Union, which pays 3% (up to
$15K) with some minimum activity: debit purchases, account logins, monthly transfer.

Both accounts are FDIC insured, of course.