I have put together a review comparing 10 high yield online savings accounts. After performing a thorough research on each of these accounts I have come up with a set of criteria, (listed below) according to which I have organized these reviews. I have placed these accounts in order starting with the ones that scored highest in the comparison.

Here are the criteria I used in determining the order of these reviews:

• Number of fees and their dollar amounts

• Ease of funds transfer between your local bank and your online savings account

• Level of APY (Annual Percentage Yield) and how often interest is compounded

• Minimum deposit to open an account and minimum balance required to obtain the highest APY

• Free things that are included with the account

If you’re not familiar with high yield savings accounts and how you can benefit from them, I recommend you read my other article, “High Interest Accounts“.

The information from the accounts listed below is accurate as of August 7, 2009. I will try to keep this information up to date, but, please, visit the sites yourself to find the most current info.

All ten of these savings accounts are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 per depositor.

#1

Bank Name:
Emigrant Direct

Business Info:
Emigrant Direct is a division of Emigrant Bank which was founded in 1850.

Name of the Account:
American Dream Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 1.40% compounded daily.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
No need to maintain a minimum account balance and there is no minimum opening deposit that I can see.

Fees:
No fees and no hidden costs.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
You can set up automatic recurring transfers between your American Dream Savings Account and your regular bank account.

Up to 24 months of online statements.

How To Transfer Money:
You can transfer funds to and from your American Dream Savings Account and your linked checking account electronically. Or for the initial deposit you may also send in a check.

#2

Bank Name:
ING DIRECT

Business Info:
ING Groep N.V. headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands was founded in 1991 through the merger between Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Groep.

In the United States, ING Direct, a branchless bank was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

Name of the Account:
Orange Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 1.40% compounded monthly.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
No minimums!

Fees:
There are none!

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
The Automatic Savings Plan lets you set a specified amount of money to be transferred automatically from your local bank to the Orange Savings Account on a regular basis.

Get free online statements.

How To Transfer Money:
You can transfer funds between your Orange Savings Account and your local bank very easily by logging into your user account at ingdirect.com.

There is also an interactive phone service that can be called at anytime. Or you can speak to an associate during office hours, 7 days a week.

#3

Bank Name:
HSBC Direct

Business Info:
The HSBC Group is named after its founding member, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which was founded in 1865. Now HSBC Group has operations worldwide and has been headquartered in London since 1993.

HSBC Direct is an online service launched in 2005.

Name of the Account:
Online Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 1.55%

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
No minimum balance requirements, just a $1.00 opening deposit.

Fees:
These are the only fees I could find on this account, though the dollar amount was not specified:

Non-sufficient funds fee
Stop payment order fee
Returned item fee

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
Automatic Recurring Transfer Plan

How To Transfer Money:
For deposits you can mail a check or money order to Buffalo, New York, send an electronic transfer from your regular bank account or use a wire transfer.

To make withdrawals you can transfer funds to your regular bank account from your Online Savings Account, withdraw cash from an ATM or request that a check be mailed to you.

#4

Bank Name:
FNBO Direct

Business Info:
FNBO Direct is a division of First National Bank of Omaha, which was founded in 1857.

Name of the Account:
Online Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 1.50% compounded monthly.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
$1.00 minimum opening deposit and no minimum balance requirements.

Fees:
There are no regular monthly fees with this account, however other special service fees apply. One notable fee to watch out for is the dormant account fee. The initial charge is $25.00 and $5.00 for each proceeding month in which the account is inactive. I don’t know how long an account can be inactive before they consider it to be dormant though.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
Automatic recurring transfers
Online statements, (available for 18 months)

How To Transfer Money:
You may transfer money electronically back and forth from your Online Savings Account and your local bank account at any time.

You can also make cash withdrawals at ATMs, mail checks for deposit to Omaha, Nebraska or use a wire transfer.

#5

Bank Name:
Citibank

Business Info:
Founded in New York in 1812

Name of the Account:
Ultimate Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 1.30%

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
There is a minimum deposit of $100.00 to open an account but no minimum balance is required after that.

Fees:
No regular fees, though other special service fees apply.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
ATM/Debit card
Online statements
Citi Mobile (access your account from your cell phone, smart phone or iPhone).

How To Transfer Money:
To make deposits there are a few methods to choose from: direct debit (when opening an account), inter institution transfer, direct deposit, wire transfer, and US mail.

To withdraw funds you can use your ATM/Debit card or use inter institution transfer, which can be done online.

#6

Bank Name:
E*Trade

Business Info:
Headquartered is New York City, founded in 1991.

Name of the Account:
Complete Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 0.80% compounded daily.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
$1.00 minimum opening deposit and no minimum balances.

Fees:
No regular fees, though other special service fees apply.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
Online statements.

How To Transfer Money:
Use Quick Transfer to transfer money electronically between your Complete Savings Account and your regular bank.

You can also mail a check or use wire transfer.

#7

Bank Name:
Dollar Savings Direct

Business Info:
Dollar Savings Direct is a division of Emigrant Bank, which was founded in 1850.

Name of the Account:
Dollar Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 1.70% compounded daily. This APY applies to accounts with an average daily balance of $1,000.00 or more for the statement period. If the average daily balance falls below $1,000.00 during the statement period your account will earn an APY of 1.00%.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
There is no minimum account balance to maintain, and no minimum opening deposit that I can see.

Fees:
No fees and no hidden costs.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
You can set up automatic recurring transfers between the Dollar Savings Account and your regular bank account.

Up to 24 months of online statements.

How To Transfer Money:
You can transfer funds to and from your Dollar Savings Account and your linked checking account electronically. Or for the initial deposit you may also send in a check.

#8

Bank Name:
Capital One

Business Info:
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, founded in 1988.

Name of the Account:
Online Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
For account balances lower than $10,000 the APY is 0.60%. For balances of $10,000 or more the APY is 1.60%. Both of these are variable and compounded daily.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
There is no minimum balance required and the minimum to open an account is just $1.00.

Fees:
There are no regular fees with this account, however other fees may apply.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
Get statements online as well as mailed monthly to your address.

How To Transfer Money:
Electronic transfers are free through the Online Banking service and can be made between the Online Savings Account and your regular bank when logged into your user account.

You may also submit a Wire Request Form to wire funds out of your Online Savings Account to your local bank, though there will be a fee of $20.00, (no fee for depositing via wire transfer).

For depositing money, mailing a check is another option.

#9

Bank Name:
WTDirect

Business Info:
WTDirect is a division of Wilmington Trust FSB, which is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and was founded in 1903.

Name of the Account:
WTDirect Savings Account

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
For accounts with balances lower than $10,000 the APY is 0.15%. Accounts with balances of $10,000 or more the APY is 1.76%. Both of these rates are variable. Interest from this account is compounded daily.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
There are no minimums.

Fees:
There are no regular monthly fees with this account, but other charges apply for special services.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
Set up a recurring transfer to your WTDirect Savings Account.

How To Transfer Money:
Transfer funds electronically between your WTDirect Savings Account and your regular bank account. Or you can also use a wire transfer, (not allowed for first deposits).

For the initial deposit you may also mail a check to Wilmington, Delaware.

For withdrawals you may request that a check be mailed to you or you can use a wire transfer. Both of these options have fees.

#10

Bank Name:
Bank of Internet

Business Info:
A branchless bank with headquarters in San Diego, California. Founded in 1999.

Name of the Account:
High Yield Savings

Annual Percentage Yield (APY):
A variable 1.75% compounded daily.

Minimum Deposit To Open an Account and Minimum Account Balance:
There is a $100.00 minimum deposit to open an account but after that there is no minimum balance required.

Fees:
There are no regular monthly fees, however there are many others to watch out for, such as a $25 fee for closing an account within 90 days of opening it. Also, there is a $2 per month fee for accounts that have been inactive for one year.

Free Stuff Included With the Account:
Get free online statements.
Free postage paid bank by mail envelopes.

How To Transfer Money:
You can deposit funds to your account either by mailing a check to San Diego, California in a free postage paid envelope or by wire transfer from your local bank. Though Bank of Internet does not accept wire transfers for initial deposits, but you may use an Electronic Check. Both of these options (check and Electronic Check) are selectable when filling out an account application online.

You can make wire withdrawals from this account, though there’s a fee of $30.00.

You may also use your ATM card to make cash withdrawals from ATMs or use it to buy goods from merchants who will accept it (Bank of Internet will reimburse ATM fees up to their monthly reimbursement limit).