These days, the returns available for cash and short term CD investments are so low, many are just giving up on seeking higher rates and writing cash off as a lost investment. But, there are other options.
The idea of opening an account with 1.30% with the likes of Sallie Mae or American Express's Bank should get you excited because these rates are competitive and risk free. But, if you need some sort of other incentive, there are other things out there.
For starters, you might want to look into an outfit called BankDirect which is owned by an FDIC-insured outfit called Texas Capital Bank is willing to give you 100 American Airlines miles for every $1000 in your account each month.
Let's do the math, $100,000 at Sallie Mae or American Express is going to produce $1,300 this year (assuming rates stay the same and neither rise nor fall). $100,000 at Bank Direct is going to yield 120,000 American Airlines miles (assuming they continue the program). That's not an unattractive proposition for those who travel often and are savvy about frequent flier programs who can probably figure out how to get more than $1300 in value out of the miles. However, you should be reporting the miles as income on your tax returns so that should factor into your equation.
Likewise, those people shopping for CDs are likely to find that the best rate today, according to BestCashCow.com, is 1.85% for a 2 year CD (at CNB Bank Direct), 2.25% for a three year CD (at EBSB Direct) and 2.50% for a five year CD (at Acacia Federal Savings Bank). Yet, those out for rewards might be intrigued by a website called GiftsforBanking.com which is owned by Flushing Savings Bank and also owns IGoBanking.com. That website is offering CD rates of 0.75% on a 2 year, 1.05% on a three year and 1.75% of a five year CD. A $5,000 deposit for a 2 year period will get you a Cross watch or a Nambe bowl (among other things), but a $100,000 deposit will get you a cruise or a 46 inch TV or a bicycle with a 2 year commitment, and 5 year commitment will get you a 7 night getaway for two to Hawaii or St. Thomas or a 65 inch TV or all new Whirlpool appliances for your kitchen.
Let's do the math on this one. $100,000 is going to produce close to $3,800 over two years with a CNB Bank Direct CD; your giftsforbanking.com CD will earn $1,500 during the same time and give you something that probably isn't worth the difference. $100,000 in a five year CD is going to earn about $13,100 at 2.50% whereas the same money at Giftsforbanking.com is going to earn about $4,000 during the same period. Equally, you probably aren't going to find something on the giftsforbanking.com website that is worth the $9,100 difference. To boot, Giftsforbanking.com makes it very clear on their website that they are sending you a 1099 for the value of the gift.
Find out about the rewards that the Citi/AAdvantage card has to offer.
Citibank and American Airlines are offering a credit card deal that frequent flyers will find hard to resist. The new Citi/AAdvantage card awards 50,000 American Airlines bonus miles to customers who apply before February 28, 2011.
To qualify for the free miles, cardholders must charge at least $2000 on the card over the first four months of membership. If you tend to make $500 in monthly credit purchases, then with this offer you could earn two roundtrip domestic flights without even having to change your spending habits.
American Airlines also grants to all new cardholders a “companion certificate,” which slashes the cost of two domestic airline tickets down to the price of one.
Furthermore, with every dollar spent on the Citi/AAdvantage card, cardholders receive one bonus mile. For most credit users, that’s going to add up to hundreds of free miles a month, and they never expire. So along with the more immediate benefits to using this card, there are long-term perks too.
This deal, however, is subject to a few rules and restrictions. Citibank charges between $75 and $85 in annual service fees (though they do waive all fees for the first 12 months). In addition, cardholders can earn no more than $100,000 bonus miles per year. But anyone who spends over $100,000 in credit purchases is either so rich that they don’t need free miles or so underwater in debt that they can’t possibly afford to vacation in the first place.
Overall, it’s an easy way for travelers to eliminate some of their expenses. To learn more about this offer, click here.
The WTDirect savings account is geared towards the investor who has $10,000 or more to invest. In exchange, the bank offers higher interest rates and exceptional customer service.
We’ve all seen online banks advertise great deals on saving account interest rates. The banks offer an extremely attractive interest rate, but in many cases, the offer is only valid up to a certain balance limit. Any deposited funds that exceed the balance limit earn a significantly lower interest rate than the higher advertised rate. So what do you do when you have higher amounts to invest but want liquidity? WTDirect offers a solution.
WTDirect has a personal savings account geared towards higher balances of $10,000 or more. The current APY offered is 1.21%, and they advertise that their savings account rate is consistently in the top 5% of banks. Balances under $10,000 earn a mere 0.15%, so this account definitely isn’t for people who want to invest lower limits. However, the bank will honor the 1.21% interest rate on any account balance for the first 60 days, to give customers a chance to try their service before they commit to a large deposit.
In addition to the higher interest rate on higher balances, the main benefit of WTDirect is their commitment to superior customer service. The company’s website states “WTDirect is not for everyone. Our Personal Online Savings Account is designed for savers in control of their finances who insist upon higher standards.”The bank provides a more flexible savings account and greater personal service in exchange for higher balances. As part of their pledge for higher customer service, the company boasts they have live representatives answer calls 7 days a week. Additionally, there are no fees for the account, no minimum deposit required to open an account, it offers free mobile banking, and an unlimited number of transfer links to other bank accounts.
WTDirect, a division of Wilmington Trust FSB, launched in 2006, but Wilmington Trust Company has been around since 1903, providing a variety of banking and financial services in over 80 countries.
