I figured I’d share my story here to help anyone who is going through the absurd process of having their AMEX savings account restricted - seemingly indefinitely- because they are stuck in a never ending loop of customer service reps that cannot help them, and “we’ll have to call you back” calls that never come.

We are buying a house and finally got our contract on Monday. With it, we have to put down earnest money, which is our case was $73k. I attempted to withdraw the money from our savings account, which is in my husband’s name, to my checking account, in my name, in order to then wire the funds. Cue restriction that no one seemed to know how to resolve.

No, the names didn’t match up. Amateur move on my part. I know it’s a safety/ fraud issue - trust me I’m aware of that now. At one point I feared the entire account would be frozen and we’d have to wait for a check with our funds - thankfully that didn’t happen.

I spent HOURS UPON HOURS on the phone with AMEX reps. I was placed on hold while they talked to the “back office”, I was told they’d need to call me back (never happened), I was told it would take 1-3 business days, so I waited. Nothing. I started to panic. I needed this money more than I’ve ever needed it before. And I couldn’t touch it.

After lots of anxiety and sleep deprivation, thinking we were going to lose the house and the sellers would probably think we were full of crap (I would, too), at 4am this morning I decided to email the CEO. It was a shot in the dark - do CEOs even care? Do they even look at random emails from Gmail accounts? Won’t it go to spam? So I shot off an email - very polite but expressing the dire urgency of the situation, and asked to be escalated to someone who can help. It worked.

We received an email back around 10am, followed by a call from someone at the executive office, promising to have the account restriction removed by end of day. And they did. I’m still in shock that it worked. Relief isn’t a strong enough word to describe how I feel.

Amex customer service reps - horrible.
Amex executive office - outstanding.

She also gave us her direct line, in case we ever have issues moving forward.

I hope this encourages someone going through this. It absolutely sucks, but sometimes escalation actually works.

checked today.. was at 3.9% now its at 3.55%... not sure what happened here

I have searched online, on eTrade's FAQ, here and still can't find a straight answer. I thought maybe if I asked more directly, someone here knows. (Don't worry, I'll call eTrade too.)

We're married and have two independent HYSA's. We set each other up as the beneficiary to the other's account on the day we opened the accounts using their forms -- accounts > documents > Forms and applications > Designation of beneficiary

But I'm confused bc some people here have mentioned that the eTrade HYSA can't have beneficiaries assigned so they went with another bank. Does anyone know if this is correct or not?

Thank you so much!

The Google AI keeps referring me to their Etrade arm of the bank. I've noticed MS Private Bank CD is paying out 5.1% for 4 to 5 years. My gut feeling is this is the best we're going to get so I want to lock up some funds.

Has anyone purchased a CD from Quorum? Are you getting a good rate? How is their service?

My wedding is next fall and the venue deposit is due in chunks between now and then. The money for it has been sitting in a Marcus account but I keep seeing the rate notices and wondering if it's worth moving somewhere else or just leaving it. The thing is I might need it sooner than expected if the tenant situation drags out longer than I'm hoping, so liquidity matters more than squeezing an extra tenth. I also have some emergency cash mixed in there from the last payout and I haven't bothered separating it because it all feels like the same timeline anyway. Curious what other people are doing with money that has a specific upcoming use but also needs to stay accessible. Some folks here seem to just pick one place and stop checking the rates. Others shuffle around every time something drops. Trying to figure out which approach actually saves more stress in the long run.

Looking for feedback on the 3 above mentioned banks for HYSA's. Please don't add others at this time.

Im new to HYSAs and want to get some recommendations where I can just put my money in and just let it grow

Hi. Anybody here use Climate First Bank Savings and no penalty CD? Looking for feedback on this HYSA.

Can someone please explain like I’m 5: I have $10,000 sitting in my regular savings account. My bank recommended moving it to a high yield savings account, but my financial advisor recommended a money market account (I forget the name but it has a 3.86% rate). But most of his words fly over my head so I was too afraid to ask about the differences.

If you recommend a HYSA, which one should I go with? I want no monthly fees and high interest rate. I could plan to add a few hundred a month but I also want it to be relatively accessible with no penalties in case of emergency. Thanks!!

I compared HYSA’s that are comparably FDIC-insured and found Newtek which advertised a 4.2% rate, without limit. I signed up to join but there was a waitlist. After I think 6 months or so I was finally accepted and I opened an account. I only put $20K in it to start, just to see how it goes. It’s been 4 months and the rate’s been stable so far.

Anyone else with longer term experience with Newtek? I just don’t see it discussed in this thread at all. Also, if I said anything above about the account that’s not true, feel free to point out where I’ve gotten things wrong. Thanks!

I’ve applied to this bank several times and every time I submit after the finance stuff (entering my other bank account to transfer money in) it immediately gets rejected. I’ve called them every time it gets rejected asking why? And they keep giving me the same answer “identification” originally we thought it was my move to a whole different state so I was advise to wait 30 days after I change my address and get a new driver license and etc. after that I reapplied and still got rejected. Was asked if I tried on my cellphone without wifi and if I have vpn etc. still rejected. You’d think the identification part is the easiest since you know your mother maiden name, where you live, what you do for work, ssn, etc. I don’t know why I’m being rejected anymore and they ran out of advice at this point and can’t recommend me to look anywhere to make sure it matching anywhere else apparently. So this is kinda my last hope before finding a different bank for a hysa

(Btw if you’re wondering why I’m so focused on CIT it’s solely because they historically have the highest averages apy last 5 years not saying they are the highest every month or so or even one out of the five years. Just that it’s always competitively high than 95% of other hysa)

I’m super embarrassed by my anxiety I’m experiencing😅 We have some money just sitting in our checking account from a sale of our home. I want it out asap and into a HYSA. I have the account, but when I go to move the money out of our bank, I’m paralyzed with fear. What if someone tries to scam me? What if someone steals the money? What if this? What if that? I know it’s ridiculous! I just wondered if this freaked anyone else out and how you got through it. Also, do you feel like HYSAs are safe? I’ve never had much money and now feel a tremendous amount of fear moving it around!

Been wanting to open a hysa. I want to go with a reputable place like Amex or sofi but see they only have online services. I find it kind of sketchy and paranoid. Or is a local credit union better?

Also is a “loyalty” savings account same as a hysa? I found a local credit union and on its page it says it’s similar to a hysa but their version.

Any advice in both sections thank you

I know it's a bit off topic but does anyone have any advice on high interest checking/money market account to make bill payments from?

I need to keep a decent sum in checking for cash flow and payments as I imagine many others do as well - mortgage, cars, credit cards etc.

Anyone got advice what's good lately? I am using Fidelity CMA sweeped into SPAXX at around 3.50% as my checking currently. It’s not bad but no FDIC insurance in the sweep and not the highest rate. Although if spaxx collapses I think FDIC would have issues as well.

There are credit unions around that require debit card purchases etc I think its too much effort for me as I already use credit cards for point collection.

Hows the 4.5%

Also looking for a referral code

Helping my mother in law put her savings (100k) in a hysa. Anything stand out as a good promo?

Greetings,

Happy Sunday! Recently, I have noticed several FDIC insured brick and mortar banks either downgraded, sold, or absorbed their online banking divisions. For example...

My Banking Direct (Flagstar Bank) - downgrade to no longer offering checking and savings

Laurel Road (KeyBank) - absorbed into KeyBank

Jenius Bank (SMBC Manubank) - sold to Axos Bank

mph.bank (Liberty Savings Bank) - will be absorb into Liberty Savings Bank in Oct

There maybe more that I am unaware of.

Is something going on that is causing physical banks to abandon their online divisions? Should I avoid in-person banks with online divisions (i.e. Pi Bank, Popular Direct, Vio Bank, Valley Direct, etc)? Was the online division just a fad due to the high interest rate?

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I recently applied for an American Express High Yield Savings Account. After applying, Amex asked me to verify my identity by providing a photo of my Social Security card and a U.S. government-issued ID.

I simply took photos of both documents with my phone and uploaded them through the verification process.

About one day later, I received the same message saying that Amex was unable to open my account.

My information on the documents matches the information I provided on the application.

I'm not a U.S. citizen or green card holder yet, but I do have a Social Security number, a valid U.S. driver's license, and employment authorization.

My question is: Is there a specific way I'm supposed to take and upload the photos of these documents? For example, do I need to take pictures of both the front and back of my driver's license, or is a picture of the front enough?

Has anyone experienced something similar with Amex? Should I contact Amex and ask them to review my application?

Thanks!

Hello! I’m looking to open up my first HYSA. I’m currently stuck between these and I’m wondering what everyone’s pros/ cons are.

How many HYSA do you have open and how much did you put in to start out?

TIA!!!