Best bank account for a student

[Esther]

I'm not sure if this is the place to post my question but I'll try my luck.

I'm a college student with a part time job. I don't really have any intention of spending my money now - I just want to keep it in a place with the highest interest possible (yes, I know that's nearly impossible nowadays). Any suggestions?

[MisterHock]

if youre not using it now, y put it in the bank?
put in a cd or s/t!

[Yordai Dooma]

I'm not sure if this is the place to post my question but I'll try my luck.

I'm a college student with a part time job. I don't really have any intention of spending my money now - I just want to keep it in a place with the highest interest possible (yes, I know that's nearly impossible nowadays). Any suggestions?

Ive been told that ING has pretty good rates on savings accounts. Seems it is 1.10%. http://home.ingdirect.com/products/products.asp?s=OrangeSavingsAccount

Although if you dont plant to use the $ in the near future, you may want to go with a CD if you get better rates.

[gozalim]

Ive been told that ING has pretty good rates on savings accounts. Seems it is 1.10%. http://home.ingdirect.com/products/products.asp?s=OrangeSavingsAccount

Although if you dont plant to use the $ in the near future, you may want to go with a CD if you get better rates.

yes. ING is like 1.10 (or 1.09). i think HSBC also has some sort of online account that gives similar return.

[AsherO]

I'm not sure if this is the place to post my question but I'll try my luck.

I'm a college student with a part time job. I don't really have any intention of spending my money now - I just want to keep it in a place with the highest interest possible (yes, I know that's nearly impossible nowadays). Any suggestions?

Check out Ally Bank's No Penalty CD, it offers 1.35% APY for an 11 month CD (i.e. rate locked for 11 months), and you can withdraw the funds (and any accrued interest) whenever you want.

If you're willing to lock in your money for a year, you can get rates that are a bit better, see here for best rates on a 1 year CD.

[Dan]

Personally I think you're better off with earning 1 tax-free AA mile +.05% interest than the low offers out there today on liquid accounts.

On $10,000 in a back earning 1.1% you'll earn $110 in a year.  Less say 30% in federal,  state, local taxes, etc. leaves you with $77.

Or you can earn 12,000 miles and $5 interest.

So $77 in an ING account or 12K AA miles + $5 in a Bank Direct account.

[MisterHock]

what bank gives miles?

[Dan]

what bank gives miles?

Bankdirect.com.  Plus they give you a number of free ATM uses per month and they reimburse ATM fees as well.
I can refer you for an account and we can both get an extra 1,000 miles over the standard 1,000 mile signup bonus...PM me if you want a referral.

[Chaikel]

Does BankDirect charge any international withdrawal fees?

[aussiebochur]

Does BankDirect charge any international withdrawal fees?

From the BankDirect site:
"FREE ATMs BankDirect puts no limitations on what ATM you choose. Because we don’t own a network of ATMs, we waive the $1.00 fee most banks charge you for not using their machines. So visit any ATM, no matter the location, and as an account holder we will reimburse you the administrative fees for 4 ATM withdrawals per statement cycle (from United States locations only), up to $2.50 per ATM withdrawal."

It seems that they don't charge a fee, even on international withdrawals. However the reimbursement of the fees from the ATM itself is only for within the USA (and only the first 4, up to $2.50).
That's my take.

[Yordai Dooma]

Bankdirect.com.  Plus they give you a number of free ATM uses per month and they reimburse ATM fees as well.
I can refer you for an account and we can both get an extra 1,000 miles over the standard 1,000 mile signup bonus...PM me if you want a referral.

Im looking at Bankdirect.com. Where do you see the mileage offer? How much do you need to put in to get 12,000 miles? Do you continue to accrue miles from having the account open there?

Edit: found it...http://www.bankdirect.com/programs/aadvantage.aspx

[neydogs]

Do these miles count towards lifetime elite status?

[aussiebochur]

Do these miles count towards lifetime elite status?

All miles earned count towards lifetime status.

[Dan]

Im looking at Bankdirect.com. Where do you see the mileage offer? How much do you need to put in to get 12,000 miles? Do you continue to accrue miles from having the account open there?

Edit: found it...http://www.bankdirect.com/programs/aadvantage.aspx

100 miles per month for every $1,000 balance in the account plus .05% APY if you have $10K in the account.
Plus 2,000 miles for an opening an account via a referral.
Plus another 2,000 miles for using billpay for 12 months.  You can set up a recurring bill pay for $1 to anyone online.
Plus 5,000 miles if you have direct deposit.

[Esther]

I don't have that much money - I only started working a few months ago. It seems like a CD would be my best shot at this point. I just never liked the idea of my money being locked up. I'm not much of a miles person so cash back would be better if such a thing exists.

Thanks for your help.

[Yordai Dooma]

100 miles per month for every $1,000 balance in the account plus .05% APY if you have $10K in the account.
Plus 2,000 miles for an opening an account via a referral.
Plus another 2,000 miles for using billpay for 12 months.  You can set up a recurring bill pay for $1 to anyone online.
Plus 5,000 miles if you have direct deposit.

If someone is putting in less than 10k, would you suggest such an account for long term? Are there other accounts out there that can earn miles consistently as well as interest?
I want to open accounts for my kids so their money is not just sitting around and not earning anything.

I was thinking of opening these accounts for them, i'll refer them for AA and then refer them to open the account (after using the referral i got from Dan). The only thing is that they each have about $1K . It seems they would only be earning 100 miles a month after the initial sign up bonuses...and no interest. Any thoughts?

[Dan]

If someone is putting in less than 10k, would you suggest such an account for long term? Are there other accounts out there that can earn miles consistently as well as interest?
I want to open accounts for my kids so their money is not just sitting around and not earning anything.

I was thinking of opening these accounts for them, i'll refer them for AA and then refer them to open the account (after using the referral i got from Dan). The only thing is that they each have about $1K . It seems they would only be earning 100 miles a month after the initial sign up bonuses...and no interest. Any thoughts?

As long as interest rates are under 2% (At 2% APY you're really earning 1.2-1.5% after taxes), I would take AA miles over cash.

[AsherO]

I don't have that much money - I only started working a few months ago. It seems like a CD would be my best shot at this point. I just never liked the idea of my money being locked up. I'm not much of a miles person so cash back would be better if such a thing exists.

Thanks for your help.

If you don't want to lock your money in, open an Ally no-penalty CD (see link in my post above), where your money isn't locked in.

[lazalaz]

Does the money have to be in the BankDirect account for an entire calendar month to accrue miles?

[Dan]

Does the money have to be in the BankDirect account for an entire calendar month to accrue miles?

It's probably based on average daily balance.