1. Rewards Checking Gets a Shot, Part 2

    Back in June, I blogged about my household’s upcoming changeover from using ING Direct’s Electric Orange checking account (my EO review) to a rewards checking account offered by one of our in-state credit unions.

    The single reason for this change?

    Interest, baby. Interest.

    As of this post, ING’s Electric Orange pays a rate of 0.25% APY, and its Orange Savings pays 1.10% APY. Contrast this with the 4.38% APY offered by the credit union’s rewards checking (on balances up to $25k), and the difference is … well, huge.

    Now Our Interest Pays The Water Bill

    After consolidating various accounts, we’ve gone from earning $8 to $15 per month in interest to earning $60 to $70 per month. Nice jump, huh? Those earnings are enough, after taxes, to pay for our monthly water and trash bill … and then some.

    So yes, I’m pleased with the change. So far. I still don’t like using a debit card, but since we only have to use it 12 times per month to get the maximum advertised rate, I suppose I can live with that. (We use it only for small-amount, in-person purchases. Any other purchases go on one of our cash-back credit cards, which we pay in full each month.)

    I probably should’ve looked into rewards checking long ago, but my aversion to debit-card use is pretty darn strong!


  2. 4 Responses to "Rewards Checking Gets a Shot, Part 2" ...

    1. On August 18, 2010 @ 9:04 pm,
      Jay wrote:
      #1
       



      Which credit union?

       

       

    2. On August 18, 2010 @ 10:14 pm,
      Michael wrote:
      #2
       



      It’s in my previous post

       

       

    3. On August 20, 2010 @ 11:22 pm,
      Christine wrote:
      #3
       



      I use Danversbank. It’s nation-wide! Sounds identical to the account described.

      https://www.danversbank.com/Personal/Checking/Free-Rewards-Checking.aspx

       

       

    4. On November 20, 2010 @ 9:38 am,
      Lilly wrote:
      #4
       



      Would be nice to have a CU in my area with rates like that. But no such luck for me!

       

       

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