Choosing a high-yield savings account
Savings accounts are the one product where switching is genuinely easy and the gain is immediate. These are the four things worth checking, in order.
What we assess
The effective annual yield
Compare the effective yield, not the nominal rate. Two accounts quoting the same rate can pay different amounts depending on compounding frequency.
Whether the rate is introductory
Many headline rates include a bonus that expires after twelve months, after which the account quietly becomes uncompetitive. Note the expiry date in your calendar the day you open it.
Access rules and conditions
Check withdrawal limits, notice periods, minimum balances and whether the rate depends on paying money in every month. A high rate with conditions you will breach is not a high rate.
Deposit protection
Confirm the provider is covered by your country's deposit guarantee scheme and note the limit. Split balances across institutions if you are near it.
Where the money is actually held
Some app-based savings products are not banks themselves and hold deposits through a partner institution. That affects which protection applies and to whom.
Ease of transfer
The practical value of a slightly higher rate disappears if moving money takes five working days and a phone call.
Common mistakes
- Leaving a large balance in a current account paying nothing.
- Chasing a bonus rate and forgetting to move when it expires.
- Holding more than the protection limit with one institution.
- Locking money into a fixed term you may need before it matures.
Our current picks
We are not recommending providers in this category yet. We only list a provider once we have checked its costs, protections and terms ourselves, and we will not publish a comparison table we cannot stand behind. The criteria above are what we assess against, and they work just as well if you are comparing on your own today.
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Run the numbers first
Before choosing a provider, it helps to know what you are actually aiming at.
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