INGdirect Orange Savings Account

[Sig]

Anyone have one?

On the surface, they don't look too bad. I tend to keep a fair amount of cash in my liquid accounts and the Orange account claims to give 3.75% on your money.

Are there catches or other downsides that aren't obvious from the outside?

 

[KGP]

Jason, You also might want to check out GE Interest Plus. 4.3% at present. Not FDIC, but has the strength of GE Capital, which I'm sure you already know is a solid company.

 

[ekin95]

Have had one for 4 yrs. now and it keeps growing. No hidden fees, no minimum, it is great!

 

[nsxtasy]

I've had one and it's a very convenient place for spare cash. The ability to electronically transfer money easily to and from other accounts (like my checking account at another bank) is great. You need 1-2 business days for the transfers to go through...

 

[scorp965]

Not worth the hassle, imo... the transfers to and from ING are ACH transfers, and take 2-3 business days to go through, so when you have all of your cash in ING it will take you 3 days before you can access it... not sure about you, but I like to keep my liquid cash liquid, otherwise I would invest it in something that has a better return than 3%. If you want to earn the same interest rate and have a bit more access look at netbank; their money market account has a similar rate of interest, and transfers between their checking and money market accounts are instant...

http://www.netbank.com

 

[nsxtasy]

the transfers to and from ING are ACH transfers, and take 2-3 business days to go through

They take 1-2 business days. I have never had one take more than 2 business days.

I like to keep my liquid cash liquid

That's what a checking account is for.

otherwise I would invest it in something that has a better return than 3%.

If you know of an account that can provide a better return than an ING account, and for which you can transfer funds within 1-2 business days to a bank of your own choice, please tell us where!

transfers between their checking and money market accounts are instant

Which means that only works if your checking account is with them, which may or may not be acceptable to you (particularly if you already have a checking account with a bank in your area that provides features like free ATM withdrawals, in-person banking, etc).

Nothing against netbank, but almost every bank offers instantaneous free transfers between their money market account and their checking account. Unless netbank happens to have branches in your area or offers rates significantly higher than ING, it doesn't offer anything you don't already have...

 

[NSXUSA]

I've also had an ING Direct account for a few year. I think it's great. No fees, easy and prompt transaction, etc... Go for it!

Jim

 

[scorp965]

The benefit of netbank is their 3.52% money market return rate - this rate can even go to higher levels if you use other services from netbank, eg you would get a 4.05% APY if you have a mortgage or auto loan via netbank.

3.52% is a lot higher than most banks are offering for their money market accounts, and only slightly off of the roughly 3.7% ING just raised their rates to - in addition netbank has a 2% APY on their super value checking account, which would (most likely) offset the slight 0.25% of interest if you are terribly concerned about the differential, although even 3.5% interest is only keeping you safe from inflation. With regards to your 1-2 day transfer claim... this depends on bank distance, but the transfer is via ACH, this means (at least to me here in SoCal) usually around 3 business days.

If you like to keep large amounts of cash liquid having a high interest money market/checking account combination where you can do instant transfers between accounts is a good idea, more so than keeping an ING account where the only way to access your cash is to wait several days for the ACH transfer to go through. An ING, while certainly an interesting way to stash cash away from yourself, or enforce a savings plan for those without self-discipline, is (at least to me) not a good place to put money you want close at hand.

 

[gheba_nsx]

Lucky you... we do not get more than 1.25% here... many banks give 0.5%

 

[ncdogdoc]

I have been with Emigrant Direct www.emigrantdirect.com for 6 months now. They just raised interest to 4.00% and have excellent customer service. I have not taken money out yet, just added, so I do not know what their turn around time is, but almost all ACH movements are 1 day out and 1 day in, or a total of 2 days (business of course). Same as those electronice bill payments we all wonder what we did before they were free

 

[clr1024]

On the same subject has anyone looked at the keep the change program at the bank of america

http://www.bankofamerica.com/deposi...plate=keep_change&adlink=000302027g850000c335

How it works What you need
What you need


Saving while you spend.
Each time you buy something with your Bank of America Visa® debit card, we’ll round your purchase to the nearest dollar amount and transfer the difference from your checking account to your savings account. You get to keep the change and grow your savings. What could be easier?

Save with everyday purchases.
Using your Bank of America Visa® debit card1 is always a smart way to spend. The money comes directly out of your checking account with no charge to you for this service. And now with Keep the Change, it’s even smarter. Because every bag of groceries, every coffee and every tank of gas adds up to more savings for you.



We'll even match your savings2.
For the first three months, we’ll match your Keep the Change savings at 100%. That means for every Keep the Change transfer, we’ll contribute the same amount to your account. And when the three months are over, we’ll continue contributing 5% a year, every year - to make it even easier to save. This reward will be paid annually to your savings account.


What you need to enroll

Terms & Conditions


FootnoteNot available in Washington or Idaho.

Footnote1Only Bank of America Visa® debit cards are eligible for the promotional match on Keep the Change round-up savings. Rewards cards do not qualify for this match.

Footnote2The matching funds will be credited to your savings account annually, within 8 weeks after the month in which the anniversary of your enrollment in Keep the Change savings service occurs. To receive the matching funds, your checking and savings accounts must be open and in good standing, and you must still be enrolled in the service. Annual promotional match will not exceed $250.

 

[satan_srv]

had an ING ISA for 3-4 years now..works well.

 

[Hiroshima]

Have an ING account and love it. It is a no brainer for spare cash. Sure it takes a day or two to get money back in your normal account, but if you are in *that* much need to get money out you should:
a) make more money:biggrin:
b) don't put your mad money in this account.

I earned more in one month than I had in over 6 months in my Wells Fargo account. I think ING is at 3.75% now. Do it, you will not regret it.

 

[gheba_nsx]

A question: how are interests taxed in the US?
Capital gain or income?

 

[nsxtasy]

A question: how are interests taxed in the US?
Capital gain or income?

Interest (e.g. on bank accounts) is taxed as income (as are dividends, such as on stocks). Capital gains rates are only applicable on the difference in price when you buy something and then sell it later at a different price, such as a house, shares of stock, etc.

 

[Sig]

I just saw a commercial for 'hsbcdirect.com'... it appears they have a no fee, no minimums, fdic insured savings account with a 4.25% yield. I haven't looked into it, but it looks like a good option.

 

[Soichiro]

I have an account with ING and have been very happy with the service. Transfers go through in 1 to 2 days. The interest rate varies and has been as high as 4% this year.

Paypal was offering 4.25% yesterday (Dec. 27) so they are an option too.

 

[gheba_nsx]

Interest (e.g. on bank accounts) is taxed as income (as are dividends, such as on stocks). Capital gains rates are only applicable on the difference in price when you buy something and then sell it later at a different price, such as a house, shares of stock, etc.

Thanks Ken, same as here then.

This makes the net gain on these account rates around 20-30% less attractive than what they look like on paper...

Here dividends are taxed as income, like in the US.


The best way is to invest in funds/products that increase value (capital gain) on the market and do not pay direct dividends. That's what I do normally and that is taxed way less, around 0,5%.