Bank Accounts Paying Up to 4% Interest
There are payoffs for storing your money in an online bank—but more rules, too.

Even with the Fed swinging into action, savings rates remain minuscule, averaging just 0.16%. Yet some banks offer you much more—as much as 4%—if you follow certain rules.
Earnings for All
- Municipal Bonds: 1%-3%
- Investment-Grade Bonds: 3%-5%
- Real-Estate Investment Trusts: 2%-6%
- Foreign Bonds: 3%-6%
- Preferred Stocks: 4%-7%
- Closed-End Funds: 5%-11%
- High-Yield Bonds: 6%-8%
- Master Limited Partnerships: 5%-11%
Online-only banks usually pay more than branch-based institutions. For example, Incredible Bank, which exists only in the virtual world, pays 1.2% on savings deposits from $2,500 to $250,000. But there’s a catch: Depositors who exceed six withdrawals or other types of transactions per month start to rack up fees.
For a 4.6% yield on up to $20,000, consider opening a rewards checking account at Consumers Credit Union, based in Gurnee, Ill. Rules include spending at least $1,000 a month on a CCU credit card, conducting 12 or more debit card transactions each month, and doing some banking online. Anyone can join the credit union for a one-time fee of $5.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Rates on most CDs can’t beat high-yield checking accounts. But CDs can make sense if you “ladder them up,” says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. Take, say, $10,000 and split it into five $2,000 chunks, buying CDs maturing in one, two, three, four and five years. As each certificate matures, buy another five-year CD with the proceeds. If interest rates increase, you can take advantage of higher yields. “The landscape for savers won’t improve dramatically in the near term,” says McBride, but rates could be higher in a year or two. One good option now: a five-year CD from First Internet Bank of Indiana, yielding 2.1%. To find more deals, go to www.depositaccounts.com or www.bankrate.com. (Returns are as of March 31.)
Next: Municipal Bonds to Earn 1% - 3%
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

-
Ten Cheapest Places To Live in Florida
Property Tax Make your Florida vacation spot daily living — these counties have the lowest property tax bills in the state.
By Kate Schubel
-
I'm 50 and my home is worth $5 million. Can I retire now?
It may be oh-so tempting to cash out your upscale home and leave work for good. But should you? We ask the experts.
By Maurie Backman
-
What Is the Buffett Indicator?
"It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong," writes Carveth Read in "Logic: Deductive and Inductive." That's the premise of the Buffett Indicator.
By Charles Lewis Sizemore, CFA
-
CPI Report Puts the Kibosh on Rate Cuts: What the Experts Are Saying About Inflation
CPI Consumer price inflation reared its ugly head to start the year, dashing hopes for the Fed to lower borrowing costs anytime soon.
By Dan Burrows
-
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged: What the Experts Are Saying
Federal Reserve As widely expected, the Federal Open Market Committee took a 'wait-and-see' approach toward borrowing costs.
By Dan Burrows
-
CPI Report Keeps the Fed on Track: What the Experts Are Saying About Inflation
CPI Disinflation in key areas of consumer prices should help the Federal Reserve stick to its policy path of gradual cuts to interest rates.
By Dan Burrows
-
Blowout December Jobs Report Puts Rate Cuts on Ice: What the Experts Are Saying
Jobs Report The strongest surge in hiring since March keeps the Fed on hold for now.
By Dan Burrows
-
Fed Sees Fewer Rate Cuts in 2025: What the Experts Are Saying
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected, but the future path of borrowing costs became more opaque.
By Dan Burrows
-
CPI Report Casts Doubt on Rate Cuts in 2025: What the Experts Are Saying About Inflation
CPI November Consumer Price Index data sealed the deal for a December rate cut, but the outlook for next year is less certain.
By Dan Burrows
-
Rebound in Jobs Growth Keeps Fed on Track: What the Experts Are Saying
Jobs Report No nasty surprises in the November payrolls data leaves a quarter-point cut in play.
By Dan Burrows