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The Citi® Savings Access is available in markets where there are Citi branch locations; Citi® Accelerate Savings is an online account for people who live in markets where there are no brick-and-mortar locations.
You might like Citi if you live in one of the areas that offers the Citi® Accelerate Savings account, so you can earn a higher savings rate than the national average. The best high-yield savings accounts, however, offer even more competitive savings rates.
Details
Fees
$4.50 monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
0.05% to 0.35% (vary by location)
Minimum Deposit Amount
None
Editor's Rating
3.25/5
3.25 out of
5 Stars
Pros & Cons
Pros
No opening deposit
Higher APY than many brick-and-mortar banks
Cons
Low APY compared to high-yield savings accounts
$4.50 monthly fee
Only available in certain states
BBB gives Citi an F in trustworthiness
Highlights
More Information
$4.50 monthly service fee waived during the first 3 months of account opening or with a relationship tier, $500 average monthly balance, or with a Citi checking account
No opening deposit
Compounding interest to maximize your savings
Only available in CA, CT, DC, FL, IL, MD, NJ, NV, NY, SD, VA, and Puerto Rico
You might like Citi if you live in one of the areas that offers the Citi® Accelerate Savings account, so you can earn a higher savings rate than the national average. The best high-yield savings accounts, however, offer even more competitive savings rates.
Details
Fees
$4.50 monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.25% (vary by location)
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Editor's Rating
3.75/5
3.75 out of
5 Stars
Pros & Cons
Pros
High APY (minimum $1 balance to earn)
No opening deposit
Cons
You may pay a monthly fee, depending on a variety of factors
Other fees depend on which checking account you link to your savings account
Not available in certain states
BBB gives Citi an F in trustworthiness
Highlights
More Information
Monthly fee depends on whether you link to a Citi checking account, and which checking account you choose
You may qualify to have the monthly fee waived, depending on which checking/savings package you have
No opening deposit
Compounding interest to maximize your savings
Not available in CA, CT, MD, NV, NJ, NY, VA, DC, certain parts of FL or IL
Citi® breaks its accounts into six "packages." Each package comes with different benefits.
Here are the packages with their APY based on the zipcode of 90015 (in this area, you'd only be eligible for the Citi® Savings Access):
Access Account: 0.05% APY
Basic Banking: 0.05% APY
The Citi Account: 0.05% APY
Citi Priority: 0.10% APY
Citigold® Savings Account: 0.12% APY
Citigold Private Client: 0.35% APY
Higher-tiered accounts come with a few cons, too, such as higher monthly service fees and more stringent requirements to waive monthly fees. You may choose to open a corresponding checking account within your package, or you may just want to open the savings account.
Compare savings accounts
Compare Today's Savings Rates
Citi Savings Account Rates vs. Citi Accelerate Savings Account Rates
The Citi® Savings Access is a regular savings account, and the Citi® Accelerate Savings is a high-yield savings account that pays you a higher rate if you have a $1 minimum balance.
You may earn 0.05% to 0.35% (vary by location) APY on the Citi® Savings Access, depending on which package you choose. Meanwhile, the Citi® Accelerate Savings pays 4.25% (vary by location) APY on all packages.
Citi® Accelerate Savings is a high-yield savings account that pays a competitive rate, and it's clearly superior to Citi Savings — but you can only open an account if you're a resident of certain markets.
Deciding between Citi and Wells Fargo will ultimately depend on where you live. If you live in a state that offers the Citi® Accelerate Savings account, then Citi is the clear winner.
However, if you're only eligible for the Citi® Savings Access, the best option for you will depend on which package you choose. The Wells Fargo Way2Save® Savings Account pays 0.15% APY, which is higher than Citi's lower tier packages. If you get the Citi Private Client package, however, you'll be able to get a slightly higher savings rate.
You could also end up paying more in monthly fees with Citi, depending on which package you open. High monthly fees might cancel out any earnings from a higher rate.
Similar to Citi's package system, Bank of America has various membership tiers that offer higher rates. However, the lowest membership pays just 0.01% APY, and you have potential to earn more with a higher-tier Citi package than with a Bank of America Advantage Savings Account, regardless of where you live.
Again, Citi's monthly fees are higher than what Bank of America charges unless you qualify to waive the fees. Stiff fees could offset what you'd earn from a higher rate.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Citi Savings Accounts
We rate bank accounts on a scale from zero to five stars. For our Citi saving rates review, we used our bank account methodology, which looks at interest rates, minimum opening deposits, monthly service fees, customer support availability, mobile app ratings, and the ethics of the company to rate both savings accounts.
Laura Grace Tarpley (she/her) is a personal finance reviews senior editor at Insider. She oversees coverage about mortgage rates, refinance rates, lenders, bank accounts, investing, retirement , and borrowing and savings tips for Personal Finance Insider. She was a writer and editor for Insider's "The Road to Home" series, which won a Silver award from the National Associate of Real Estate Editors. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).She has written about personal finance for seven years. Before joining the Insider team, she was a freelance finance writer for companies like SoFi and The Penny Hoarder, as well as an editor at FluentU. You can reach Laura Grace at ltarpley@insider.com.Learn more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services »
Sophia Acevedo is a banking reporter at Insider. She covers bank reviews, banking guides, and banking and savings articles for Personal Finance Insider. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).Sophia joined Insider in July 2021 and is an alumna of California State University Fullerton where she studied journalism and minored in political science. She is based in Los Angeles. You can reach out to her on Twitter at @sophieacvdo or email sacevedo@insider.com.Read more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services >>Below are links to some of her most popular stories:
Evelyn He is a compliance associate at Insider who supports the Personal Finance Insider team. Personal Finance Insider is Insider's personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money that Insider readers already know and love.The compliance team's mission is to provide readers with stories that are fact-checked and current, so they can make informed financial decisions. The team also works to minimize risk for partners by making sure language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team.Before joining Insider, she served in various legal and compliance roles in different industries, including the legal and pharmaceutical industries. Evelyn obtained her M.S. degree in Marketing at Boston University in 2022. Prior to combining and consolidating her knowledge of law and business, she spent one year finishing 1L courses at Suffolk University Law School to further her legal knowledge. She has also completed MBA business law courses while working on her Bachelor of Business Administration in Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her 14-year-old Shih Tzu named Money, and her 5-year-old Bichon named Tibber.
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*The annual percentage yield (APY) on the deposit balances in Betterment Cash Reserve (Cash Reserve) is 4.75% and represents the weighted average of the APY on deposit balances at the banks participating in Cash Reserve (the Program Banks) and is current as of August 1, 2023. This APY is variable and subject to change daily. Deposit balances are not allocated equally among the participating Program Banks. A minimum deposit of $10 is required, but there is no minimum balance required to be maintained. The APY available to a customer may be lower if that customer designates a bank or banks as ineligible to receive deposits. APY applies only to Cash Reserve and does not apply to checking accounts held through Betterment Checking. Cash Reserve and Betterment Checking are separate offerings and are not linked accounts.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
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