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The USAA Performance First Savings Account has a tiered interest rate system. You don't start to earn a decent rate until you have tens of thousands of dollars in your account, though. Here's how the tiered interest rate works:
Balance
APY
Under $10,000
0.05%
$10,000 to $24,999.99
0.10%
$25,000 to $49,999.99
0.10%
$50,000 to $99,999.99
1.00%
$100,000 to $249,999.99
1.10%
$250,000 to $499,999.99
1.20%
$500,000+
1.60%
USAA also has a savings account specifically for kids. The USAA Youth Savings Account is an option for children under 18, with access and tools for parents. It pays 0.01% APY.
Ultimately, USAA is one of the best banks for the military, but savings rates aren't its strong suit. You could earn a much higher interest rate with an online bank that allows a smaller opening deposit.
Navy Federal Credit Union is the more appealing option for savings accounts. The Navy Federal Credit Union Share Savings Account pays 0.25% APY, which is higher than USAA's standard savings account.
Furthermore, Navy Federal Credit Union's money market account has a lower minimum opening deposit than the USAA Performance First Savings Account, and pays 0.00% to 1.50% APY depending on your account balance.
If you're looking for a competitive savings account, Pentagon Federal Credit Union is a better option than USAA. The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Premium Online Savings Account pays 3.00% APY, which is much higher than USAA's savings accounts.
However, keep in mind PenFed is a credit union while USAA is a bank. This means all members need to open a savings account with $5 first, before opening another type of bank account.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed USAA Savings Accounts
We rate bank accounts on a scale from zero to five stars. For our USAA 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 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.
Top Offers From Our Partners
Betterment Cash Reserve Account
New Customer Offer: Earn 5.50% (variable) APY* when you open your first cash account with qualifying deposit
*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.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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