Any issues with Emigrant Direct?

[Babbles]

I moved nearly a year ago and I still have a savings account with my old credit union that is earning me an awesome 1.0%. I want to close down that account and transfer my paltry funds to someplace that offers a higher return, but my new bank's APY/APR blows as well. Reading some stuff here and there it seems as if ING and Emigrant are both great institutions, but it does seem that Emigrant is offering a much better yield on their account.

Has anybody have any problems with Emigrant? I can find plenty of good stuff that has been said about them, but I would like to know what possible worse case scenarios exist for Emigrant.

I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[shortspanishguy]

I would open an ING to get the referral bonus and then move the $$ to Emigrant or GMAC.

I have Emigrant direct and I have had no problems with them.

 

[Babbles]

I may do that: drop in a few bucks just to get the ING cash then open up an Emigrant account for the APR.

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: Babbles
I may do that: drop in a few bucks just to get the ING cash then open up an Emigrant account for the APR.

I think there is a $250 minimum on the free $25 from ING.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy
I would open an ING to get the referral bonus and then move the $$ to Emigrant or GMAC.

I have Emigrant direct and I have had no problems with them.

No problems with ED and using them for a couple of years now.

 

[Sentinel]

Good for me, no problems whatsoever.

 

[Babbles]

Is there a minimum to start up an Emigrant account? I didn't see one listed on their website, but I may have just been too dumb to see it.

 

[JS80]

hsbcdirect.com pays more. i'm going to clear out my ED and move to hsbc.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: Babbles
Is there a minimum to start up an Emigrant account? I didn't see one listed on their website, but I may have just been too dumb to see it.

no minimum. hsbc's 4.8% lasts til the end of month. emigrant FTW.

 

[YoshiSato]

I had/have an account with them but no money in the account.

About a month after I opened my account with them I wanted to transfer some more money into that account. Well I forgot my username and passowrd(their username requirements are so skewed) so I call them to resolve the issue.

They wanted me to send my name, SSN and account number via email. They were then going to have a rep, reset my password and then email it to me, meaning they can view my password. There is no security here. The call center manager did not even understand the email is in no way secure.

Wachovia my main back, to recover your password you use an automated program on their web site. No Wachovia employess involved. They never see my password.

After I got my password I pulled all of my money from them. I refuse to allow a company with such lax security hold my money.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: JS80
hsbcdirect.com pays more. i'm going to clear out my ED and move to hsbc.

There was a banner at HSBC (that' gone now) that showed 4.5%. It was assumed at FW that the rate was going from 4.8 to 4.5% at the end of the bonus (April 30). If that's the case, ED and HSBC will be paying the same.

If you live in a state with an income tax, 6 month T-bills are the way to go right now! 😉

(4.98% APY on today's auction. 5.27% if you consider the state/local tax free which was 6% in KY)

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: JS80
hsbcdirect.com pays more. i'm going to clear out my ED and move to hsbc.

There was a banner at HSBC (that' gone now) that showed 4.5%. It was assumed at FW that the rate was going from 4.8 to 4.5% at the end of the bonus (April 30). If that's the case, ED and HSBC will be paying the same.

If you live in a state with an income tax, 6 month T-bills are the way to go right now! 😉

(4.98% APY on today's auction. 5.27% if you consider the state/local tax free which was 6% in KY)

don't you get penalized (3 months interest) for cashing t-bills before 5 years? i foresee interest rates continue to climb a bit.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: sniperruff

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: JS80
hsbcdirect.com pays more. i'm going to clear out my ED and move to hsbc.

There was a banner at HSBC (that' gone now) that showed 4.5%. It was assumed at FW that the rate was going from 4.8 to 4.5% at the end of the bonus (April 30). If that's the case, ED and HSBC will be paying the same.

If you live in a state with an income tax, 6 month T-bills are the way to go right now! 😉

(4.98% APY on today's auction. 5.27% if you consider the state/local tax free which was 6% in KY)

don't you get penalized (3 months interest) for cashing t-bills before 5 years? i foresee interest rates continue to climb a bit.

T-bills are sold as 4 week, 13 week and 26 week (interest is higher the higher the limit) bills. There is a $45 flat fee if sold early no matter the size of the bill (i.e. if you sell a $1000 bought or $100,000 bought, it will still be $45). However, I've read if you buy them through Fidelity, there is only a $0.50 fee (yes, 50 cents) to sell the bond. With such low time periods (6 months) and state/local tax free, it's hard to beat (currently).

You need to buy a minimum of $1,000 and also in $1,000 increments.


Also, the one disavantage to buying T-bills is that you "really don't know" the exact interest rate that you're getting until the auction is over and you've bought the bills. I was hoping for something above 5% today (APY), but it was 4.98% (APY). After factoring in KY 6% tax, it goes to 5.27% (not bad for a 6 month short term investment).