Bank of America's flagship savings account still pays a fraction of a percent in interest, a gap that has quietly widened into one of the most expensive loyalty traps in American banking.
The bank's standard savings rate sits at 0.01% annual percentage yield, according to its published deposit rates.
That means $10,000 parked there for a full year earns about $1.
By contrast, a growing list of online banks and brokerage cash accounts have been paying in the 4% range, a difference worth roughly $400 on the same balance.
The catch is that Bank of America does have a competitive tier, but it comes with conditions.
Customers in the Preferred Rewards program can earn a higher rate, but only by holding combined balances of $20,000 or more across checking, savings, and investment accounts.
That structure rewards people who already have money parked at the bank and leaves everyone else earning next to nothing.
Big banks have long argued that their savings accounts are about convenience, branch access, and a single app for everything.
That argument held up better when the alternative was a 0.5% online account.
It holds up far less when the gap is measured in hundreds of dollars a year for a typical family.
Deposits are cheap funding for banks, and most customers do not move their money.
Surveys have repeatedly found that a large share of Americans keep savings at the same bank where they hold their checking account, often for a decade or more, rarely checking the rate.
With grocery bills, rent, and insurance premiums still running high for many households, an extra $300 to $500 a year in interest is not a rounding error.
It is a car payment, a month of groceries, or a chunk of an emergency fund.
Switching does not require closing your Bank of America checking account.
You can keep your direct deposit and bill pay where they are and move only the savings balance to a higher-yield account.
Transfers between banks typically take one to three business days, and most online accounts have no minimum balance or monthly fee.
Confirm the advertised rate is not a promotional teaser that drops after a few months.
Look at whether the account has a minimum balance requirement or a cap on the balance that earns the top rate.
And make sure the bank is FDIC-insured, which covers deposits up to $250,000 per depositor.
Also worth checking: whether your current bank will match a better rate if you call and ask.
It does not always work, but retention offers are more common than most customers assume, especially if you mention a specific competing rate you are considering.
The broader takeaway is that loyalty to a single bank for every account rarely pays.
Rates on savings have become one of the few places where a few minutes of paperwork can produce a measurable, predictable return, and the penalty for doing nothing is now unusually large.
Our take: leaving six figures or even a few thousand dollars in a 0.01% account is a choice, not a default, and it is one of the easiest financial decisions to fix this year.
Final Thoughts
Check your current rate today, compare it against two or three FDIC-insured alternatives, and move the savings balance while keeping your everyday banking where it works for you.