Bank of America customers are earning roughly $1 a year on every $10,000 parked in a standard savings account, and that gap is getting harder to ignore.
The Charlotte-based bank still pays about 0.01% on its basic savings product, according to its published rate schedule.
Meanwhile, a long list of online banks and credit unions has spent the past two years advertising yields at or above 4% on comparable FDIC-insured accounts.
On $10,000, that's the difference between about a dollar and more than $400 over 12 months.
Big banks have long leaned on branch networks, mobile apps, and habit to keep deposit costs low.
After the Federal Reserve pushed its benchmark rate to a two-decade high, the gap between what banks earn on your money and what they hand back turned into one of the widest spreads in modern banking history.
Branches and apps aren't free, and Bank of America does waive monthly fees for customers who meet balance or direct-deposit requirements.
The bank also points customers toward its Preferred Rewards program, which can boost credit card cash back and add perks.
But those benefits don't move the savings rate itself, which stays near zero at every tier.
A household holding a $15,000 emergency fund in a basic Bank of America savings account collects about $1.50 a year.
The same balance in a high-yield account at 4.25% earns roughly $637.
That's a month of groceries, a car insurance payment, or a chunk of a credit card balance — gone, simply for staying put.
Switching isn't complicated, but it takes a few deliberate steps.
Open a high-yield savings account at an FDIC-insured bank, link it to your existing checking account, and move the bulk of your cash over.
Keep one to two months of expenses in checking to cover bills and avoid overdrafts.
The transfer typically clears in one to three business days.
Some high-yield accounts are actually money market funds or fintech "cash" products that aren't FDIC-insured, so verify the insurance before you move money.
Promotional rates can drop after a few months, so check the ongoing yield, not just the headline.
And if you close a Bank of America account, make sure any automatic payments tied to it are rerouted first.
The Fed has signaled it may cut rates later this year, and high-yield savings yields tend to follow fairly quickly.
That doesn't make 0.01% more attractive — it just means the window for locking in above-4% rates may not stay open indefinitely.
Our take: loyalty to a big bank's savings account is one of the most expensive habits in American personal finance, and most people never see the bill because it arrives as money they didn't earn.
Moving an emergency fund takes an afternoon and costs nothing.
Final Thoughts
The hard part is deciding you're worth the 4%.