Bank of America customers holding money in a standard savings account are earning 0.01% APY.
On $10,000, that works out to about $1 a year — less than the cost of a single coffee, and roughly what you'd earn digging for loose change in the couch.
Meanwhile, the same bank routinely charges borrowers far more than that on credit cards and personal loans.
The spread between what you earn and what you pay is, essentially, the business model. **Where the money actually sits** The headline savings rate isn't the whole story.
Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program bumps your rate based on combined balances across checking, savings, and investment accounts.
Hit the top tier — $100,000 or more — and some promotional offers have pushed savings rates toward 4% or higher, though those deals are often temporary and tied to new money.
For everyone below those thresholds, the standard rate stays parked near zero.
The tiers reward people who already have six figures sitting around.
Everyone else gets the 0.01%. **What the competition looks like** High-yield savings accounts at online banks and some credit unions have spent the past couple of years offering rates in the 4% to 5% range, though those have been drifting lower as the Federal Reserve adjusts its benchmark rate.
Even at 4%, $10,000 earns roughly $400 a year instead of $1.
That's a difference of nearly $400 — real money for a household watching grocery bills and rent.
Online banks typically lack branches, cash deposits can be slower, and moving money takes a day or two.
For some people, that convenience is worth something.
For most, it isn't worth 399 dollars. **Why the low rate persists** Bank of America isn't doing anything illegal.
Savings rates at big banks have lagged for years, and customers rarely switch.
Opening a new account takes maybe 20 minutes, but survey after survey shows most people never bother — they've had the same account since college and assume all banks pay roughly the same.
That assumption used to be closer to true.
The gap between the best and worst savings rates is wider than it's been in decades, and the big banks know their customers aren't comparison shopping. **The catch on switching** Before you move your emergency fund, check the fine print.
Some high-yield accounts require minimum balances, cap the number of withdrawals, or drop the rate after a promotional period.
Others are offered by fintech apps that partner with a bank you've never heard of — make sure your deposits are FDIC insured through the underlying institution, not just the app's marketing page.
Also worth noting: if you're chasing a sign-up bonus, those often require direct deposits or a minimum balance held for months.
Read the terms before assuming the headline number is what you'll actually get. **The bottom line** Banks pay low rates because they can.
Loyalty to a big brand doesn't earn you interest — it earns them margin.
If you've got more than a month or two of expenses sitting in a 0.01% account, the math is worth ten minutes of your time.
None of this is financial advice, and rates change constantly.
But the gap between 0.01% and 4% is one of the few places where a little effort reliably pays off.
Final Thoughts
The banks are counting on you not to notice.