Bank of America customers are earning 0.01% APY on a standard savings account.
It means $10,000 parked there for a full year earns about one dollar.
Meanwhile, the same $10,000 in a competitive online high-yield savings account can earn $400 or more at today's rates.
This isn't a new problem, but it stings more now.
After the Federal Reserve pushed rates to their highest level in decades, plenty of banks passed that along to savers.
Its flagship savings rate has sat near zero for years, even as its own credit card APRs climbed past 20%, and even as it pays depositors next to nothing for the money it lends out.
The gap between what big banks pay and what online banks pay has never been wider.
As of this writing, top-yield accounts are offering roughly 4% to 5% APY, while the national average for a basic savings account hovers around 0.4%.
That spread is the difference between your money growing and your money shrinking once inflation is factored in.
At 0.01%, you're losing purchasing power every single month.
Branch convenience, direct deposit setups, automatic bill pay, and the fear of switching.
Deposits are their cheapest source of funding, and low savings rates protect their margins.
The fix is simpler than most people think.
You don't have to close your Bank of America checking account.
Keep it for bills, direct deposit, and ATM access, then move your savings to an FDIC-insured online account that actually pays.
Transfers typically take one to two business days, sometimes faster.
Before you switch, check these three things.
First, confirm the account is FDIC insured.
Second, look for minimum balance requirements or monthly fees that eat into your yield.
Third, check whether the rate is promotional or ongoing.
Some banks lure you in with a teaser rate that drops after a few months.
Some accounts advertise a high APY but only pay it if you meet conditions like a minimum balance or a set number of debit card transactions.
Read the fine print before you move a dollar.
One more thing worth knowing: your Bank of America savings rate isn't just low, it's also a signal.
When a bank pays almost nothing for deposits, it's telling you it doesn't need your savings badly enough to compete for them.
That's useful information when you decide where your emergency fund should live.
For households already squeezed by grocery prices, rent, and credit card interest, the money left on the table adds up fast.
A $15,000 emergency fund earning 4.5% instead of 0.01% is roughly $675 more per year, enough to cover a month of groceries for many families.
Loyalty to a big bank's savings account is expensive, and it's one of the easiest costs to eliminate.
Keep the checking account if it works for you, but let your savings earn what it's actually worth somewhere else.
Final Thoughts
A few clicks today can be worth hundreds of dollars by this time next year.