Bank of America is the second-largest bank in the country, with roughly 35 million consumer checking accounts.
Its flagship savings account pays an annual percentage yield of 0.01%.
That is not a typo, and it has been that way for years.
Meanwhile, a long list of online banks and even some traditional competitors are paying in the 4% to 5% range on plain savings accounts with no gimmicks.
On $10,000, a 0.01% yield earns you about one dollar over a full year.
The same balance at 4.25% earns roughly $425.
Same money, same federal insurance, wildly different outcome.
The only real difference is where the account sits.
Moving money feels like a chore, and the big banks count on that inertia.
Customer switching costs are not fees — they are friction.
Bank of America does offer a higher-yield option, but it comes with conditions.
Preferred Rewards tiers require qualifying balances across checking, savings, and investment accounts, often starting at $20,000 combined.
Even then, the top savings tier has historically landed well below what a bare-bones online account pays with zero requirements.
The bank's position is that customers value convenience, branch access, and a full relationship rather than chasing the highest rate on a single product.
It is also a pitch that costs depositors real money.
Here is the part that rarely makes the headline: banks make money on the spread.
They pay you a little for your deposits and lend that money out at much higher rates, or park it at the Federal Reserve.
When the Fed's benchmark rate sits above 5%, that spread gets very wide.
Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citibank all run similar playbooks on legacy savings products.
The pattern is industry-wide, and it is legal.
It is also the reason so-called "rate chasers" exist.
Practical steps if you want to stop leaving money on the table.
First, check your current APY — it is printed on your statement and buried in the app.
Second, confirm any online bank you are considering is FDIC insured.
Third, keep your checking where it is if you like it and simply move the savings balance.
Transfers between banks typically take one to three business days and cost nothing.
Some high-yield accounts have minimum balances, monthly transfer limits, or no physical branches and slower customer service.
Promotional rates can drop after a few months.
Read the fine print on whether the rate is variable, because most are.
Also worth noting: the gap shrinks when the Fed cuts rates.
High-yield accounts tend to fall faster than big-bank savings, which barely move at all.
So the advantage is real but not permanent, and timing matters less than just not sitting at 0.01% for another decade.
The uncomfortable truth is that loyalty to a big bank is a one-way street.
They are not paying you more because you have been there since college.
They are paying you less because they can.
If your emergency fund is parked at a fraction of a percent, the fix takes about twenty minutes.
Final Thoughts
That is a better hourly rate than most side hustles.