Bank of America's standard savings account pays a national average of just 0.01% APY, a rate that has barely budged even as the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate elevated for much of the past two years.
On a $10,000 balance, that works out to about $1 a year.
Meanwhile, the best online savings accounts and money market funds have spent that same stretch offering 4% to 5% APY, meaning the same $10,000 could earn $400 or more.
It is the single easiest win sitting in millions of household budgets right now, and most people never check.
Big banks can get away with paying near-zero because their customers rarely compare.
The account is attached to your checking, your direct deposit, your debit card, your Zelle, your mortgage.
Moving money feels like a hassle, so it sits.
It is also counting on you not noticing that your "high-yield" savings tier only kicks in once you cross thresholds most people never hit.
Here is the practical version of what to do.
Keep your checking account where it is if you like the branch and the app.
Then open a separate high-yield savings account at an online bank or a brokerage's cash sweep, and link the two.
You can move money back and forth in a day or two, and you can automate a set transfer on payday.
Look at the actual APY, not the marketing headline, and confirm whether the rate is promotional and expires.
Ask about minimum balances, monthly fees, and withdrawal limits.
Make sure the account is FDIC-insured or NCUA-insured so your balance is protected up to the standard limits.
If you are parking more than the insured limit, split it across institutions.
Some banks quietly downgrade your rate if you stop using a linked debit card or fail to hit a monthly deposit threshold.
Others pay the top rate only on the first few thousand dollars and drop to a pittance above that.
If you are carrying credit card debt at 20%-plus, that is the bigger emergency, and paying it down beats chasing yield.
But for money you are holding as an emergency fund, a down payment, or a tax bill, letting it sit at 0.01% is a slow leak you can stop this week.
Do the math on your own balance, then decide if the convenience is worth what it is costing you.
The takeaway: loyalty to a big bank's savings product is expensive, and nobody is going to flag it for you.
Final Thoughts
Fifteen minutes of account switching can put hundreds of dollars a year back in your pocket, and that money does not care which logo is on your debit card.