Bank of America customers hoping their savings account is finally paying real interest may want to sit down.
The bank's standard savings rate remains at a rock-bottom 0.01% annual percentage yield, a figure that has barely moved even as the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate in a range of 4.25% to 4.50% for most of the past year.
Park $10,000 in a standard BofA savings account for a full year and you earn about one dollar.
The same $10,000 in a competitive online savings account paying roughly 4% would earn around $400.
It's a car payment, a chunk of rent, or a month of groceries quietly slipping away.
The reason is simple: big banks don't have to compete for your money.
With thousands of branches, ATMs on every corner, and decades of customer inertia, Bank of America can keep deposit rates low and still hold onto trillions in deposits.
Online banks with no branches to maintain pass along higher rates because that's their main selling tool.
To be fair, BofA does offer higher yields through its Preferred Rewards program, but there's a catch.
You generally need to hold serious balances across the bank, often $20,000 or more in combined deposits, to unlock meaningfully better rates.
Even then, the top tier tends to land well below what you'd get from a standalone high-yield account.
Start by checking what your current APY really is, because plenty of people assume they're earning more than they are.
Then compare a few well-known online savings accounts and money market accounts.
Moving money between banks takes minutes, not weeks, and there's no penalty for closing a savings account.
One practical middle ground: keep your checking account at BofA if you rely on branches and ATMs, but move your emergency fund somewhere that actually pays.
You don't have to break up with your bank to stop losing money.
You just have to stop letting one account do two jobs.
If you're chasing a sign-up bonus, read the fine print first.
Many require a minimum deposit and a holding period, and the bonus can vanish if you close too soon.
A $200 bonus sounds great until you realize you gave up $400 in interest to get it.
The bottom line is that loyalty to a big bank's savings account is one of the most expensive habits in personal finance.
Rates change, so it's worth rechecking every few months rather than setting it and forgetting it.
Our take: leaving cash in a 0.01% account is a choice, and it's usually the wrong one.
Final Thoughts
Spend ten minutes comparing rates this week, because that small bit of effort pays better than almost any side hustle.