Bank of America's flagship savings account pays an annual percentage yield that hovers around 0.01%.
On a $10,000 balance, that works out to roughly a dollar a year in interest, which is less than the cost of a single candy bar at the checkout counter.
Meanwhile, the same bank has been paying customers considerably more to park money in certificates of deposit, and it has been quick to promote those rates in app notifications and branch signage.
The gap between what the bank pays on savings and what it charges borrowers is one of the widest spreads in consumer finance.
The math gets more uncomfortable when you compare it to what is available elsewhere.
A number of online banks and credit unions have been offering yields in the 4% to 5% range on plain savings accounts, with no minimum balance and no monthly fee.
On that same $10,000, the difference between 0.01% and 4.5% is about $450 a year.
It is a car payment, a month of groceries, or a chunk of an emergency fund that could be growing instead of sitting still.
Bank of America does have a higher-yield option, but it comes with strings.
The Preferred Rewards program bumps your savings rate based on how much you hold across the bank, and the top tier still lands well below what many online competitors pay.
You generally need a three-month average combined balance in the six figures to reach it.
For most households, that door is closed.
The bank has also leaned on relationship pricing elsewhere, including waiving monthly maintenance fees for customers who meet balance or deposit requirements.
Those perks are real, and for someone who uses branches, a safe deposit box, and a full suite of services, they can offset some of the lost interest.
But the savings rate itself remains the weak link.
Start by checking the APY printed on your last statement.
If it reads 0.01%, you are not being singled out, but you are also not being paid to stay.
Moving a portion of your cash to a higher-yield account takes about 15 minutes online and does not require closing your Bank of America checking account.
A few practical guardrails: keep enough in checking to cover bills and avoid overdrafts, confirm the new account is federally insured, and read the fine print on any promotional rate that expires after a few months.
Some online banks have been trimming yields as rate expectations shift, so a rate that looks great today may not hold.
Also watch for transfer limits and processing times.
Standard savings accounts have historically capped withdrawals at six per month, though many banks have relaxed that rule.
Moving money between institutions can take one to three business days, so do not drain an account you rely on for automatic payments.
For anyone juggling credit card balances at 20%-plus interest, paying those down is usually a better return than chasing an extra fraction of a percent on savings.
The math is unforgiving, and no savings yield comes close to beating revolving debt.
The bigger takeaway is that loyalty to a single institution rarely pays.
Banks count on inertia, and the 0.01% savings rate is proof that it works.
A quick rate check costs nothing and could be worth hundreds of dollars a year.
Our take: big-bank savings accounts are built for convenience, not yield, and that trade-off has gotten harder to justify as online options stay competitive.
Final Thoughts
If your emergency fund is earning pennies, you are effectively paying a convenience fee you never agreed to.