Bank of America customers hoping for a break on savings just got another reminder that the big banks aren't in a hurry.
The bank's standard savings account continues to pay a national average of just 0.01% APY, according to its published rate sheet.
That means $10,000 parked there earns about $1 a year — roughly the price of a single candy bar.
The gap between what big banks pay savers and what they charge borrowers has rarely been wider.
While the Federal Reserve has held its benchmark rate in a range of 4.25% to 4.50% after a series of cuts from its 2023 peak, Bank of America's consumer savings rate has barely budged.
The same institution that pays you a penny per $100 lent to it can turn around and charge 20%-plus on a credit card.
Big banks count on customers leaving idle cash in checking and savings accounts out of habit, a behavior analysts call deposit stickiness.
As long as enough people don't move their money, there's little pressure to raise rates.
Bank of America does offer higher yields through its Preferred Rewards program, but the top tier still lands well below what many online banks advertise.
Meanwhile, grocery bills, rent, and insurance premiums have all climbed faster than the Fed's 2% inflation target over the past year.
For households watching prices rise, a 0.01% return is effectively a slow loss of purchasing power.
If inflation runs at 3%, that $10,000 in savings quietly loses about $300 in real value over twelve months.
The credit card side of the ledger makes the picture starker.
Bank of America's variable APR on purchases can run above 20% depending on the card and creditworthiness.
Someone carrying a $5,000 balance at 22% pays roughly $1,100 in interest a year — money that flows the opposite direction from the pennies earned on savings.
Switching doesn't require closing your Bank of America account.
Many consumers keep checking there for direct deposit and bill pay while moving emergency savings to an FDIC-insured high-yield account paying 4% or more.
On $10,000, that difference is about $400 a year.
Just confirm the account is federally insured and watch for minimum balance requirements or monthly fees that can eat into the gain.
Certificates of deposit are another option if you won't need the cash for six to twelve months.
Yields have eased from their 2023 highs, but short-term CDs at online banks still often beat anything the big four offer on standard savings.
Treasury bills bought through TreasuryDirect are also worth a look, though they work differently from a bank account.
One trap to avoid: promotional rates that reset after a few months.
Read the fine print on any account before moving money, and check whether the rate is variable.
A headline APY that drops to 0.05% after 90 days isn't a win.
Our take: loyalty to a big bank's savings account is costing American households real money every month.
If you haven't checked your APY lately, do it today — the difference between 0.01% and 4% is not a rounding error, it's a car payment.
Final Thoughts
The Fed can hold rates steady all it wants, but nobody is holding your money hostage except you.