I FOUND THE 5 BEST BANK ACCOUNTS!

What's up you guys! It's Graham here. So one week ago, I made a video going over the worst bank accounts out there. These are the ones that charge you endless fees, that pay you no interest, that rob you as soon as you drop below their daily minimums, and slap you in the face with excessive charges. Or, in other words, the banks that should be avoided at all costs, in my opinion, of course. Not financial advice and for entertainment purposes only.

Anyway, after spending so much of my time researching such horrendous fees and charges, I lost a bit of my faith in humanity until I began picking up the pieces, drying up my tears, and creating this list of the best bank accounts out there. These are the banks without any minimums, without charging you any excessive fees, that actually pay you a pretty good interest rate, and bring back your hope in the banking system.

And let me just make this clear: I'm not sponsored or affiliated with any of these banks whatsoever. I'm just a fan of saving as much money as humanly possible, and I dislike fees as much as you do. So with that said, let's go over the best banks out there, the ones that will actually pay you to save money and put every other bank to shame.

Of course, as usual, I put a lot of time into making videos like this to the point where these videos take me three times longer to plan, film, and edit than any of my other videos. So, if you would not mind destroying the like button for the YouTube algorithm, it really helps up my channel a lot. And I promise if you do that, this video is going to give you so many different ways to make and save money. So I'll help you out; you helped me out with the like button in the YouTube algorithm, and it's a win-win.

So anyway, with that said, let's start this video off with number five. We got, drum roll: Discover Bank. Now, this is a weird one for me to review, coming in so closely to my worst bank accounts video because already, even though it's number five on the list, it is light years ahead and better than any other bank I mentioned.

Like, it almost seems customary for these old-school banks to all charge you monthly maintenance fees or account minimums, that it seems weird to look at Discover Bank and see what they're not doing. Because if we start off with the Discover Bank monthly maintenance fee, if we look on their website here, we see that a—wait a second—there is no monthly maintenance fee!

Now, in the past, when I reviewed the worst bank accounts, they would all try to hide their excessive fees in the fine print. They would just be all sneaky about it, and they plaster happy people on the main page with a whole bunch of fluff about their services. So maybe you would overlook how expensive it is, but Discover Bank took on the opposite approach.

In fact, they went full-on attack mode by making their narrative the fact that they don't have any fees, and that's what separates them from the competition. There are no minimums, they have free ATM access, they have free replacement debit cards, they got free check no-item return fees, no fee for stop payments, and no fee for insufficient funds.

Then, compare that with other banks that had $1500 minimums to avoid a fee, charge $2.00 per page on checks, $30.00 for stop payments, and $36 insufficient funds fees. Not to mention a variety of other charges. And Discover Bank knows how good they are because they place them side by side with all of the evil competition, which funny enough, all three of those banks by pure coincidence were in my list of the worst bank accounts out there.

But what makes Discover Bank just a little bit more special is within their checking and savings account. With the checking account, even though they don't pay you interest, they will give you 1% cash back when you use their debit card, which is better than nothing and way more than what most banks give you.

Although I'm going to be fully transparent here and say that it's usually never a good idea to use a debit card anyway. And if you're going for the cash back, there are so many better options to use with a credit card instead. So in my opinion, it's not really a useful perk, although it's better than getting nothing. And hey, for a fully free checking account with no fees and no minimums, it's still really good.

And really, the real magic and the real reason I like this bank so much is because of their savings account. They're going to be paying you 1.7 percent in interest with no minimums, no fees, and no hidden agenda. Just deposit your money and enjoy some of that sweet, sweet interest. That interest rate is also better than some of the other banks I'll be mentioning here, so just for an all-around really good bank, this is it.

However, one more thing I want to mention with this is that as much as I love this bank, just be aware that you're not going to be able to get access to physical branch locations because for the most part, it's really just an online bank. I'm going to be discussing the aspects of this towards the end of the video, but for someone who actually wants to get in their car, drive to a bank, spend time in traffic, get to the bank, get out of the car, and spend time in line waiting to talk to someone, then maybe this is something to consider.

Although I don't really know why anyone would bother doing that anyway when pretty much all you need now is on the computer and on your phone. But again, I have seen stranger things.

Alright, so we're off to a really good start already. It's really hard to pick favorites here because they're all just so good. But I got to give credit to number four, and this is one I've talked about a lot here on the channel, and that would be Ally Bank.

Now full disclosure here, I discovered Ally Bank several years ago, and once I found them, I've never gone back. I have multiple accounts with them. I use them for each of my rental properties. I use them for the high-interest savings account, and in the years of using them, they're the one bank that I have continually stuck with and recommended to people to use and sign up for.

Oh sure, they might not offer the best interest rate ever on a savings account, but I got to say, as an all-around bank, they're really one of the best out there. And here is why: to start, you could sign up for a bank account free online, and within minutes you'll enjoy all the benefits of no fees, no account minimums, no fees on incoming wires, and no fees on cashier's checks.

And in terms of the fees that they do have, they're pretty upfront with that. But even though there are a few things that could be better and could be improved, they feel like everything else they have more than makes up for that. Like, with their checking account, you can make 0.1 percent in interest for doing absolutely nothing and a half a percent if you have about $15,000.

Of course, let's be real, that's not a lot of money to pay in interest; I get it. But considering that most banks pay you nothing, getting paid at least a little something is such a big improvement. But then we get into one of my favorite parts with Ally Bank and that would be their savings account, which pays you 1.6 percent in interest.

Again, this is with zero fees, zero minimums; just a straight 1.6 percent on all balances. Now, of course, maybe a small percentage of you are thinking right now, "But Graham, other banks pay way higher than 1.6 percent!" And that is true. I'm going to be mentioning some other higher-yielding savings accounts shortly.

However, Ally Bank to me is so much more than just a high-yield savings account because to me, they’re the entire package without any bank. The reason I like them so much is because they're just good at everything. See, not only are they a full-service bank and lender, but they also offer you an investment platform with $0 stock trades. I use this for myself because it's been really easy to invest with the same company I'm banking with, and so far, I've been really happy with their services.

Plus, in addition to that, their customer service has been top-notch. Now, I will admit, because they're growing in popularity, it does take you now a little bit longer to reach someone on their customer service line, but it's really not that big of a deal to wait like two minutes now instead of thirty seconds because everything else they have to offer has been really good.

But now we're going to be going on to my number three choice, and this one is very similar to Ally Bank, although it does have a few advantages just depending on what you're looking for, and that would be the Capital One 360 account. Now here's the thing: usually when you think of Capital One, you think of their credit cards. Those are usually the entry-level credit cards that are good for people building their credit and horrible for people who ever carry a balance on a credit card because the interest rate they charge is just horrendous.

So it's kind of unusual to think of something like that that's associated with a pretty good bank account. But to start, when you open up one of these accounts, you're going to have zero fees and zero minimums. Pretty much like everything else on this list.

But where this one comes in slightly better than Ally is with the interest rate they pay on their checking account. Capital One 360 is going to be paying you 0.2 percent in interest on all balances, regardless of how much money you have. So this is perfect for people who keep less than fifteen thousand dollars in their checking account.

Which, come on, let's be real, unless you have really high overhead, you should never be carrying that amount of money in a checking account just sitting there, wasting away. But at least for the money that is sitting there, it makes sense to get paid a little bit more in this account than a little bit less or nothing in others.

And just so I could be completely honest with this and truthful in my expectations and opinion of the bank, it's good; it's not perfect. That is because while incoming wires are free, outgoing wires could be as high as forty dollars. Checks are also seven dollars for 50, and cashier's checks are ten dollars in branch, not to mention a $35 overdraft fee.

But I will say what makes this bank slightly different than most of the other banks I'm going to be mentioning here is that they have physical branches that you could actually walk into to speak with a person face to face, and that's what's known as what's called a Capital One Café. I just randomly happened to walk past one the other day, and I looked in and I was so confused as to what it is, but it seems like a pretty cool concept.

It's almost like this WeWork-looking space with banking and coffee. And, of course, as you know, I really like coffee. I got coffee sitting all the way over here, off of the camera here, this is where I keep it, and that's one of the things you don't really get to see between these edits because otherwise I can't film these videos without a lot of energy from coffee.

So now you know. But anyway, actually having a physical branch available to people kind of fills the gap between people who are afraid to go 100 percent online but still want a bank that they can walk into that gives them way better rates than anything else out there. But anyway, moving on from that, you also have access to the 360 savings account that pays you 1.7 percent in interest, which by the way, I'm just warning you here, every single time it seems like I quote an interest rate like this, banks seem to suddenly lower it by the time I post the videos.

So I just will say that as of right now, it's 1.7 percent, but I'm probably going to jinx it by mentioning it here, and it's going to be lowered to like 1.6, just watch. Let's see. Although even with that, 1.7 percent is still really good for a full-on bank, and as usual, that's with no fees and no minimums.

And it's really because of that the Capital One is such a close competitor to Ally Bank. And well, they don't give you an investment platform with $0 stock trades, they do give you a slightly higher interest rate and physical branches if you ever want to talk to someone face to face. Although honestly, you really can't go wrong with either option.

So next, we have a very unusual and unique one as my number two on this list that not a lot of people are talking about. You can't really find too much about it online. I actually found out about it because a lot of people were mentioning it in the comments, so I did my research; I looked into it, it's pretty good. That would be Redneck Bank. Yes, that is really the name for the bank! I had no idea who came up with that, but it is what it is. They've also got this fly going through their website that you could chase around with your mouse.

Again, whoever came up with this was a genius. There's even this little squirrel that comes on the screen every now and then that mows a lawn of money. You think this entire thing is some joke, but no, it's real, and they offer you better rates and services than almost anywhere else out there.

Like, just take their checking account, for instance. There's no minimum balance, no maintenance fees, they give you $25 a month, and free ATM services, and they pay you a 2.25 percent interest rate after the first ten thousand dollars. And that's why you heard me correctly: 2.25 percent in interest in a checking account! That is better than even the best savings accounts out there, and you're getting that in a checking account.

And then you could get into their mega money market account where you get this pig on the right-hand saying "Quit mucking around! Bring home the bacon with the best rates." Anyway, they're offering you 1.75 percent in interest up to the first $50,000 and then half a percent for anything over that.

And I gotta say, for anyone out there who's keeping less than sixty thousand dollars in cash in a bank account, which is probably 99.9999% of you, this is a fantastic option to get more interest than you could pretty much anywhere else for a full-fledged bank with no minimums or no fees.

Now, of course, just like most banks, there will be additional fees and other services extending out a wire, making a stop payment on a check, or getting an overdraft. I gotta say, even with that, those fees are still way less than almost anywhere else.

So overall, I am thoroughly impressed by this bank, and I would say for the majority of people out there, it's a fantastic option. Plus, they get points for having the most unique name out there, and that puts this as number 2 on the list because of that.

Plus, in terms of getting some of the highest interest rates out there for a bank, this is it. But anyway, now finally we got my number one choice. And here's the thing: I had a very difficult time selecting one. See, the issue is for me to call this video "the best bank accounts," I can't just go and mention high-interest savings accounts and call it a day because if it doesn't have a checking account, it's not really a fair comparison.

That prevented me from mentioning places like Synchrony Bank, Wealthfront, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, and the American Express savings, all of which are really good choices. But at the end of the day, it's not a full-on bank and they don't have checking accounts.

But again, if all you're looking for is just a high-interest savings account, then one of those would be my number one choice because of how much they pay. I was also really tempted to mention Alliant Credit Union, but since I have not used them personally before, I was relying on other people's reviews to decide whether or not they were good. And it seems like quite a few people are rather upset with their services, so in good conscience, I didn't feel good mentioning them.

The same thing also applies to CIT Bank, and even though they are a really good bank, they have high minimums, which made it a little bit difficult to mention. The same thing also applies to PNC Bank, which I use right now, and they're really good and they pay one of the best interest rates out there. But because that interest rate only applies to certain states, a lot of people would be excluded.

Although if you live in an area without a physical PNC branch, then they’re a really good option. So really at the end of the day, it's so difficult to pick just one, and I feel like the previous four I just mentioned are already so good that I had a hard time finding anything that was overall better than this that wasn't limited to a certain dollar amount or a certain state or something in a certain locality.

So because of that, overall, I figured I would just mention one of the best high-interest savings accounts out there. It doesn't have a checking account, but if you want to get high interest, this is the one I would most recommend, and that would be VO Bank. The advantage with this is that right now they're paying one of the highest interest rates out there on a savings account, and that would be a whopping 2.02 percent in interest with no cap as to how much money they'll pay.

Then all you need is a hundred dollars to open the account, and once you do, there are no account minimums, no fees, and like any normal savings account, you get six withdrawals free per month. Sure, like I mentioned, it's not a full-service bank; it doesn't have a checking account, but the other four I already mentioned should more than make up for that.

So I think this option right here is for the person who wants the highest interest rate possible in an online savings account, and this is it: VO Bank. With that, I really want to end this video on this note: for anyone out there who's worried about only having an online bank without anything to walk into physically, it's really not that big of a deal.

When I was younger, I used to be that person who would always walk into a physical bank to go and deposit checks, like back in the caveman days. And then once I actually took the leap to go for an online bank, I have never needed to actually walk into a physical branch or physical bank ever again. Trust me, anything you could ever fathom doing at a physical branch can now be done online or from your phone in a matter of seconds or minutes at the very most.

So going with an online bank now is really just the smartest choice financially, not to mention online banks have less overhead, which means they could pass those savings on to you in the form of higher interest, fewer fees, and smashing the like button for the YouTube algorithm.

So with that said, you guys, thank you so much for watching! I really appreciate it. As always, if you have not already subscribed, make sure to destroy the subscribe button and notification bells so YouTube notifies you any time I post a new video.

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