Savings account with ING Direct
 

A friend of mine referred me to open an Orange Savings Account with ING Direct bank. It's all taken care of online, and giving it the right banking information I can transfer some money in from my PNC Checking account. It's offered is as following:
Earn 2.20% Annual Percentage Yield on an FDIC-insured savings account with no fees, required minimums or service charges… no matter how much you have on deposit.

It seems like a good deal to me. I do need this account. I'm wondering if the APY is a good one, or if I should hunt around a bit? The only drawback seems to be that it takes a few days for money to transfer in or transfer out, but since it's a savings account I don't think I'll need very quick access to the contents. Thanks for any advice, tips, etc.

Mike

I have an ING account. As a savings account it is a very good option. The interest rate is better than any other savings account I have found. They say it takes a couple of days to transfer funds, but I find it only takes one day (probably depends what time of day though).

You won't find a better interest rate aside from a CD (which ties up your cash for many months) or possibly a money-market account.

I have a couple ING savings accounts. If you need to tap the cash, plan ahead to get it transferred into your account. If you need it ASAP, use a credit card then transfer the money and pay off the card.

The ING account is highly recommended.

A third vote for ING. They typically have some of the most competitive rates available for their savings accounts. Plus they have the added benefit of no minimum deposit needed to earn the listed rate. Some of the banks that occasionally beat ING for interest require a $5-10K initial deposit. That is usually more money than I want to have tied up in a savings acct.

I liked my service with ING so much (I have been with them for a few years with no problems) that I decided to get a mortgage with them. Best choice I have made in a while. Saved me at least $2-3K in costs. Not kidding! And they had really good service the whole way through. It is a good place to check if you are looking for a mortgage too. I really appreciated how straightforward they are about everything. Unlike lots of other companies that you talk to, they tell you what your APR for your loan is going to be... and it actually stays there!

MTC

Works for me
 

I really like my ING Direct savings account - its a great rate (For a savings account) and its easy to transfer to and from my checking account. Its also nice that I can directly access it - encourages actual SAVING!

I second the above. I love my ING account. I invest into it monthly. it worsk great!

Another satisfied ING Direct customer.

Been using ING for 3 years, it's great!

ING has another plus: You can earn money by referring friends and family - $15 I think. You will get a $25 bonus for opening an account and your buddy will get $15. Not bad eh? ING is great. For more info especially in compare/contrast go to: www.bankrate.com

I hadn't really known about ING until we were looking for mortgages for our house. My wife had heard about ING and we got a quote for a mortgage. Their mortgage rates were MUCH lower than anyone else's rates. In fact, our real estate agent, the seller's agent, and the titling agent all commented that they had never seen a rate so low. We have since opened up a savings account there and are very satisfied.

Isn't putting your money into the savings account the worst possible way to keep your money? Sounds dumb, but I keep all my disposable cash in my savings acct. At the current inflation rate of 3% and most banks offering 1%-2% your losing money everyday keeping it there.

But for conveniance, ease of liquidation, and the movement of funds, savings acct is the way to go.

Solo2020, Ultimately, a liquid savings account is a hedge against inflation. It is better than putting the money in your mattress or in a checking account, but not by much. You are correct that you would lose money vs. inflation. The point is that you would not lose as much money.

Most sound financial advisors suggest that you keep a small, but significant amount in savings. Say, an amount equal to two months salary, to allow for emergencies that you need a quick amount of cash on hand. Beyond this amount, I use my savings account as a temporary holding place for money on the way to my brokerage for investing. I figure at least it is earning some interest before it grows to a large enough amount to make investing it worthwhile.

I like my ING account very much... no service charges and my interest is higher than any other account I have.

You forgot to mention that you get a $10 kickback, right?

Yeah, it is a nice program from ING, but soliciting in an open forum is a little questionable. You are supposed to send invitations to people you know, not neccessarily people from some forum you post on.

Anyway, I suppose that we are a part of the problem since by posting we are pushing this thread to the top of the newest post list.

Errr

I am concerned here that people are using this account in lieu of properly investing your money. 3% -bah.. I can get better rates from buying and selling gold.

its up to 3.6% now!

I wouldn't ever keep more than a month or twos worth of salary in savings, but its nice to make a decent return, compared to what I would be getting from the other bank I use (.40% or so).

As of the time I write this the Savings account rate is 2.6%. Not sure where you got the 3.6%.

does ING have a minimum that it goes down to? i was also thinking of doing this but the whole internet banking kinda freaks me out

When I signed up with ING direct back in 1998, they had a 6% rate. That was unbelievable. Then about every 6 months, it goes down about half a point... I ended up closing the account after it got to 2%.

None of you guys ever had any problems with ING Direct? To me it just sounds like one of those too good to be true things. Even though there are numerous satisfied customers, i'm still reluctant to set up an account.

This pertains to ING Direct Orange Savings Account

Positives:
-No cost to open, deposit into, withdraw from, or close the account.
-If referred by a friend, you get money.
-Your account is FDIC insured just like at the bank on the corner.
-Your account earns a higher interest rate than that bank on the corner.
-Online access to your account.

Negatives:
-You can't withdraw a deposit for 5 business days.
-You can only make 6 withdrawals from the account every month.
-No checks to write out, only trasfers back to your primary checking acct.
-There is no overdraft protection (which you shouldn't want anyways).

Probably more of each category, but this is a quick list. Read their site and the sites of other internet banks (NetBank, Emigrant Direct). Open the account with just a little money. Try it out for a while. If you don't like it, close the account. You get your money plus the money ING gave you for opening it.

I don't think I've seen more love in one thread since the last time a TFP KUMBAYA thread was started in general....I'm going to open an ING account! ING....that was easy....:D

I just opened one two weeks ago, can't beat that rate for a savings account.

Just another "woohoo" for ING! Aside from the great rate, their customer service is awesome. All the people I've gotten over the phone were honest, informative and actually nice. I was pretty nervous about internet banking at first, but I haven't been sorry for a minute since I took the chance on ING.

I have an account with them.

I think the interest rate is very good for a standard no fuss svaings account, and you can start with and build up as little as you want. Its totally online though, and its a nightmare trying to get anything done over the phone.

I've had trouble with ING. The transfers took several days, and they made them for incorrect amounts. ING also deducted money from my checking account at my CU instead of depositing it there. Not having any money in my checking account made for one hell of a fun vacation, let me tell you. Plus, the phone number provided by their website sent me to a Canadian call center, who couldn't help me, being as I am in the US. The operator had a good sense of humor about it at least (he got those calls all the time). Thank god he could give me the proper phone number. I got my money out of ING as fast as could and am never looking back.

Interesting thread here. I've been thinking about opening a savings account, and this ING deal seems pretty good. My other choice right now is a savings account with USBank (where my checking account is). Now, with ING, everything is online. Should I be concerned about security? I read somewhere that you are only liable for $50 for fraud or theft if you report the incident within 2 days (for traditional banks). Does this apply also to ING? (I'm a bit of a paranoid nut. Right now, I have a sizeable amount of cash stored under my bed but feel like moving it into a savings account. BTW, is a savings account a safe place to put money? I'm 19 and I'm pretty new to all this.)

Thanks :)

You shouldn't be overly concerned about security. To enter you account, you need you customer number, pin number, and the answer to a question pertaining to your personal information (a new question each time). Keep those safe and to yourself, and your account should be safe. Also, when transactions are made, an email confirmation is sent to your primary email account.

A traditional bank savings account is a safe place to put money. You earn a somewhat variable (but low) interest rate, your deposit is insured up to $100,000, and you have immediate access to your cash.

ING savings account is different than the traditional acct. Mainly, a bit higher interest rate, no immediate access to money (2-5 days), all online or by phone. Still insured to $100,000.

If you want to earn higher interest rates, and don't need immediate access to your money, CDs (certificates of deposit) are an option. You get those at banks. Your money is tied up for a set amount of time (a few months to a few years) and when it matures, you get your initial deposit plus interest earned.

I opened an account and am waiting to confirm my checking account. Looks like a great place to keep my money :) . Thanks (from a fellow Minnesotan. Beautiful weather we've been having, eh?)

My savings rate just was increased to 2.8%. I assume that is across the board for all ING direct accounts. Cool stuff.

Indeed, and about time at that.

2.8%? Mine is still stuck at 2.4. Maybe it's because I'm in Canada.

Yes I got the email from them today about it. Kick ass!

Yea I have an ING account and Im a great fan of it. I am just filling it with as much money as I can for my school fund. This way its kind of out of the way with ING direct so what I put away actually stays away, I'm not tempted to take it out and buy a new car or something. And I'm a little ticked now! I just looked and the Canadian interest rate is 2.4% vs. the American one of 3%.

:lol: I hear that. Yet another great reason to have an ING direct account.

I decided to join ING. Thanks for the great infos everyone.

Hrmm the ING interest rate in Australia is a bad ass 5.1%. :)

I just got a financial advisor, and she told me to put my loose cash in ING while we figured out what to do. So I have, and it works as advertised, and seems safe. But I hd the devil of a time getting the account set up, because I set up a joint account for myself and my wife, linked to a joint checking account owned by myself and my wife. When ING sent over the test transactions to confirm the link, they sent two sets of them, one for me and one for my wife, on separate days, with no way of telling which transactions were for which user. And nobody explained that there _would_ be separate confirmation transactions for each user in _one account._

So I kept entering the wrong transactions on the link confirmation screen, and kept getting locked out. Took three customer support guys to finally find a guy who knew how/why I was screwing up. If you're just setting up an account for yourself, though, you should have no troubles.