No. of Recommendations: 4
Does anybody here have any experience with raisin.com? They are some kind of savings account conglomerator/consolidator, you open an account with them and select which real bank you want your money to go into. You do NOT have a login at that(those) bank(s), just the one login at raisin. You transact (move money) at your raisin account.
I counted about 12 of banks they have which are currently paying 5.25% APY. Seems simpler than having to chase savings account yields by opening a new account at a new bank each time.
I am stuck with a half-dozen online bank acccounts that once were good but lately have fallen behind and are around only 4.25% or less. Kind of an annoyance to keep those accounts open with only a few dollars just in case they ever become competitive.
UFBdirect.com and VIObank.com are paying 5.25%, they are each the online-only account of a B&M bank.
Any thoughts?
No. of Recommendations: 2
...experience with raisin.com?
No experience, but a question.
Raisin claims no fees, so how do they make their money? The banks pay the fees instead of the saver, but does that mean Raisin isn't taking a taste of the interest on the way by, also? Probably not, but it wouldn't take a big taste for them to make more money.
Seems to me that the best use of the site is to scan the deals on offer and then go deal directly with the bank(s) with the best offers. My experience with opening bank checking or savings accounts is that the process isn't much more inconvenient than dealing through Raisin and (often?) updating selections through them. The initial setup through Raisin might be more convenient than some (small) number of individual setups, but after that, it seems unlikely that all of the savings accounts would need...adjustment...simultaneously.
Eric Hines
No. of Recommendations: 3
I think it is analogous to brokered CDs. The issuer makes a deal with the middleman to bring in clients instead of directly advertising. Raisin answers that in the FAQs--the banks pay them a fee.
And like brokered CDs, you cannot find or get the same deals directly with the bank. Just like UFB and VIO when the actual bank does not have the same good deals as their online-only branch.
Oh, and they have MANY no-penalty CDs, which are hard to find yourself. Ex: Western Alliance Bank No-Penalty CD, 16 month, 5.40%. Check their web site---they are a small business bank and don't even have consumer accounts. WAB has a brokered CD available via stock brokers (and raisin), 12 month 5.5%, 90-day early withdrawal penalty.
My experience with opening bank checking or savings accounts is that the process isn't much more inconvenient
Just wait. In the last couple years I have opened several high-yield savings accounts, and 3 of them got denied. Most banks use ChexSystems -- which is like a Experian but for bank accounts -- and you can get blacklisted if you open too many bank accounts in a short period of time.
And just now I accidently discovered a bank, PopularDirect, that pays 5.25%. Open an account with them or with raisin?
CIT, Discover, Ally, Axos, SFGI, BRIO, dollarsavingsdirect .... all at one time had the best rates, and all have subsequently fallen behind.
Oh, cr*p! Brio is now 5.35%. Too bad I closed that account.
