Keeping Your Savings at Chase? Here’s the Shocking Amount You’re Losing
Key Takeaways
- Keeping savings at Chase means earning just 0.01%—far less than the 4%–5% available at dozens of smaller banks.
- By moving funds to a top high-yield account, you can earn hundreds—even thousands—each year, while also keeping your savings ahead of inflation. And you don’t have to give up your Chase accounts to do it.
- Every FDIC bank insures deposits up to $250,000 per depositor—meaning smaller banks are just as safe as Chase.
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Think Chase Is the Safer Choice? All FDIC Banks Are Equally Protected—and Many Pay 4%–5%
The Federal Reserve may have cut rates this month, with another reduction possible by Halloween. But for many savers, the real issue isn’t what the Fed does—it’s how little Chase pays on savings.
Millions of Americans keep their savings at Chase simply because that’s where they have a checking account. But that convenience comes at a steep cost. The standard Chase savings rate is just 0.01%—that’s not 1%, it’s one one-hundredth of a percent. If you keep $10,000 in a Chase savings account, that means you’d earn just $1 in interest over a whole year.
Warning
Think you’re better off at Bank of America or Wells Fargo? Unfortunately, their standard savings accounts also pay just 0.01%.
In contrast, dozens of smaller banks are paying 4% or more on high-yield savings accounts today, with the most competitive options reaching 5.00% APY. And you don’t have to leave Chase entirely—you can keep your checking or credit cards there while moving savings into a high-yield account elsewhere.
If safety is your concern, remember this: FDIC insurance protects deposits up to $250,000 per account holder, per bank, no matter the size of the institution. Credit unions carry the same protection through the NCUA. That means smaller banks and credit unions are just as safe as Chase—with your deposits receiving identical protection.
Why This Matters to You
Parking your savings at Chase may feel convenient, but it could quietly shrink your wealth. Instead, a high-yield savings account can help your money grow instead of losing ground to inflation.
Here’s How Much Chase’s Near-Zero Savings Rate Could Be Costing You
So how much are you really losing by keeping savings at Chase with its 0.01% interest rate? Even on a modest balance, the gap compared with today’s top high-yield accounts is eye-opening. And on larger balances, the difference is downright staggering.
The table below shows how much you’d earn in a year at Chase’s 0.01% versus 4.30%, across balances from $1,000 to $100,000. We used 4.30% because it’s the 15th-highest APY in our daily ranking of the best savings account rates—but you could earn even more with accounts higher up the list.
| How Much You’re Losing on Savings at the Biggest Banks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.01% APY big bank rate | 4.30% APY high-yield rate | Difference over 1 year | |
| $1,000 balance | $0.10 | $43.00 | $42.90 |
| $5,000 balance | $0.50 | $215.00 | $214.50 |
| $10,000 balance | $1.00 | $430.00 | $429.00 |
| $25,000 balance | $2.50 | $1,075.00 | $1,072.50 |
| $50,000 balance | $5.00 | $2,150.00 | $2,145.00 |
| $75,000 balance | $7.50 | $3,225.00 | $3,217.50 |
| $100,000 balance | $10.00 | $4,300.00 | $4,290.00 |
Important
If your savings earns less than the inflation rate—currently 2.9%—your money is quietly losing purchasing power. Moving funds to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation means you’re not just boosting income—you’re protecting your money from falling behind year after year.
With FDIC insurance protecting deposits equally across all banks, there’s no reason to settle for meager returns at Chase or other big banks. Whether you have $1,000 or $100,000, moving your savings to a high-yield account means your money finally works for you—rather than sitting idle.
Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts
We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:
Important
Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.
How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates
Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.
Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.
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