ALWAYS ASK FOR A MONEY MARKET INTEREST RATE BONUS
One thing you might not have even considered is that sometimes you might be able to get a money market account that has an interest rate very close to that of a 1 year CD. Most people think that to get the highest rates you need to get some vehicle that is time sensitive and ties your money up for 6 months, one year, or longer. Traditionally the two most popular choices have been Treasury bills and bank certificates of deposits.
Now though, with interest rates so low, another option might be staring you right in the face and with it comes more flexibility. Money market accounts offer interest rates that fluctuate with your balance. Typically, the more you have in your account, the higher interest you will get so in order to have it approach what you would get for a CD, you will usually have to deposit more than $10,000.
The $10,000 amount is where the biggest jump in interest is for many money markets but it may vary with your bank. Regardless where the big break occurs, as long as you maintain a balance over that amount you will earn the higher rate.
What you might not know is that many banks and institutions have some sort of a promotional bonus rate that is usually very easy to get. This will raise your money market interest rate as much as a quarter of a point (.25%). It is this bonus rate that will allow you to get a rate that challenges that of a timed instrument and give you total flexibility to remove your money any time as only a money market account can.
With a bonus rate thown in, you might be able to get very close to 1% or more even in today’s environment. To get that high a rate you will probably need around $100,000 in the account but an extra quarter of a percent might be available for all amounts. To get the bonus rate you may have to satisfy some qualification such as have money put in the account electronically every month or some other stipulation.
The main thing is that banks are often having different promotions so it never hurts to ask. Take advantage of all promotional bonus interest rates for CD’s and MMA to get the most return on your money. With rates so low, these bonuses are a real good deal.
