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Discover Bank

Overall Score:
Rate History:
Security:

Bank's URL:
http://www.discoverbank.com/online-savings-account.html

Overall Score

From the same people who brought you the Discover credit card. They can also be blamed or credited, depending on how you look at it, for all those credit card reward programs.

I became a Discover Bank account holder by default. I had an Etrade savings account for years that I was happy with before Discover bought out all their accounts. I have to say the transition was good. The only problem, they sent the first notice of this via an email. So I thought it was a phishing scheme before I received paper in the mail from eTrade.

They offer a rate that is slight above average. They offer a tiered rate program, which is great if you have a good amount of money. The minimum account balance is $2,500. To get the decent interest rate, you need to have a minimum of $25,000.

They allow you pretty good access to your money, assuming you have ATMS around you that accept Discover. I kept my eyes out in my area for an ATM that accepts Discover. I found 3 in my area. They also allow standard check writing accounting for the reason they refer to this account product as a Money Market Account.

Overall, Discover sure isn't my favorite online bank. If you have a good bit of money to put in this ($25,000 or more), you could do a lot worse. If you don't meet that minimum, there are a lot better choices out there.

Rate History:

They provide a tiered interest rate based on your account balance. The rate is usually 1/2 point above the average. This assumes you meet the minimum $25,000. If you don't meet that minimum, I would steer clear as their lower tier of rate is 1/4 to 3/4 points below the average.

I base my rating of 3 money bags based on the latest statistic that most people have less than $5,000 in their savings account in the U.S.

If you can meet that $25,000 minimum, I would rate them a 4 money bags.

Customer Service:

Phone support is slight above average because they offer 24/7 phone support. They have quick or no wait times.

Security

They offer the standard security practices.

Features

Pros: Your standard tie to a checking or savings account system. You can mail in deposits. The ATM and check writing are nice features. You can also do 24/7 wire transfers free of charge.

Cons: $2,500 minimum. $25,000 minimum to really get a good rate. The security could really be a lot better. It seems like they put the security effort in the consumers hands by saying, "Watch out for Phishing!" I like banks that take proactive steps to help customers with that threat.

Funding: Ties to your Checking or savings account. You can also use an ATM or checks.

Setup Process: Online, mail, and fax.

FDIC Insured

Bank's URL: http://www.discoverbank.com

Mailing Address:

Discover Bank
PO Box 7068
Dover, DE 19903-9821

Phone: Customer Service: 1-877-409-0274.