I must admit it upfront, I am a big fan of SmartyPig. Among all the high yield savings accounts, I think that SmartyPig has built a strong business model by offering the highest yield for an online savings account while combining your savings with additional booster rates through rebates at different stores. And now that they have increased their savings rate to 2.15%, SmartyPig proves, one more time, that they are the leader in high yield online savings accounts.

SmartyPig booster savings yield:

While you benefit from a high yield on your savings account (currently increased to 2.15% APY), SmartyPig also boosts your savings rate with additional rebates when shopping in selected stores. Here are a few examples:

The biggest rebate is at Macy’s (12%) but you can also find great SmartyPig rebates with the following stores:

Babies”R”us (2%)

Barnes and Nobles (5%)

Bed Bath & Beyond (4%)

GAP (5%)

iTunes (2%)

Jared (7%)

Kmart (4%)

Kohl’s (5%)

Overstock.com (7%)

Sandals (10%)

Sears (4%)

Toys”R”us (2%)

Travelocity Hotel Gift Card (10%)

Travelocity Vacation Gift Card (2 to 10%)

Opening a SmartyPig savings account – How does it work?

SmartyPig offers a very easy process to open a savings account for various savings goals. You also have the option to setup different savings goals (by matching your savings goals with stores, you benefit from additional rebates). Another major advantage SmartyPig has over its competitors is that they add a social element, other people such as your friends and family members can contribute to your goals as well (if they fund a contribution with a credit card there is a 2.9% fee, I suspect this is to cover the credit card processing costs).

So your friends and family not only follow your savings progress but can contribute at the same time (isn’t this a great gift idea?).

SmartyPig trustworthiness and FDIC

SmartyPig is a very solid company. When setting up a savings account, you want to make sure you do it with the right financial institution. They’ve had more than $400 million in goals created and $150 million in goals reached in the United States, both numbers are much higher than I expected. They also claim that they offer the highest yield on savings accounts, which is true when you consider the minimum requirements to open a SmartyPig account. In addition to that, please keep in mind that SmartyPig is part of FDIC, which means that your capital is insured up to $250,000.

Withdrawing your money from SmartyPig

Nothing is easier than accessing your money with SmartyPig. In fact they appear to be one of the most flexible high yield savings accounts. While no minimum deposit is required (beside a monthly savings amount of $25) and no fees are charged to open an account, withdrawing money from your SmartyPig is very cheap and easy too!

You have 3 options while withdrawing money from your SmartyPig account:

-         Electronic funds transfer directly into your bank account

-         Using your debit card (you can have a Mastercard attached to your account).

-         Using gift cards with booster rates by stores (probably the best way to optimize your savings).

Why are you savings money? Answer: to spend it!

Since we all save money for a specific goal, I think that using the booster rate offered by SmartyPig is the best way to save money for specific goals while benefiting from the best APY possible. This is why I suggest you open a SmartyPig account today and start saving!

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