Capital One 360 Savings Review

Philip Taylor, CPAByPhilip Taylor, CPA

Capital One 360 Savings ReviewToday I’m going to share with you my Capital One 360 Savings review.

I’m a big fan of online savings accounts, both for their higher interest paid and their ability to be a separate place to save your money.

Capital One 360 Savings Review

I’ve been saving my money with Capital One 360 Savings (formerly ING Direct Orange Savings) since at least 2007. So I’ve got a lot of experience with this savings account and I look forward to sharing more about it in my review here. Here are some of the basic features of the account that you’d expect from any savings account:

FDIC-Insured

The money you hold (deposit) with Capital One 360 Savings is FDIC-insured. It’s insured up to $250,000 per person (depositor). You should know that if you already have a Capital One account your total FDIC-insurance coverage may be affected. Meaning, this will just be one more account you are adding under your total umbrella of coverage from Capital One.

No Minimum Balance Requirement

No excuses. Anyone with a personal checking account can apply and get started with a Capital One 360 Savings account, because there are no minimum balance requirements on the account. You can open the account without making a big initial deposit, and you can withdraw funds to zero whenever you like and you’ll still have the account. Additionally, there are no tiers to their interest rates. So even with a small balance you’ll be earning their best interest rate.

No Tricky Traditional Banking Fees

Like I said above, I’ve been with Capital One 360 Savings for over 6 years. In that time I’ve never had a fee charged to my account. There are no monthly fees to have the account and no initial fees to set the account up. There are also no fees for making transfers to and from this account.

Interest Rate Better Than Regular Savings Accounts

Like most online savings accounts, Capital One 360 Savings offers an interest rate that’s much better than your traditional brick and mortar savings account interest rate. If you’re going to be saving money, you might as well earn a little extra interest on the money. With the state of the economy, rates aren’t what they used to be, but even a small percentage is better than nothing.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Since the Capital One 360 Savings account is online-only, your options for moving money in and out of the account are naturally going to be a bit limited. But as I’ve said before, I like my savings account to have a level of accessibility that keeps me away from the money so I won’t spend it so easily.

That said, to get money into your account, you will need to log into your account or call up Capital One 360 Savings and have them transfer it from a checking account (either from another bank or from your Capital One 360 Checking account). If the transfer is coming from another bank it will take several business days (around 5 from my experience) for the money to transfer over and be available to use.

You can also setup direct deposits to your Capital One 360 Savings account (highly recommended) from your employer. Once you open your account you can download the instructions to make this easy to setup.

Withdrawing money is done in a similar fashion. Simply log into your online account or call the very friendly and quick-to-answer Capital One 360 customer service and withdraw the funds from your savings account over to an attached account, either a checking account at another bank or simply at your Capital One 360 Checking account. Withdrawing to another bank, again, will take some time (likely around 5 business days from what I’ve experienced).

Steps to Open a Capital One 360 Savings Account

Simply visit CapitalOne360.com and:

  1. Enter your personal information and create and verify your PIN.
  2. Agree to review account information electronically.
  3. Electronically accept terms and conditions relating to your account.
  4. Electronically make a deposit from your existing checking account.

Question from a Reader About Where to Keep Emergency Savings

Just received this email from my friend Aaron concerning high-interest online savings. Specifically, Capital One 360’s Savings Account:

“I have a quick question for you. I have about 6 months of emergency savings saved up in a savings account at a regional bank. My friend was telling me how he moved his savings over to Capital One 360 and has been happy with those guys. I was thinking of doing the same. What do you think?”

My Response:

“I’m definitely a big fan of using a high-interest online savings account for your emergency savings. Most are FDIC insured. Typically they don’t come with any fees or minimum balances. And best of all, they pay you higher interest than a typical brick and mortar type bank.

One last reason I like this type of account for emergency savings is because it separates your savings from your checking account. How many times do you find yourself dipping into your emergency fund just because it’s easy access?

These online savings accounts aren’t as accessible (they typically take 3 business days or more to move your money in and out). In that sense, I’ve found that I’m able to stick my money there and forget about it until an emergency comes up.

And as for Capital One 360, they’re definitely one of the top high-yield online savings accounts available. Known for their nice website and great service.”

Tips for Making the Most of Your Capital One 360 Savings Account

A savings account can be a pretty boring financial tool. But with the Capital One 360 Savings account you can take advantage of a couple of extra features that make saving easy and fun.

  • Multiple Savings Accounts – Create individual savings accounts (all visible under your main account profile) representing anything you want. For instance, I have an “emergency fund” account and a “property taxes” account so that I remember to save for each of those goals separately.
  • Automatic Savings Plan – The best way to save is to make it automatic. Capital One 360 Savings makes that easy by allowing you to setup automatic savings deposits to your savings accounts. These deposits can come from external bank accounts or from other Capital One 360 accounts. You can customize the amount, frequency, and stop/start dates.
  • My Savings Goals – This is simply a tool to help you calculate how much you will need to save each week/month to be able to meet a savings goal you have. So if you’ve got an upcoming vacation, big purchase, or other short-term savings goal, this is a great place to put it and let Capital One 360 Savings help you keep track of it.

So this completes my Capital One 360 Savings review. I highly encourage you to get an online savings account and seriously consider making Capital One 360 Savings your home.

Get started: Open a Capital One 360 Savings Account

For those of you that already had an account through ING Direct like I did, all I can say is that the only changes I’ve noticed in my service have been branding changes. The jury is still out, but so far things look good and I’m keeping my savings with Capital One 360 Savings.

Have any questions about online savings accounts or specifically Capital One 360 Savings? Let me here from you in the comments below.

Philip Taylor, CPA

Philip Taylor is a CPA, writer, podcaster, entrepreneur, and founder of FinCon. He also owns TravelCon and runs The Creator CPA, a CPA firm specializing in accounting services for content creators.

Philip has been quoted and featured in multiple media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Fox Business, and more.. Connect with him on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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4 Comments

  1. I have been using ING Direct (now Capital one 360) since about 2005. I cannot say enough good things about it. In addition to my finances, I can monitor my elderly mother and young adult childrens finances at a glance. Love the entry editing.  There have been glitches along the way – but its free and I would be lost without it. I am not a big computer savy person and am intimidated by quickbooks and all the big software names –

  2. ApplyMate says:

    I was part of the ING to Capital One 360 switch and I’ve seen some problems. Basically my transition was not very smooth and I still have difficulty signing in (usernames and passwords not always syncing correctly, had to change passwords a few times). I might stay because once I am logged in, everything is the same as ING, which is very easy.
     
    Anyone use Ally? Thinking of trying them but unsure.
     
    Thanks for the review, PT.
    Tim

  3. Avatar Mike Swenson says:

    I’ve been using ING/Capital One 360 since 2005 and also love it. It’s a bit depressing now compared to the interest rates you used to make. However, it’s great setting up their automated savings plan – out of sight, out of mind. I keep my emergency fund in there, so it’s easy to move money back if needed. I highly recommend it to others.

  4. Avatar bsucard76 says:

    I use American Express online savings account, and they have a .85% interest rate (just recently down from .90%…while I love my Capital One Venture credit card, but I’ll stick with the (very slightly) higher interest rate for basically the same service. P.T.: I really love your site and read it regularly, so this is not meant to put down anything you are saying, but people should know that there are other online savings accounts out there that are equal to or better than this one. Thanks for all of your great advice!

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