Sallie Mae New Rate of 1.40%
The high yield savings account at Sallie Mae bank is now offering an Annual Percentage Yield of 1.40%. A quick look at my list of the best online savings accounts will show you that this brings Sallie Mae to the front of the line for standard, no minimum balance required accounts.
As a reminder, Sallie Mae has been around a while but recently started this savings account to compliment their other financial products. This new savings account is FDIC insured, has no minimum balance or deposit requirements, and has no annoying fees. This account also has a special tie in for all you Upromise users, a 10% bonus on Upromise savings.
Read more about them in my review of Sallie Mae bank.
Sallie Mae Recommendation for Affording College
It being graduation season, I thought I should mention something about Sallie Mae's 1-2-3 approach to saving for college. They recommend you pay for college using needs-based grants, scholarships, and savings first. Then move to federal loans to cover any remaining expenses. Finally, if you have more needs, check out Sallie Mae's pay-as-you-go private loan.
Our plan for college savings is to use a combination of 529 savings plan funds, scholarships and grants (if available), and leave it up to our kids to cover the rest. They can choose to go the loan route if they want, like we both did. But we'll highly encourage them to earn some money for college expenses and to be smart about the loans they take out.
My feelings for Sallie Mae can be likened to a double edged sword. On one hand, they help students obtain their educational goals and they provide a great number of services and resources (free of charge). On the other hand, they have profited greatly off of the backs of those students that have been utilizing their loan services over the years.
I am interested to see if their new banking services attract new customers.
Ahh, I would saw awesome, but I think I have a permanent grudge against Sallie Mae. They are charging my girlfriend 13.5% interest on her student loans for grad school. On top of that, they tried to tell her to start paying them while she was still in school, and they have NEVER given her good customer support – she hates having to contact them.
But 1.40%, not bad! Wait till the Fed raises the interest rate, then we will see some serious increases… I hope…..