Will UBank at Citibank?
Citibank has lobbed a savings grenade into the battle for the best high-interest account. But has it missed its target (Ubank) to land somewhere behind the Big Four’s line?
The answer lies in the little asterisk that sits next to Citibank’s brand new interest rate, making me a little bit uneasy – like sitting next to unexploded ordnance. First, let’s check out the big print numbers:
UBank USaver = 5.46%
Citibank Online Saver = 5.50%
UBank USaver = maximum amount of money you can have before you are subject to lower interest is $1,000,000.
Citibank Online Saver = maximum amount of money you can have before you are subject to lower interest is $2,000,000.
Pretty convincing, huh? But before you take that spare $1,999,999.99 and plunk it into the Online Saver, let’s dig a little deeper.
While Citibank does have the higher interest rate, it’s only for the first 6 months after opening the account. And then USaver has the option of setting up an automatic savings plan which gives you an extra 0.10% (for balances of up to $150,000) if you put away a minimum of $100 per month. So if you’re prepared to commit a small amount more to your savings (and $100 a month isn’t such a hard ask), you’re looking at a variable rate to 5.56% with no other strings attached.
The only real benefit that the Citibank account has over the USaver is that you can have up to $2,000,000 in your account before the interest rate drops back to their standard variable rate of 4.25%. Whereas the USaver rate stays at a minimum of 5.46% for balances up to $1,000,000.
Compare savings accounts at mozo.com.au