Best 5% Interest Savings Accounts of August 2024

Who’s this for? For those savers on the go, UFB Portfolio Savings stands out for offering its users a free ATM card.

Standout benefits: Along with an ATM card, UFB Portfolio savers get a high 5.15% interest rate on all balance tiers with no cap, no monthly fees and no minimum deposit requirement.

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Who’s this for? Though CFG Bank High Yield Money Market Account has “money market” in its name, it doesn’t offer any of the typical bells and whistles you find with a money market account, such as check-writing privileges, debit cards and ATM access; it instead functions like a savings account.

Standout benefits: There’s a $1,000 minimum deposit required to open CFG Bank’s High Yield Money Market Account and you must maintain the $1,000 minimum to avoid a $10 monthly fee and to earn a high 5.25% APY, with no cap. Though this is a higher minimum than others on this list, it essentially helps the saver at the end of the day; the higher one’s balance, the higher their interest earnings will be.

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Who’s this for? The Bask Interest Savings Account offers a healthy APY, on top of zero monthly fees and no minimum requirements, making it the best choice for no fees. Just note that the bank may close your account if it remains unfunded for 15 business days.

Standout benefits: With Bask Interest Savings, you get 5.10% APY on any savings balance. Frequent travelers should consider the Bask Mileage Savings Account where they earn American Airlines AAdvantage^® miles back instead: Earn 2.5 miles for every $1 saved annually. Savers can then use these miles for flights on American Airlines or any of its 20+ partner airlines.

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Who’s this for? Mango Savings offers the highest APY we found, but only on a small(er)-sized balance.

Standout benefits: Cardholders of the Mango Prepaid Mastercard^® (issued by Metropolitan Commercial Bank) have access to a savings feature where they can earn up to 6.00% APY on balances up to $2,500 by meeting two requirements:

1. Make a minimum deposit of $25 and have that minimum balance at the end of the month
2. Make signature purchases of $1,500 or more on the Mango Prepaid Mastercard each month

For savers that max their balance to $2,500, that’s $150 in interest earnings in a year — which is why we ranked this account the best for making a small deposit (up to $2,500). The APY thereafter is a low 0.10% APY over $2,500, or 2.00% APY for accounts with a $25 average daily balance and signature purchases between $750 and $1,499.99. Regardless, though, we’d recommend shifting other savings beyond the $2,500 to a high-yielding bank account that can get you more than even the 2.00% APY.

The Mango Card has a $5 monthly fee that can be waived if you have $800 or more in direct deposits.

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Who’s this for? For those who need tools to help them save more, online bank Varo offers two programs that automatically transfer money from their checking account to their savings account: 1) Save Your Pay, which transfers a percentage of the account holder’s paycheck into their savings, and 2) Save Your Change, which rounds up the account holder’s checking account transactions to the nearest dollar and transfers the difference to their savings.

Standout benefits: The Varo Savings Account has no monthly fees and users can qualify to earn 5.00% APY on balances up to $5,000 by meeting two requirements:

1. Receive $1,000 or more in direct deposits per month
2. End the month with a positive balance in both their Varo Bank Account and Varo Savings Account

For savers that max their balance to $5,000, that’s $250 in interest earnings in a year. Varo savers earn 3.00% APY on any additional balance over $5,000 (which is still pretty decent) and there is no minimum balance required to earn this standard 3.00% APY.

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Who’s this for? The CIT Bank Platinum Savings offers 5.00% APY on balances of $5,000 or more — making it the best option for savers with a larger amount of cash to deposit. Balances of less than $5,000 earn just 0.25% APY, which is why we only recommend this account for savers with at least $5,000 to put in the bank.

Standout benefits: CIT Bank’s Platinum Savings has a $100 minimum opening deposit, which is easy to reach when depositing $5,000, and no monthly fees.

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When choosing a 5% APY savings account, be mindful of the fine print. Banks tout above-average APYs that often come with caveats.

Typical conditions might include a cap to how much you can earn the high APY on; for instance, earning 5% APY but only on a balance up to $1,000. This can limit your interest earnings so you really can only maximize your savings so much.

Another condition may be requiring a high minimum deposit to open a 5% APY account or to earn interest. Just make sure that the minimum is an amount you were planning to put into a savings account originally.

To apply for a 5% APY savings account, go to the website of the account you wish to open. Most savings accounts take not even 10 minutes to apply and just require a government-issued ID like a passport or driver’s license, Social Security number, address, contact information, date of birth and a checking account routing number to deposit money.

This list is a good place to begin your search for a high-yield savings account offering one of the most attractive returns on your cash. You can’t go wrong with any of these accounts when it comes to earning a good return as they are all in the ballpark range around 5% APY, give or take. Navigate the varying rates by focusing on what else is most important to you — maybe it’s an account with easy access to your cash, one with an ATM card or one that has tools to help you save more.