Best Savings Rates Today, Sept. 10, 2024: Don't Wait Until the Fed's Next Move to Take Advantage of High Interest Rates

Don’t sleep on these great rates because they won’t be around forever.
Liliana Hall
Associate Writer
Liliana Hall is a writer for CNET Money covering banking, credit cards and mortgages. Previously, she wrote about personal credit for Bankrate and CreditCards.com. She is passionate about providing accessible content to enhance financial literacy. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and has worked in the newsrooms of KUT and the Austin Chronicle. When not working, she is probably paddle boarding, hopping on a flight or reading for her book club.
Kelly Ernst
Editor
Kelly is an editor for CNET Money focusing on banking. She has over 10 years of experience in personal finance and previously wrote for CBS MoneyWatch covering banking, investing, insurance and home equity products. She is passionate about arming consumers with the tools they need to take control of their financial lives. In her free time, she enjoys binging podcasts, scouring thrift stores for unique home décor and spoiling the heck out of her dogs.
CNET staff — not advertisers, partners or business interests — determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid.
Liliana Hall
Associate Writer
Liliana Hall is a writer for CNET Money covering banking, credit cards and mortgages. Previously, she wrote about personal credit for Bankrate and CreditCards.com. She is passionate about providing accessible content to enhance financial literacy. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and has worked in the newsrooms of KUT and the Austin Chronicle. When not working, she is probably paddle boarding, hopping on a flight or reading for her book club.
Kelly Ernst
Editor
Kelly is an editor for CNET Money focusing on banking. She has over 10 years of experience in personal finance and previously wrote for CBS MoneyWatch covering banking, investing, insurance and home equity products. She is passionate about arming consumers with the tools they need to take control of their financial lives. In her free time, she enjoys binging podcasts, scouring thrift stores for unique home décor and spoiling the heck out of her dogs.
CNET staff — not advertisers, partners or business interests — determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid.
The Federal Reserve could begin cutting rates as soon as next week, so now’s the time to take advantage of high savings account rates. 
Today’s best high-yield savings accounts offer annual percentage yields, or APYs, up to 5.25% — more than 10 times the national average. However, you should act soon to maximize your interest earnings because once the Fed cuts rates, your earnings will likely fall, too. 
Read on to see CNET’s picks for the best high-yield savings accounts. 
Here are some of the top savings account APYs available right now:
Experts recommend comparing rates before opening a savings account to get the best APY possible. You can enter your information below to see CNET’s partners’ rates in your area.
The Fed doesn’t directly impact savings rates, but its decisions have ripple effects. The central bank meets eight times a year to assess the US economy and interest rate changes. It may adjust the federal funds rate to help boost growth or slow down inflation. Banks tend to follow suit, increasing or decreasing their short-term rates according to how the Fed votes. 
“When the Fed opts to drop rates, consumers can expect the APY on their savings accounts to decrease,” said Justin Haywood, certified financial planner and President and co-founder of Haywood Wealth Management. “This is because the Fed controls short-term interest rates, which directly influence the rates offered by banks on savings accounts. As the Fed reduces rates to stimulate the economy, banks typically follow suit by lowering the interest rates they offer on deposit accounts, including savings accounts.”
Savers have enjoyed high rates for the better part of the last two years as the Fed regularly hiked the federal funds rate to fight sky-high inflation. But after more than a year of holding rates steady, the Fed appears to be gearing up for cuts — which means savings account rates are likely to fall, too.
At a recent economic symposium, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said “the time has come for policy to adjust.” And with the latest inflation report showing inflation is heading in the right direction, a rate cut at the Fed’s meeting this month seems likelier than ever.
So, the sooner you open one of today’s top savings accounts, the more interest you stand to earn while rates remain high. Banks have already started lowering APYs in anticipation of a Fed rate cut later this month. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen multiple banks lower rates on their high-yield savings accounts, including My Banking Direct — the top account we track — which dropped its APY from 5.45% to 5.35% on Aug. 5 and then down to 5.25% on Aug. 23.
Here’s where savings rates stand compared to last week:
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Here’s all of the excitement headed to your inbox.
Stashing your extra funds in an account with a high APY is important, but don’t stop there. There are many variables you should consider before committing to a savings account, including the following: 
CNET reviewed savings accounts at more than 50 traditional and online banks, credit unions and financial institutions with nationwide services. Each account received a score between one (lowest) and five (highest). The savings accounts listed here are all insured up to $250,000 per person, per account category, per institution, by the FDIC or NCUA.
CNET evaluates the best savings accounts using a set of established criteria that compares annual percentage yields, monthly fees, minimum deposits or balances and access to physical branches. None of the banks on our list charge monthly maintenance fees. An account will rank higher for offering any of the following perks:
A savings account may be rated lower if it doesn’t have an easy-to-navigate website or if it doesn’t offer helpful features like an ATM card. Accounts that impose restrictive residency requirements or fees for exceeding monthly transaction limits may also be rated lower.
CNET editors independently choose every product and service we cover. Though we can’t review every available financial company or offer, we strive to make comprehensive, rigorous comparisons in order to highlight the best of them. For many of these products and services, we earn a commission. The compensation we receive may impact how products and links appear on our site.
Writers and editors and produce editorial content with the objective to provide accurate and unbiased information. A separate team is responsible for placing paid links and advertisements, creating a firewall between our affiliate partners and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from advertisers.
CNET Money is an advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We’re compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and services, or when you click on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact where and in what order affiliate links appear within advertising units. While we strive to provide a wide range of products and services, CNET Money does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.

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