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Ally Bank

Reviewed
August 2010
Ally Bank

Pros
  • No fees or minimum balances
  • Penalty-free CDs
  • One of the highest APYs for savings
Cons
  • Relatively new to savings accounts realm

GMAC Financial Services, an auto financing company, renamed itself Ally in 2009, and added personal savings accounts to its portfolio. Reviewers are enthusiastic about the new Ally Bank so far. They say that Ally has been aggressively attracting new business by charging no fees or requiring no minimum balances. While many like Ally's APY for online savings accounts, Ally also gets praise for its penalty-free certificates of deposit, which allow clients to cash out early while still earning interest at the full rate. Users and experts find that Ally's straightforward approach is appealing. Yet they still recommend Ally's rival, ING Direct, for no-nonsense online banking, since ING has been around much longer.

Ally Bank currently gets good reviews from expert and amateur reviewers. Kiplinger.com recommends Ally in two separate articles on online banking over the course of a year, while bloggers at GetRichSlowly.org, Bargaineering.com and MoneyBlueBook.com all rank it highly among its competitors.

Our Sources

1. Kiplinger.com

This review recommends the best credit cards and banks for various types of customers. For online savings, editors recommend Ally Bank for its high yield and no fees. They note that certificates of deposit are penalty-free, so there's no fee for cashing out early.

Review: 2009 Best List: Credit and Banking, Editors of Kiplinger.com, December 2009

2. Kiplinger.com

The pros and cons of some top online-only banks are listed in this Kiplinger.com article, with data supplied by Informa Research Services. Ally Bank is recommended for its high savings rate, though (like at all banks) the APY has gone down in the meantime.

Review: 7 Great Online Bank Deals, Laura Cohn, June 17, 2009

3. GetRichSlowly.org

This list of top-rated online banks carries extra credibility since it's based not only on the reviewer's online research, but on nearly 1,400 comments from the blog's readers over at least three years. Ally ranks second behind EverBank, but the site points out that EverBank requires a hefty minimum balance to avoid fees.

Review: Best High-Yield Money Market & High-Interest Savings Account, J. D. Roth, Aug. 10, 2010

4. Bargaineering.com

Four online banks get recommendations and brief reviews here. The reviewer researches financial topics full time and has been quoted in quite a few national publications, including Business Week and The New York Times, which adds credibility to his picks. Ally is mentioned for its good APY with no fees or minimums.

Review: Top Online Banks: Savings or Checking Accounts, Jim Wang

5. MoneyBlueBook.com

The interest rates in this review are out of date but the basic descriptions remain relevant. Links to full reviews of each of the nine recommended banks include plenty of useful details, often covering more than one type of account, including both savings and checking accounts. Ally ranks third here, and is praised especially for its penalty-free CDs.

Review: Best Online Banks: Savings and Checking Accounts, "Raymond", Nov. 7, 2009

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