Has anyone opened a HYSA with American Express?

Submitted by bangbangdukegang t3_11cquhi in personalfinance

American Express is running a promo for their HYSA account where they're offering new account openers $350 dollars for opening and maintaining a minimum account balance over the next two months. The current rate they're offering is 3.50% percent and I've read all the terms and agreements and doesn't seem to be any catches / all seems fairly standard (only contingency is keeping at least the minimum balance for the period and shortly thereafter, is FDIC insured, etc.). I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with using them for a HYSA and if there's anything I might be potentially overlooking or other considerations before opening an account? Thanks in advance!

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93195 t1_ja4itjq wrote

I opened one last fall and have it now. The welcome bonus at the time was $300 I think, which I received in January. They periodically adjust rates to keep pace with all the other “big” HYSA banks, although all of those can be at least temporarily beat by little guys you’ve often never heard of.

The current rate increase to 3.5% just happened on Feb 16th. Think it was 3.4% before that, then 3.3%, etc. They adjust it pretty frequently, sometimes even a few times a month to keep up with whatever competitors are doing.

I also like the fact that it uses and shows up on the same AMEX app as the credit cards, and I’ve long used AMEX as my primary credit cards.

TLDR, no catches, no complaints.

Edit - just checked the handy dandy app, the account was opened on Sep 19th, the $350 welcome bonus (not $300, I was wrong before) hit my account on Jan 13.

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curious_fish t1_ja5q1na wrote

Same experience, opened account prompted by that same promotion, a short time after the end of the time period, the bonus was paid as promised.

No mess, no fuss, it works fine.

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roox911 t1_ja4n6c2 wrote

I have one, works fine, they up the rates at a reasonable speed, got my promo on time.

Nothing wrong with it

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stoneycrk55 t1_ja4iakn wrote

I have an account with Amex. We have had it for a number of years. It holds money that we do not need immediately. When we have pulled money it has taken 1 day to get our money transferred to our main account. We also use Ally.

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Fubbalicious t1_ja5vjk9 wrote

I opened an account back in 2021 when they were offering a $250 bonus. Got the bonus with no fuss. There interest rates tend to be on par with other online banks (eg. Ally, Discover, etc).

As others have said, they've now combined logins so your login for your credit card can also access your high yield savings, though at the time I signed up they were separate distinct logins.

They also started offering a free checking account last year if you want to consolidate your banking. Their checking is unique in that it offers 1% interest and earns 1 point (worth $.01) for every $2 spent. Can either be redeemed for cashback or if you're into the Amex eco-system, you could transfer those points to other Amex cards for higher redemption value.

If you're also looking for business checking, they offer one with a $300 sign up bonus and their checking account is actually quite good as it offers 1.3% interest and they also offer a flat rate 2.25% fee if you use their invoicing service, which is nice if you have a need for it. Their business debit also earns the same 1 point for $2 spend.

Also I think their ACH times are really fast--like 1 business day. Or at least their business checking is.

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Qbr12 t1_ja63225 wrote

Do you use their app for their business checking? Do you like it?

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Fubbalicious t1_ja64m92 wrote

To clarify, their business checking uses a separate app from their personal savings. The business app is fine and does everything you would want such as mobile check deposits, transferring money, enabling/disabling debit. It also shows the balance on your other accounts and when you click on them it will either ask to open the web browser or the corresponding mobile app. They also have a high mobile check deposit limit of $50K/day.

I still maintain a free business checking account at my local bank so I can deposit cash and receive the occasional Zelle payment. But I prefer Amex since it has no transaction limits, incoming wires have no fees and I earn interest.

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Fubbalicious t1_ja6bupa wrote

I also wanted to add that their Business Checking is iOS only for the moment.

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theVoxFortis t1_ja50fqx wrote

I've had one for 10 years maybe, it's fine.

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Mercycatz t1_ja4kj7w wrote

I have an American Express high yield savings account. I don’t remember if I did it during a promotion or not, but I’ve have it for around two years and have had no issues or surprises. Just put money in and collect interest.

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ttman05 t1_ja4r32a wrote

Have been using them since 2016. They are fantastic, and customer service is excellent. I used them to store my mortgage down payment and were great when I needed to wire money.

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Bonafide7928 t1_ja5o2n0 wrote

Yeah I have had it a few years now and never had a problem.

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CSNfan t1_ja80ygt wrote

Is there a code or link to the sign on bonus? I don't see it on their website.

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CSNfan t1_ja819i6 wrote

Never mind. I found it. It is only for AMX card holders.

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laziestindian t1_ja8dsw5 wrote

I have one, they were beating the average rate quite well a couple years ago. Right now not so much but they're good enough. No catches, no issues besides trying to figure out how to add my wife to the account... still haven't figured that out.

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Stock-Freedom t1_ja4qdd1 wrote

No, literally no one has. You are the first.

It’s just a HYSA like any other. There’s nothing special about it.

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sowhat4 t1_ja4s4of wrote

They offer *free wire fees, but the actual execution of the wire is tedious and requires at least three business days. If you use Ally Bank, there's a $20 wire fee but that sucker goes out when you want it to go out. Plus, you don't have to call them to send it.

(*I had them for about a year and dropped them because of the clumsy performance of the wire.)

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Stock-Freedom t1_ja4sj6w wrote

I mean who needs to wire money though? That’s not a normal thing.

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sowhat4 t1_ja57q2h wrote

Me, I guess as I was saving up money to buy a property for cash. I will also need to wire some money to pay for an EV - if the damn thing ever gets built.

Where I live, checks tend to disappear if they are mailed and there are dollar limits to Venmo and Zelle.

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