GMAC Bank's online money market savings account offers high interest rates, check writing privileges, a check card and a low opening deposit.
Flush with the profits from selling their house and entering an assisted living facility, elderly friends needed a place to park a healthy sum of cash. After researching online savings accounts for them, I recommended the GMAC Bank Money Market Savings Account.
The GMAC savings account offers a healthy interest rate (5.25 percent APY in early December 2006) and all the benefits associated with most online accounts--linked access to a primary bank account, online sign-up and FDIC insurance. What sets this account apart is the easy access to funds through paper checks and a Visa check card.
A few other banks offer check writing, but GMAC appears to offer the highest interest yields.
I helped my friend sign up for the account online--a fairly straightforward process that took no more than 10 minutes. GMAC requires $50 to open the account and offers customers the option of sending a check or funding through electronic transfer. Customers must keep a balance of $500, however, to avoid fees. Withdrawals are limited to six each month. This account is designed to complement a checking account, not serve as the account used for day-to-day banking
In a few days after opening an account, GMAC Bank sent additional paperwork in order to have signatures on file. Within a week or so, my friends had a new money market savings account that provided a healthy interest rate and easy access. I give this account high marks.
See also: Online Savings Accounts
