Last fall, my wife and I went into our nearest bank branch to set up a new savings account for a trust that we’re managing. While we were there, the “Personal Banker” told us about a promo that they were running that would give us a higher than typical interest rate.
I can’t remember the details, but it was something like 2%, when the prevailing savings account interest rates (especially at brick and mortar banks) were much lower. Not only that, but he said he could apply it to our existing personal savings account, as well.
When we got up to leave, he said that the promo rate would end in a few months, but that they’re always introducing new ones. Thus, if we’d just call back and ask, he’d go ahead and apply the code for the new promo rate to our accounts.
I recently called him back and he gave us the new promo rate. I forget the details, but it was significantly higher than their “standard” savings account interest rate. All we had to do was ask.
Oh, and just in case you’re thinking that we must have been dealing with some local bank, and that there’s no hope of getting this treatment from the behemoth bank that you’re dealing with… We do all of our “local” banking with Bank of America.
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It was similar at WaMu before Chase took over. You could often go into the bank and discuss what options. They often had in-bank specials that they could offer usually at a higher rate. I didn’t like it at first because it meant I always had to open a new account but it was worth it.
We recently went in to Chase which now owns our bank to see if we could get any better rates on our CD. The answer was a flat no. We could try a investment which has some risk but they would not budge on their saving/CD rates. Consequently – they are losing our CD business to other organizations which typically offer more.
But I agree – it pays to ask. You can often get a better deal.
Shop around and don’t be afraid to move your money. Shopping around in my area gets a savings rate of 3.0%. 6 months ago it was 5.0% (up to $25k).
Patrick: Yes, it seems that both the uninformed and the lazy are getting the shaft.
What really stands out in this story is what rate are they giving everyone else? Does this mean that they basically stiff the uninformed?
Also, my bank pays 1.75% for money in my checking account but only 0.05% for the savings account. They told me that it isn’t worth it to them to offer competitive rates on savings accounts as people weren’t putting money in saving or CD’s anymore.
This works pretty well in a lot of different businesses. I actually just did this with my cable. Originally, I had Internet and phone. I called Comcast and told them I needed to cancel my account because I’d found a better deal, and their “retention” department ended up giving me Internet, phone and TV for a price that was a few dollars lower than what I’d been paying for 2 out of the 3 services.