I've Covered the Best (and Worst) Savings Accounts for Years. Here Are My Top 3 Takeaways

When opening a savings account, I care about two factors. How will this account make me money, and how will it do so better than competitors? There are thousands of accounts out there. Only the best will do, but what does it mean to be the best savings account?

At Motley Fool Money, we focus on great rates over pretty much everything. For good reason -- compound interest is more profitable than most people realize. Many don't realize that you can do much better than the typical interest rate advertised by banks.

Two more takeaways you won't find in a typical bank review:

1. Make saving automatic
2. Simple accounts are best

Read on to learn why each point is so important to earning you money.

Our Picks for the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2024

Product	APY	Min. to Earn
American Express® High Yield Savings Member FDIC. APY 3.80% Rate info 3.80% annual percentage yield as of December 28, 2024. Terms apply. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings On American Express's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	3.80% Rate info 3.80% annual percentage yield as of December 28, 2024. Terms apply.	$0	Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings On American Express's Secure Website.
Capital One 360 Performance Savings Member FDIC. APY 3.80% Rate info See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of Dec. 6, 2024. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for Capital One 360 Performance Savings On Capital One's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	3.80% Rate info See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of Dec. 6, 2024. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening.	$0	Open Account for Capital One 360 Performance Savings On Capital One's Secure Website.
Western Alliance Bank High-Yield Savings Premier Member FDIC. APY 4.46% Rate info The annual percentage yield (APY) is accurate as of November 7, 2024 and subject to change at the Bank’s discretion. Refer to product’s website for latest APY rate. Minimum deposit required to open an account is $500 and a minimum balance of $0.01 is required to earn the advertised APY. Min. to earn $500 to open, $0.01 for max APY Open Account for Western Alliance Bank High-Yield Savings Premier On Western Alliance Bank's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	4.46% Rate info The annual percentage yield (APY) is accurate as of November 7, 2024 and subject to change at the Bank’s discretion. Refer to product’s website for latest APY rate. Minimum deposit required to open an account is $500 and a minimum balance of $0.01 is required to earn the advertised APY.	$500 to open, $0.01 for max APY	Open Account for Western Alliance Bank High-Yield Savings Premier On Western Alliance Bank's Secure Website.

1. You can do much better than the average rate

Take a guess. What's the typical savings account rate? According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), it's 0.45%. That's peanuts. You could easily earn 10 times that rate. Though rates change often, you can generally do much better than the average.

Here's why it matters. The table below shows the interest you would earn on a $10,000 deposit in your savings account.

By switching to a high-yield savings account, you can quadruple your earnings and then some. Sure, you've got to keep your money in your account for years to earn the most. But it's a good idea to keep an emergency fund, anyway. You never know when you might need it.

2. Turn on automatic savings

This year, I confronted my biggest tax bill ever. I underestimated how much I owed the IRS. I would have been down big if it weren't for one feature: automatic savings. It moves 10% of each paycheck to my savings account.

I used this money to save thousands of dollars and fund most of my tax bill. It protected me from making a dreaded late payment (or taking out a loan -- gulp).

My banking app Chime offers this feature, but it isn't exclusive to Chime. Chances are high your bank offers it. I'd highly recommend turning it on. Making "saving money" automatic is one of the easiest ways to start saving more than you are right now.

3. Simple is best

It's easy to get sucked into bank promotions and APYs, to the exclusion of everything else. But I've lost more money to complexity than I've made on promos and compound interest. Savings (and paired checking accounts) often slip in fees you'd never think to look for.

The worst fees:

• Account minimum fees
• Overdraft fees
• Nonsufficient funds fees (NSF)

Hungry bank fees are difficult to see coming. Plus, they're expensive. Let's assume you've got $5,000 in the bank, and your APY is 0.50% -- better than typical. A single $10 fee would cost you four months of interest. Not good!

Brick-and-mortar banks are among the worst fee offenders. But the best brick-and-mortar banks (Capital One among them) charge none of these account fees, keeping it simple.

You don't have to turn on auto-savings or focus on simplicity to save money. But doing both has dramatically improved my finances. Why not yours?