Chasing the Best Interest Rates? This Platform Will Find Them and Shift Your Money for You

It helps you get the highest rates while keeping your money fully insured.

Interest rates increased quite a bit last year. While that has made it much costlier to borrow money, it has also led to banks offering higher interest rates. Savings account rates are at their highest point in years, with some currently offering APYs of 4% or more.

Most people want to earn as much back on their savings as possible, but chasing the best interest rates can be a hassle. Banks often adjust their rates, so the bank with the best rate today might not be on top tomorrow.

Enter Max My Interest, normally referred to as just Max. It does the work for you, finding the highest rates and showing you where to put your money.

How Max My Interest works

Max is a cash-management platform that recommends the highest-yielding bank accounts to you. Now, it's easy enough to get this information online. You can just look at the highest savings account interest rates for that. But there are a few advantages to using Max:

• It monitors bank account rates. When rates change, it will keep you up to date on which savings accounts offer the most interest.
• It makes opening new bank accounts easier. Using its MAX Common Application feature, you can open a bank account in as little as 60 seconds.
• It also helps you keep your cash fully insured. Most U.S. banks offer FDIC insurance, which covers up to $250,000 per eligible account. Max will show you how to spread your money around to multiple high-yield accounts so all your money is covered.

That last benefit could come in handy for those with a significant amount of savings. If you have over $250,000 in a single savings account, then your money most likely isn't fully insured, because that exceeds FDIC insurance coverage. With Max, you'll get recommendations that keep you below the insurance limits with all your accounts.

There is a membership fee of 0.04% per quarter (0.16% per year) for Max. However, there's also a minimum fee amount of $20 every three months. Although anyone can use Max, it really only makes sense for consumers with large savings. To avoid paying more than 0.04% per quarter, you need at least $50,000 in balances.

Is Max right for you?

If you have lots of money in savings, and you're always trying to get the best interest rates, then Max could help with that. It will let you know where you can earn the greatest return and simplify the process of opening new accounts.

However, you'd probably be better off just picking a high-yield savings account and sticking with it. The amount you make by chasing the best interest rates is rarely worth the time and effort.

Let's say Max helps you earn 0.40% more in a year thanks to its bank account recommendations. After the 0.16% in fees, you'd come out ahead by 0.24%. On a $100,000 balance, that would amount to $240.

It's always nice to make another $240. But if you have $100,000 in savings, is it really worth micromanaging your bank accounts just to squeeze out a little extra interest? That's for you to decide. Some people might not mind, while others prefer keeping it simple to save time.

One last thing to think about is that if you have a large amount in savings, and you want to earn a better return, you could also invest more. Over long time periods, investing in stocks can pay off far more than any bank account. You wouldn't want to invest your emergency fund, or any money you'll need in the near future. But for long-term goals, like retirement, investing beats saving.