Moderators at OzBargain are now running yearly polls to decide the best products in popular categories that get asked repeatedly in the forum. Our aim is to have a central thread where users can vote on the items, suggest options and also change their vote throughout the year. For more information on how these polls work, or if you want to suggest a new poll that isn't covered already, please refer to our announcement thread here.
Question
What is the best Australian Savings Accounts for 2019?
Making your own money is hard, so why not put your money to work for you instead?
Last years poll showed that most of you voted for Ubank's Usaver account
What is a Savings account?
Savings accounts, as opposed to Transaction accounts, are high-interest bearing accounts that give you more money in return for the amount of money you put in.
Savings accounts differ from Transaction accounts in one major way; they specifically discourage you to spend money by reducing the interest paid to you if you withdraw from it, but might reward you if you regularly deposit money into it.
Some Key factors to look out for when deciding on a Savings Account:
- The Interest rate, and how frequently you receive the interest
- Honeymoon periods - also known as introductory interest rates, these are short periods of time that you'll receive a higher interest than normal before it reverts to a standard interest rate.
- Minimum and Maximum account balances. Some Accounts don't pay interest if you keep too little in the account, and some won't pay you interest on balances over a certain amount.
- Account keeping fees
- What rewards you reap when you deposit in money regularly and what penalties you'll get for withdrawing money
- There may be certain requirements to fulfil before you can apply for the account (such as having a linked account)
How do I suggest products to What Should I Buy polls?
If you have a product that you would like to suggest for the poll (that is currently not in the Poll Options), you'll need to make a top-level comment (i.e. not replying someone else's comment) and fill up "Suggestions" text box just above your comment:
Do try to make a sensible suggestion (e.g making sure it's an actual savings account) and include a brief argument as to why you would recommend the product, including what it's benefits are and current interest rate if possible.
ING Savings Maximiser. Interest rate of 2.8% when bonus conditions are met - 5 transactions with debit card and deposit of $1000+ per month.