One of the best ways to protect yourself financially is by opening a savings account. A savings account is a great way to set aside money for a rainy day fund along with the ability to earn money just by placing it in an account. High yield savings accounts will provide you with higher interest rates from a traditional savings account. The UFB Direct Airline Rewards Savings Account is one of the few savings accounts out there that is providing customers with a 1.30% APY. Not only do you have the ability to earn a higher interest rate and grow your nest egg you also have the ability to earn some airline miles and points, which you can cash in for airline tickets and enjoy a vacation!
The Fine Print
So what’s the catch with the UFB Direct Airline Rewards Savings Account? Having such a high interest rate usually means there is a fee or something that you have to pay in order to have a nice return. Let’s look at the fine print for this account:
- Ability to earn 500 airline miles or points after account has been open for 90 days and another 500 airline miles for keeping the account open for 1 year
- Minimum deposit amount of $100
- Free ATM card without a monthly fee
- No minimum balance requirements
- Easy to access with online banking, mobile banking, and alert features
- Extra budgeting tools offered by Quicken (FinanceWorks)
- Ability to deposit checks at home
Earning The Rewards
When it comes to any type of reward account you have to do something to get those rewards. You will need to open the checking in order to earn more reward points/miles. For every $2 spent on qualifying purchases you will be given 1 point/mile. The checking account does not provide you with any interest money, only the savings account will offer the ability to earn interest. Anyone with the checking account may earn an extra 1,000 miles if you deposit $1,000 within a month of opening the account.
Deposits
If you choose to open both the savings and checking account you will be able to enjoy additional features and a greater chance to earn more rewards. Again you will not have a balance requirement and you do not need to worry about any type of monthly maintenance fee on the account. The other nice feature of this account is the software provided from UFB Direct as they offer MyDeposits, allowing you to deposit your checks from the comfort of your own home. They do provide postage-paid envelopes for customers that prefer to mail in their deposits.
Mileage Rewards
Once you open your account you will need to choose the Airline in which you want to participate and then enter the Mileage Reward number you have been provided.
Is It Safe?
Any investment you make needs to be carefully researched and you must consider all of the pros and cons. Is this a safe investment? For the most part, savings accounts are very low risk and most of them are backed by the FDIC. UFB Direct is considered a division of Bank of Internet USA and they are insured by the FDIC, however if you have an account with bank of internet and UFB Direct both accounts count toward your FDIC insurance limit of $250,000. Any amount over $250,000 is not insured.
