MaxMyInterest Review 2024

• What is MAX?
• How Does MAX Work?
• Checking
• Is MAX Trustworthy?
• Should You Use MAX?
• MAX: Frequently Asked Questions

Our experts answer readers' banking questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess banking products). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.

The bottom line: MaxMyInterest (or Max) lets you earn great interest rates on high-yield savings without switching banks. However, you'll only have select options to choose from, and you'll have to pay a membership fee. If you do not want to pay a membership fee for banking, you might prefer going through our best online banks guide to find institutions that do not charge any fees.

What is MaxMyInterest?

MaxMyInterest is a company that helps you earn the highest interest rate on your cash. Link your existing checking account to up to eight high-yield savings accounts at separate banks. Each month, Max moves your savings to the account paying the best rate so you can earn more money.

Banks insure your money for up to $250,000 per account (or $500,000 for a joint account). FDIC insurance keeps your money so you will have access to your funds even if a bank fails.

Because Max sets you up with up to eight accounts, you can receive FDIC insurance on more than $250,000. This makes Max especially useful for wealthy customers — but you don't have to have a high income to benefit from Max.

How Does MaxMyInterest Work?

When you sign up for MaxMyInterest, you'll spend about a minute filling out the Max Common Application, which signs you up for accounts at up to eight banks. This form is based off the idea of the college Common App, which has you fill out one document to apply to multiple colleges.

Then Max links all these savings accounts to your main bank account. Let's say you already bank with Chase. You can keep your Chase checking account which you may prefer because you can walk into a branch any time you want. But you'll have savings accounts with other banks.

During the sign-up process, you may set a target amount you want to keep in your main checking account. Once your balance exceeds the target amount, Max will automatically move extra money into the savings account with the highest rate. Once you reach $250,000 in that savings account (or $500,000 for a joint account), Max starts moving money to the account paying the second-best rate so you can keep receiving FDIC insurance.

The company moves your funds once per month. Optimization is automatic, but you can move money manually between accounts on the website if you want to.

Here are the banks where you can open a savings account through Max:

• Ally Bank
• BankProv
• Barclays
• Customers Bank
• Quontic Bank
• BrioDirect
• UFB Direct
• Veritex Community Bank

Max keeps a dollar in each bank account to make sure it stays open. You won't pay monthly service fees on any of the accounts, and you won't pay to transfer funds from one account to another.

As for which checking accounts you can link to Max, the company supports 18 of the largest banks in the US. If you bank with an institution other than one of these 18 banks, you can open a Max Checking Account and move money between this account and your regular checking account as necessary. The Max Checking Account acts as the middleman, so you move money from your brick-and-mortar bank, to Max, to high-yield savings accounts.

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Checking

0.20%

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• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Earn interest on your checking balance
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No minimum opening deposit
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Free access to ATMs worldwide
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Free ingoing and outgoing wire transfers
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. When you set up Max Checking, the company may refund your Max maintenance fees
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Reimburses any fees charged by ATM providers

• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No physical branch locations
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. You won't receive Max maintenance fee rebates if you keep under $10,000 in your account

• Use ATMs worldwide for free
• Company rebates Max fee up to $100/year if you keep at least $10,000 in your account; up to $200/year if you keep $25,000 in your account
• Otherwise, you'll pay a 0.04% fee per quarter

The Max Checking Account is a good product overall. You can use any ATM in the world for free, and it pays 0.20% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on your balance. It also doesn't charge any domestic wire transfer fees.

Normally, MaxMyInterest charges 0.04% of your savings per quarter to use its interest optimization tool. But with a Max Checking Account, you may be able to waive that fee. If you keep $10,000 in checking, Max will reimburse your fee, up to $100 per year. If you have $25,000, it will reimburse up to $200 per year. But if you don't keep at least $10,000 in checking, you'll still pay the quarterly fee.

Is MaxMyInterest Trustworthy?

Better Business Bureau grades businesses by measuring companies' trustworthiness. There's no BBB score for MAX, though. But the company doesn't have any public scandals, which might make you feel good about keeping your money with MAX.

Should You Use MaxMyInterest?

Pros of MaxMyInterest

• You can earn a high interest rate without switching banks. High-yield savings account rates have been going up throughout 2022 and the beginning of 2023 as the Federal Reserve raises rates. Some banks have raised rates more drastically than others, so you might be contemplating whether you should switch to a different high-yield savings account to take advantage of more competitive interest rates. With Max, you can earn a high rate without putting in the time or effort of setting up a new bank account every time rates shift. We don't recommend chasing interest rates, because it's not usually worth the amount of work you put in. But if earning a high rate is important to you, Max helps you do so without the headache.
• You have access to preferred interest rates. Max doesn't accept advertising payments from banks. Because banks save money by not paying advertising fees, they can pay higher interest rates to Max customers as an incentive. You could earn a better rate than you would if you just opened an account through a bank's website.
• You can get more FDIC insurance. Max is a great tool if you want to keep more than $250,000 in savings. Banks only insure up to $250,000 for individual accounts, but because you'll have multiple savings accounts with several banks, you can receive more insurance.
• There's no minimum opening balance. You don't need a certain amount of money to start saving through Max.
• It has a strong checking account. You can link your brick-and-mortar checking account to Max. But if the company doesn't support your institution, you can set up a separate Max Checking Account. This is a pretty solid checking account, with free ATMs worldwide and no wire transfer fees.
• Allow your financial advisor to see your account information. If you have a financial advisor, they probably know which bank account you use, and roughly how much money you keep in checking and savings. When you sign up for Max, select for the company to update your advisor about your accounts so they will know where all your money is at any given time.

Cons of MaxMyInterest

• You'll pay a membership fee. Max charges 0.04% of your savings balance per quarter, or 0.16% per year. This still works out in your favor, because if you're earning a high annual rate but paying 0.16%, you're still earning a good rate — much better than the national average of 0.46%. Still, consider whether you're comfortable paying the fee.
• You may or may not receive refunds with Max Checking. When you open a Max Checking Account, the company will reimburse its membership fee of up to $100 per year if you keep $10,000 in checking, or up to $200 if you keep $25,000 in checking. But if you don't keep at least $10,000 in your account, you'll keep paying the 0.04% fee each quarter.
• You only have eight savings accounts to choose from. Max only lets you choose from eight savings accounts, meaning you could be missing out on an even higher rate at a bank you can't access through Max. But because savings rates are changing so frequently, an outside bank with a better rate today may not have higher rates tomorrow.

MaxMyInterest: Frequently Asked Questions

No, MaxMyInterest is not a bank. It's an online cash-management platform that moves your cash between different high-yield savings accounts so you can earn the highest interest rate. That said, your money is secure because its in a savings account at an FDIC-insured. Up to $250,000 per depositor, per category is secure in a bank account.

MaxMyInterest charges 0.04% of your savings balance per quarter, or 0.16% per year. However, you may be able to waive the membership fee if you open a Max Checking Account and maintain a certain account balance. The company reimburses up to $100 per year in membership fees if you maintain at least $10,000 in your checking account, or up to $200 per year if you keep at least $25,000. 

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