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With the Federal Reserve electing to keep interest rates frozen again this week – its fourth such pause in 2026 – savers can comfortably take the time to shop around for a savings account that works for them and their goals. And there are no shortage of options to choose from, especially considering that interest rates are not only likely to hold steady for the foreseeable future, but that they may even rise should market conditions not improve. Against this backdrop, savers may feel like they only have good options to choose from.
And while that may be partially true, it’s an incomplete understanding of today’s high, frozen interest rate environment. Yes, certificate of deposit (CD), high-yield savings and money market accounts all offer savers ways to take advantage of today’s elevated rates. But they’ll need to first move their money into these accounts to actually earn those big returns. That means avoiding a specific savings account in the interim, or closing it if you have already been banking with it.
In today’s rate climate, then, which savings accounts should you specifically avoid and which ones should you consider as worthy replacements? That’s what we’ll break down below.
Start by seeing how much interest you could be earning with a high-yield savings account now.
The one savings account you should try to avoid now
If there was any hope that an extended Fed rate pause would increase the returns your regular or traditional savings account is currently offering, that was eliminated earlier this week when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released its latest national interest rate averages. The average interest rate on this account type now is 0.38%. Only interest checking accounts, according to the FDIC, are less profitable with an average rate of 0.07% currently.
This is likely why, no matter how much you’ve been able to build up your funds in this account in recent years, there’s been so little movement. Put another way, for every $100 deposited in a traditional account, savers are only earning 38 cents now. While different banks will have different names or titles for their traditional savings account offers, it’s easy to tell which is which by just glancing at the interest rate.
But there are easy ways to rectify this problem. A CD with a readily available rate of 4.20% is around 1,000% more profitable than a traditional savings account. A high-yield savings account with a rate of 4.10% is around 978% more profitable. Even a money market account – which comes with check-writing features that can better streamline your banking needs – has a top rate of 3.90% now, making it about 926% more profitable than the traditional account.
In other words, not only are there multiple, lucrative alternatives to choose from now, but you’re virtually losing money by not making the switch into one of these accounts instead. Just be sure to know the accessibility restrictions with each, especially a CD account that will issue an early withdrawal penalty against savers who take their money out prematurely. Take your time, too, to shop around for the highest rates available with each account type, as you’re often better able to find a more profitable account online versus your local banking branch.
Shop for high-rate savings accounts online here.
The bottom line
It may feel like there’s no way for savers to go wrong in today’s elevated (and paused) interest rate environment. But the reality is that many savers may not be taking advantage if they’re keeping their money in a traditional savings account. By making the shift into one or more of the aforementioned account types outlined above, they can rectify that error now, start earning exponentially more interest on their money, and if they choose a fixed-rate CD, protect themselves from any market volatility still to come.
