Bask Bank Savings Account Interest Rates: March 2024

Choose your own adventure: Earn interest or airline miles with Bask Bank’s high-yield online savings accounts

Fact checked by Michael Rosenston

Bask Bank Savings Account Rates

There’s no shortage of online neobanks offering high yields on savings accounts these days, but Bask Bank is easily at the top of the pack. If you’re looking to save money with a separate bank—especially if you’re a frequent traveler—Bask Bank has a lot to offer. 

Not only are Bask Bank savings account interest rates some of the highest available from any high-yield savings account, but this bank throws in a unique twist too: You can choose to earn interest as normal, or to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Learn more about how the program works and whether it’s right for you.

Important

The APYs listed below are up to date as of the date of publication of this article. We review the bank’s savings account rates every two weeks and update the information below accordingly.

See the best savings account rates today:

• Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
• Best Banks for Savings Accounts
• Best Free Savings Accounts
• Best Savings Accounts for Kids
• Best Savings Account Bonuses

Bask Bank Savings Accounts: Key Features

Bask Bank offers two high-yield savings accounts. They both work the same way, except for one key feature: You get to choose how you earn interest, either as cash or as American Airlines miles. 

Bask Bank’s Interest Savings account is designed for people looking for a place to quickly grow their money away from their everyday checking account (which can help curb spending temptations). Most online savings banks offer high rates and low fees, and that’s true of Bask Bank’s Interest Savings Account as well. The rates it offers are even higher than most of its other more well-known competitors, making it an excellent choice. 

Importantly, Bask Bank’s withdrawal policies are a bit more strict than some other online banks. Prior to the COVID emergency, the government required banks to limit withdrawals to no more than six per month for most methods. Those savings account withdrawal limits aren’t a thing at many banks anymore, but they are at Bask Bank. That’s bad if you need to make many withdrawals, but on the other hand, it’s a great deterrent from taking the money out before you reach your savings goals. 

Bask Bank doesn’t issue an ATM card with this account, either, meaning your only methods to move money in and out of the account are via wire or ACH transfer. Opting for a wire transfer will cost you $35, regardless of whether it’s domestic or overseas. 

If you’re a frequent traveler, listen up: The Bask Bank Mileage Savings Account is just about your only option to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles from a savings account, instead of an airline membership or travel rewards credit card like most people use. In lieu of interest, Bask Bank offers American Airlines AAdvantage miles at a rate of 2.5 miles per year for every dollar saved. 

You don’t need to keep your money deposited for an entire year before you earn anything, though. Bask Bank breaks it down on a daily basis and credits your earnings to your AAdvantage account each month. For example, if you have $1,000 in your account for the month of July, you’ll earn 212 AAdvantage miles. Investopedia values AAdvantage miles at 2.04 cents each, meaning you’d get an equivalent of $51 in value over the course of a year for every $1,000 you have saved. That translates into a comparable ROI of 5.10%—not bad at all. 

Important

The value you get for an airline mile will depend on how you earn and redeem it. Plus, unless you redeem all of your miles, there’ll always be a bit left over after you redeem a ticket, so the above analogy isn’t necessarily spot-on. Still, it’s interesting for comparison purposes. 

About Bask Bank: Other Savings Options

Online savings banks are especially popular today because you can earn much higher rates than you’d ever find at most full-service traditional banks. According to Texas Capital Bank, based in Dallas, Texas, it was actually the first one to start the trend when it created Bask Bank in 1999 back in the early days of the Internet. 

Bask Bank still operates as a division of Texas Capital Bank today. It specializes in high-yield savings by offering three different accounts: the two savings accounts we’ve mentioned here, plus a high-yield CD that also features exceptionally high interest rates. 

Bask Bank’s CDs offer customer-friendly terms ranging from 6 to 24 months—perfect for short-term savings goals, but not quite long enough for a typical CD ladder setup. In addition, it only offers cash interest payments. You can’t use a Bask Bank CD to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles like with its savings account. 

Compare Savings Account Rates

Is Bank Bank Good for High-Yield Savings?

Yes, Bask Bank is one of the best high-yield savings accounts available today. It’s usually possible to find even higher rates if you’re willing to consider other high-yield savings accounts, but Bask still ranks as one of the top choices. Plus, it’s the only one that allows you to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles instead of cash interest.

Is There a Minimum Deposit to Open a Bask Savings Account?

No, Bask Bank has no minimum deposit requirement to open up an account, nor are there any minimum balance requirements to keep after you open it. However, you will need to deposit at least something—even a penny—into the account by the 15th business day after you open it in order to keep it active, otherwise Bask Bank will close it.

Is Bask Bank FDIC-Insured?

Yes, Bask Bank is FDIC-insured. It’s the online division of Texas Capital Bank, and your deposits at both institutions combined are insured for up to $250,000. If you also use Texas Capital and you plan on keeping very large deposits at either bank, you’ll need to keep your combined balance under that limit to make sure you’re fully protected. 

How Often Does Bask Bank Pay Interest on Savings Accounts?

Bask Bank pays out interest on a monthly basis. If you’re using the Bask Interest Savings Account, you’ll see a new interest deposit in your account on the last day of the statement cycle. If you’re using the Bask Mileage Savings Account, you’ll instead see a credit in your linked American Airlines AAdvantage account by the fifth business day of the following month.

Read the original article on Investopedia.