Fruitful High Yield Savings Account 2024 Review
The Fruitful High Yield Savings Account features a solid rate with no monthly fees and unlimited transfers. You can open a new savings account yourself or set up a joint account with someone else to enjoy a competitive rate.
Fruitful's high-yield savings account offers an APY that's well above the national average, but it only comes as part of a financial wellness program that has a hefty monthly cost. It is not ideal for savers who are early in their savings journey with small balances.
Saving with Fruitful could be a good fit for people who:
- Want professional financial guidance
- Are looking for a joint savings account option
It takes just minutes to open a new savings account online with Fruitful. There's no minimum deposit requirement to get started and no minimum balance requirement to earn interest with this account.
Fruitful Savings Account Pros & Cons
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Compared to Other Online Savings Accounts
Laurel Road High Yield Savings Account
Laurel Road offers high-yield savings accounts to its members at a rate that's on par with Fruitful's APY. There are no monthly fees for this account either and no minimum deposit or minimum balance requirements. You might consider this savings option if you have a Laurel Road checking account, credit card or student loan.
TAB Bank High Yield Savings Account
TAB Bank's high-yield savings account edges out Fruitful with a slightly higher APY. There's no monthly maintenance fee and you can open an account with $0. You won't get an ATM or debit card with this account but you'll be able to track your savings through online and mobile banking.
Varo High Yield Savings Account
Varo's High Yield Savings Account pays an APY that's similar to what you'll get with Fruitful. The difference is that the APY applies only to the first $5,000 you save; after that, you'll earn a slightly lower rate. There are no minimums and no fees, which is a plus.
Lending Club High Yield Savings Account
Out of the savings accounts considered here, Lending Club's APY is the lowest. The minimum opening deposit is also the highest, at $100. However, this high-yield account offers something the others don't: a free ATM card for convenient cash withdrawals.
Interest Rates
Fruitful is similar to other high-yield savings accounts when it comes to interest rates. That is to say, the rates are higher than what you could expect to get from a traditional bank or credit union.
There are, however, online banks paying even more in interest than Fruitful. So it's worth shopping around to compare rates from different banks.
As you look for a savings account, here are a few tips to remember:
- Interest rates and APYs aren't always the same, so be sure to check them both.
- Consider whether rates are tiered by balance or if you'll earn the same APY on everything you save.
- Check for any rate caps or limits that would cause your APY to drop once you reach a certain balance threshold.
After you've compared rates, you can look at other savings account features. Fees are a good place to start.
Fees
Fruitful claims to charge no fees of any kind on its website. And that's restated in the high-yield savings account deposit agreement.
However, remember that the Fruitful savings account is only available with Fruit membership, which does have a recurring cost of either:
- $98/month (paid monthly)
- $92/month (paid quarterly)
- $83/month (paid annually)
The membership fee covers the cost of sessions with certified financial planners and access to the Fruitful investment program.
However, if you were just interested in a high-yield savings account, you have many other options without a linked membership fee. This account makes most sense only if you seek professional financial advice as a priority.
ATM Access
Fruitful doesn't offer an ATM card or debit card with its savings account. Whether that's a pro or a con for you depends on your reasons for opening a savings account.
If your goal is to save and you don't want to be tempted to dip into your savings, then no ATM card isn't a bad thing.
On the other hand, if you want the option to withdraw cash in an emergency, then you might prefer another savings account that offers an ATM or debit card.
If you're considering savings accounts with ATM access, check the size of the network. And look at any fees you might pay to use an out-of-network machine.
Account Management
Fruitful offers online banking access, but no mobile banking (yet). Again, whether that's a pro or a con for you depends on how you prefer to manage your savings.
You won't get some of the features other savings accounts offer either. For example, there are no:
- Automatic round-ups
- Savings buckets
- Matched savings incentives
Those are things you might be able to find at other banks. Asking yourself how important those kinds of features are can help you decide if Fruitful is right for you.
FDIC Insurance
Fruitful partners with Emigrant Bank to offer FDIC insurance. This coverage protects you if your bank fails, but that's a pretty rare occurrence.
The current FDIC limit is $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership type, per financial institution.
What to Look for in a Savings Account
Savings accounts mostly serve the same purpose but they don't all work the same way. So you may want to look at a few accounts from different banks to see how they compare.
Here are a few things to look at as you shop around:
- Interest rates and APY
- How rates are applied (i.e., tiered or across all balances)
- Minimum opening deposit and minimum balance requirements
- Fees, including monthly maintenance fees or excess withdrawal fees
- Online and mobile banking access
- ATM or debit card access
- Branch locations, if you're looking at brick-and-mortar banks
- Savings features and money management tools, such as round-ups or savings buckets
- Daily and weekly deposit and withdrawal limits
- Overdraft protection
- Customer service and user experience
You can compare savings accounts at online banks and traditional banks to check rates first. From there, you can take a deeper dive into each account's features and benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fruitful a bank?
Fruitful is a financial technology company, not a bank. Fruitful partners with Emigrant Bank to offer high-yield savings accounts.
Does Fruitful offer checking accounts or CDs?
Fruitful offers two ways to grow your money: a high-yield savings account and an investment account. The high-yield savings account is free but you'll pay an advisory fee to invest through the Fruitful platform.
Which bank offers the best savings account rates?
The best savings account rates can usually be found at online banks. Compared to traditional banks, online banks tend to have lower overhead costs which allows them to offer better rates to savers.
