Keeping Your Savings in a Chase Account Could Cost You a Flight Every Year

I love Chase. I still do most of my day-to-day banking with them. But I made a huge mistake that cost me thousands of dollars (and at least a few free vacations!)

For years, I kept a large chunk of money in a Chase checking account, earning 0.01% interest. When I say large chunk, I’m talking about $20,000 or more — back then I was saving up down payments to buy rental properties.

Anyway, when I finally moved my savings to a high-yield savings account (HYSA) earning 4.00% APY, real interest started to roll in.

I’ve earned over $2,000 in interest just the past couple years. And you can too.

The difference between 0.01% and 4.00%

APYs all seem like small numbers, until you look at the math and real dollars.

Let’s say you have money sitting in a Chase checking account earning 0.01% APY. Here’s how much more you could earn with a 4.00% high-yield savings account after one year:

Data source: Author’s calculations.

Let’s be honest — leaving $10,000 in an account that pays $1 a year is bananas. I know because I did it for years and feel sick about all the thousands of dollars I missed out on.

That’s money I could’ve used for flights, hotels, or boosting my investments. Instead, it went… nowhere.

High-yield savings accounts are safe and easy

I used to believe that online banks were risky and inconvenient. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Online banks are the same as big traditional banks, minus the physical branches and teller windows. Many of the best high-yield savings accounts today are:

• FDIC-insured up to $250,000, just like big banks.
• Easy to access from your phone or desktop. Who goes to the physical bank these days anyway?
• Fee-free, with no account minimums.
• Linked to your checking account for fast transfers.

I helped a friend set up an HYSA the other day and it took less than 10 minutes. We did everything right from the mobile app!

Treat your interest like a travel fund

These days, I make about $60-$70 in interest every month depending on my balance. And I think about it like “free money for fun stuff!”

Sure, I could pad my savings with that interest. But it’s way more fun to reward yourself a little.

If you had an extra couple hundred dollars each year, how would you spend it? Concert tickets? A free flight to Hawaii? Add to your investment account?

There’s no right or wrong answer. Just a right and wrong place to store your money.

If you’re storing cash in a Chase checking account, do yourself a favor and try a new online bank. Check out these high-yield accounts paying top rates in 2025. Make the switch today and start building your travel fund..