High-Yield Savings Accounts Reduce Interest Rates Again [Updated]

On 1 April 2020, the top 3 local banks announced revisions to their respective flagship savings accounts. Strangely, Heartland Boy actually experienced an increase in interest rates with the OCBC 360 Account because it reduced interest rate on segments that did not affect him. However, he knew that this would not last long as it would be difficult for the bank to constantly swim against the tide (when Fed reduced interest rates to near zero!) Indeed, both OCBC 360 and SCB JumpStart Accounts recently announced that they will be reducing their interest rates effective from 1 July 2020. UOB One and DBS Multiplier will also reduce their interest rates from 1 August 2020. Find out how you would be affected if you are a customer and where I plan to move my money to.

OCBC 360 Account Now Yields Approx. 1.1%

All along, Heartland Boy has only considered the SALARY crediting, credit CARD spend and SAVE bonus categories as realistically achievable for the OCBC 360 Account. In this round of revision, the interest rate for salary crediting was halved while credit card spend was removed completely. This leaves him with 2 categories to achieve the bonus interest rates for the OCBC 360 Account as shown in Diagram 1.

Coupled with the base interest rate of 0.05% applicable to all deposits in the 360 Account, Heartland Boy is staring at an effective interest rate of 1.1%. This is based on the fact that he assumes that he achieves the SAVE category only half the time, that is 6 out of 12 months in a year. Even with the halving of the interest rate for salary crediting, it still remains one of the best accounts to credit your salary. This is because BOC SmartSaver will reduce interest rate to 0.5% (>$6,000) for this component from 1 August 2020 as well.

With the removal of the Card spend category, Heartland Boy will be setting aside his OCBC 365 Credit Card for a well-deserved rest. This should motivate him to save more (a bonus category) during these difficult times. For essential spending, he would prioritise his UOB One Card to earn 3.33% (recently added Dairy Farm Group for additional bonus 5% cashback). Once he reaches the $500 limit, he is contented with the 3.5% cashback from the HSBC Advance Credit Card.

UOB One Account Now Yields Approx. 1.2%

From 1 August 2020, the UOB One Account will witness a second revision in Yr 2020. Maximum effective interest rate on the One Account has been revised from 1.8% to 1.2% for deposits of $75,000, provided that customers meet the criterion of $500 Credit Card Spend and Credit Salary/make 3 GIRO debit transactions in each calendar month. Pls refer to Diagram 2 for the interest rate tier for the respective account balance band.

Heartland Boy is still staying with UOB One because the criteria to earn the interest rate are relatively lower compared to the other high-yield savings account. Besides, he has already automated 3 monthly GIRO donations to charitable organisations and he has no plans to stop that.

DBS Multiplier Account Now Yields 2.1%

Similarly, DBS is revising the interest rate for the DBS Multiplier Account downwards. It will be reducing the interest rate for the first $50,000. For Heartland Boy’s case, he is getting a minimum effective 2.1% interest rate for the first $100,000 for his Multiplier Account. This is because he is able to achieve income transactions + 3 other categories (credit card, insurance+ after he has refinanced his loan from HDB to DBS in June). Not only will he be saving on interest expense of his home loan, he will also unlock a new category to allow a further $100,000 (if you add in Heartland Girl’s) in their DBS Multiplier Accounts to earn interest rate of at least 2.1%. This should all take place from September onwards once he completes serving his notice period with HDB.

He shall share all his tips on how to maximise the interest rates for DBS Multiplier in a separate blog article in the future.

SCB JumpStart Account Gives 1% For First $20,000

This is a no-frills, high-yielding savings account for young adults below the age of 26. Don’t get hoodwinked by the moniker “Heartland Boy” because I am clearly well over the eligible age. Nonetheless, Heartland Boy had earlier encouraged young readers to open a JumpStart Account to lock in their eligibility. In the very same article, Heartland Boy also highlighted that SCB reserves the right to unilaterally amend its terms and conditions. Well, that day has unfortunately come. Interest rate has been halved such that the first $20,000 only yields 1% interest rate. With this change, the SCB JumpStart Account is downgraded to fair, not fantastic in Heartland Boy’s opinion. Nonetheless, still a decent no-frills account for those who are young.

Heartland Boy high yield savings Account Strategy For Yr 2020

As shown in Diagram 3, he is able to achieve 1.78% on $205,000 even as banks in Singapore reduce interest rates. Compared to the interest rate he was receiving pre Covid-19, this is like squeezing blood out of stone. Readers would have noticed new additions such as Singlife Account and Dash EasyEarn. In this review, he shared how Singlife nets him 2.6% for the first $10,000 (when the $10 free cash from using Heartland Boy referral code is included) Again, not sure how long this would last but his perspective is to enjoy while it lasts. Another insurance savings account, Etiqa Elastiq, is offering 2.06% for the first $26,000 when sign-up cash rewards are included. He would publish a review on Dash EasyEarn in the future as well.