Well I finally got around to opening an online savings account. And I have to say it was really as easy as everyone (personal finance bloggers) said it was. I decided to open a Capital One High Yield Money Market Account. I opted for the debit card but not the checkbook. I don’t think that I will use the debit card, but I am pretty sure that I won’t ever need the checks. I am currently using the account to hold some of my energy fund money. Maybe as time goes on I will add to it money for things like a down payment for a house or funds for a wedding; though the second one should probably go in a much longer-term savings vehicle.

I decided to go with Capital One because they have very competitive rates. While their rates are not the highest, the reviews I could find were mostly positive (at least on the banking end of things), and they have a number of nice features (like the free debit card mentioned above). I opened the account online and it didn’t take very long at all. The only problem I had was that they required your 9-digit zip code and it took me a while to find those last four numbers. I received my trial deposits in a timely manner; I received my mailed correspondence in a timely manner. Everything went rather smoothly. The only thing that was a cause for concern was that I received my pin number a few days before my debit card. Generally, you should receive your card first, but I think that it may have something to do with where you live and where the card is coming from, as I have had this happen to me before. All and all it’s been a good experience though of course it’s only been a few weeks. I need to make sure that I will be receiving online statements as I don’t want to acquire a bunch of needless paper documents, but other than that things really have been very simple and straightforward.