Compare
The best account for your money, compared with the tradeoffs named.
Anyone can call an account "best." We'd rather show the work. Every account in a category is scored the same way, on the same five things, using one published method — and every rate carries the date and the named source it came from. What a partner pays us never moves where an account lands.
Start with a category
Each lane has its own pillar page — what to look for, how to compare, and the tradeoffs named plainly. Detailed side-by-side rate tables land on these pages, each figure dated and sourced.
High-yield savings
Compared on real yield, fees, minimums, and how fast you can reach your cash.
See optionsChecking
Compared on fees, overdraft terms, ATM access, and whether the everyday stuff just works.
See optionsCDs
Compared on term, fixed APY, and the early-withdrawal penalty — the number most people skim.
See optionsThe five things every comparison weighs
The headline APY is one input, not the verdict. Here's what actually goes into a ranking — the same five for every account in a category, so the comparison is apples to apples.
Real yield
The APY after the asterisks — is it the everyday rate or a promo, does it apply to your whole balance, and what does it come to in actual dollars on a normal balance.
Fees
Every recurring charge that eats the yield — maintenance, transfer, overdraft, excess-withdrawal — and exactly what waives each one.
Minimums
Two numbers, not one: the minimum to open, and the minimum you must keep to earn the rate or dodge a fee.
Access
How fast a transfer clears, whether there's an ATM card, any cap on withdrawals, and — for CDs — the early-withdrawal penalty.
The catch
The thing that shows up in month three: the intro rate that steps down, the balance cap, the auto-renewal, the fine print that changes the deal.
On the numbers
Every rate table is dated, and the source is the truth
Rates, APYs, and bonuses are set by the banks, not by us, and they move constantly. So every figure in a comparison carries the date it was accurate as of and the named source it came from. We refresh and re-date the tables on a regular cadence — but a table is a snapshot, not a promise. Always confirm the current rate and terms with the provider before you decide, and know that we don't guarantee any rate or that an offer is still live.
The method, in the open
How we score accounts — written down, so you can check it.
The full methodology lays out where we pull rates, how we weigh the five criteria, and the wall between our comparisons and our commercial relationships. Nothing about an account's ranking depends on what it pays us.
Frequently asked
How does ClearValue Banking compare accounts?
We score every account in a category the same way, on a published methodology — the real yield, the fees, the minimums, how fast you can move money, and the early-withdrawal or overdraft catch. Accounts are ranked by how well they fit a saver, not by what a partner pays us. You can read the whole method and argue with it.
How often are the rate tables updated?
Rates change constantly and are set by the bank, not by us, so every figure in a comparison carries the date it was accurate as of and the named source it came from. We refresh and re-date the tables on a regular cadence, but the source is always the truth — confirm the current rate and terms with the provider before you decide.
Do you show every account, or just partners?
Our rankings aren't limited to accounts that pay us, and what a partner pays never moves where an account lands. Where we earn a referral or affiliate fee, it's disclosed right on the page. If a better account pays us nothing, the better account still wins the recommendation.
Can you open accounts for me or tell me which one to pick?
No. ClearValue Banking is not a bank and not a financial advisor — we don't open accounts, hold money, or give personalized advice. We lay out the numbers and the tradeoffs so you can decide. When you choose, the account is opened with and held by the partner bank, which is the FDIC-insured one, disclosed on the page.