GMAC MMS Now 5.10% APY

GMAC Demand Notes (not FDIC insured) = 4.75%

http://www.gmacfs.com/notes/demand/main.htm

GMAC Bank Money Market Account is an FDIC-insured bank deposit account. Unlike ING Direct and Emigrant Direct, GMAC Bank offers ATM card access with some ATM surcharge rebates.

GMAC Demand Notes are NOT FDIC-insured bank deposits.

George 2350 wrote: my HSBC online also gives me ATM card access and I have been getting 3.75 for a while now.... Checking the HSBC Online Savings Account information, there is a vague reference to a "linked ATM card". Would this be linked with another HSBC account, or is the ATM card offered with just the savings account?

The HSBC account is a great rate, probably the reason GMAC's rate has increased.

ED will hike again on next FOMC meeting? ED 4.25%, ING 3.50%

SeattleNative said: George 2350 wrote: my HSBC online also gives me ATM card access and I have been getting 3.75 for a while now.... Checking the HSBC Online Savings Account information, there is a vague reference to a "linked ATM card". Would this be linked with another HSBC account, or is the ATM card offered with just the savings account?

The HSBC account is a great rate, probably the reason GMAC's rate has increased.

The ATM card can be linked to either a savings or checking account. I have both.

I love GMAC bank. Great service, ease of use, and more perks that ID, ING,etc.. (debit card with ATM rebates, limited check writing, etc.) I always recommend gmac to friends and family.

Clocks said: Can anyone invest in their demand notes. Their website mentions "family members":

"Demand Notes is designed to provide eligible GM family members with a convenient means of investing funds directly with GMAC"

"GM shareholders" are eligible. I assume that I can buy 1 share GM stock then I become eligible?

Clocks said:

"What are demand notes? How long do you have to hold them?"

GMAC Demand Notes are just like a money market fund. Your funds are secured by GM Notes. They issue you a checkbook and you can write checks anytime. Up until a year a year ago, anyone could open an account. Now you have to be a GM employee or family member, have borrowed money from GMAC, or be a GM shareholder. I would imagine that owning 1 share of GM stock would qualify.

The risk in putting money here is that GM could declare bankrupcy and you would become a creditor just like other creditors. My thinking is that if bankruptcy is imminent, this would be plastered all over the news and your money could be withdrawn before it actually happens. There is greater risk here but the rate is considerably higher than other mmf or banks.

Their rate goes up like clockwork. Every time the fed raises rates by 1/4 percent, the following week GMAC demand notes rate goes up 1/4 percent. If the fed raises another 1/4 percent each in Nov and Dec. I would expect GMAC demand note rates to be at 5.25%.

I have some funds in GMAC Demand Notes though I've lately been on the move if you know what I mean. It would probably be more correct to call it "commercial paper" with check writing priviledges than a money market account. I look at the account as growing in risk and the interest rates reflect that. If GM would spin GMAC off to raise cash that could change as the division is very profitable when looked at as a stand alone. As it is, if GM declares bankruptcy I believe Demand Notes accounts could be affected. With Delphi going into chapter 11 yesterday as an indicator as to the health of the U.S. auto industry it is rather chilling. The GMAC Bank MM is OK but I don't think I'd exceed the FDIC limit. I'm sure glad I don't own GM bonds. The value of these has dropped with the downgrading so if you want your full value you have to wait many years in some cases for maturity. Hope the company is still kicking for those outyear bondholders.

Ford also has similar thing called Interest Advantage. They are offering about 4.66%.
With the shaky financials of GM/Ford. I am pulling the money away and putting into
GE Interest Plus, which is at 3.9%. Even though GE offers close to 0.8% less. I think
it is a good insurance. I can not imagine GE going bankrupt sooner than Ford.
The good thing about Ford is they offer ACH Debit/Credits, while GE offers only ACH
Credits.

http://www.fordcredit.com/interestadvantage/?_requestid=2550506

http://www.geinterestplus.com/index.html

wow, I added an external account and submitted a transfer yesterday, and it showed up today. the other bank doesn't even have the transaction on their pending list yet. it's kind of scary how easy / fast it was.

GMAC Money Market Savings at 4.00% APY!!

manish22 said:

Are you sure about the check writing feature ? Does the money market savings account provide check writing ? I dont see it anywhere mentioned in the features list. Moreover it is a "savings" account .

Yes, they do indeed provide check writing with initial checks (either 25 or 50, can't recall) provided free. As this is a money market account, check writing is limited, of course.

I am looking at switching from Netbank and right now am very tempted to open a GMAC account. My only concern is their long term interest rate track record.

Has anyone been monitoring their rate for any significant period of time? Have they always been pretty competitive with other online banks (emigrant, ING, HSBC, etc)?

I guess I am afraid of getting an account open just to find that GMAC will not be competitive with their interest rate a year or two from now.

manish22 said: ColoradoGiant said: I am looking at switching from Netbank and right now am very tempted to open a GMAC account. My only concern is their long term interest rate track record.

Has anyone been monitoring their rate for any significant period of time? Have they always been pretty competitive with other online banks (emigrant, ING, HSBC, etc)?

I guess I am afraid of getting an account open just to find that GMAC will not be competitive with their interest rate a year or two from now.

Year or two is a long time in the online savings world. Old leaders like etrade, netbank and ING have all lost their high interest status.

Well, since no one can predict the future I guess I am just wondering more about their previos track record with interest rates. Do they have a history of being pretty competitive?

Are GM and GMAC in any way connnected? If so, might a possible GM bankruptcy, which is in the news today, affect GMAC?

Thanks.
This, from their website, is not exactly reassuring: "We are proud to offer the same unparalleled service and stability that have made GM one of the most well-respected companies in the world."

Just wanted to share my experience thus far with GMAC.

On Monday - I attempted to open an account online. After completing and submitting the application, it tells me that I must call customer care to complete the application due and also provides me with info on how to contact Experian leading me to beleive my credit check failed. (I know that I have very good credit, so something seems fishy)

I call customer care and am informed that the wait time is 10 minutes, or that I can leave a message and be called back later. I stay on the phone for about 15 minutes before someone anwsers and says they are just to busy and tells me the ONLY way I can talk to anyone is to leave a message and be called back. A little irked, I leave a message.

I call customer care about 4 hours later and after about 10 minutes I get a real person on the phone. He looks up my application and assures me that everything (including credit check) went just fine, however that their system detected that I entered a cell phone number and they dont allow this. In order to continue, I must fax them a copy of my cell phone bill so they know the number is linked to my name.

I go ahead and fax the info off on Monday.

Tuesday - Thursday = Nothing happens, no calls, no e-mails.

Friday = I call them to check the status. Unfortunately they aren't able to tell me if they ever received my fax, but assuming they did someone will get back to me "within a week" but since they are extra busy, he tells me it might be a little longer.


So far I must say I am very unimpressed with this bank. If they hadn't already ran the credit check, I'd be signing up somewhere else.

DPG said: Same thing happened to me. CSR told me to just re-apply with home phone number. I did this and the application went through and I had my account funded the next day.

BTW, they are not doing a hard-pull on your credit report. They are just verifiying your identity.

curious, how can they tell a cell phone # from a home #?