The Credit Karma Money Save Account offers a high interest rate with a $0 minimum deposit and no monthly service fee.
But if you're primarily interested in a high interest rate, other banks offer even better high-yield savings account rates. This savings account might be right for you if you already use and enjoy other Credit Karma services — like its credit score monitoring or Credit Karma Money Spend Account — and want to do all of your banking with the same company.
Credit Karma Savings Account Review
The Credit Karma Money Save Account is a great option if you're looking for an account with a high interest rate, no monthly service fee, and $0 minimum deposit. It's also a good choice if you already use Credit Karma's other tools, such as its credit monitoring services, loans, or Credit Karma Money Spend Account.
The savings account's APY (Annual Percentage Yield) of 3.10% means it's considered a high-yield savings account. This is a type of savings account that offers a significantly higher interest rate than a traditional savings account.
However, if your primary goal is to earn one of the best rates possible, you can find even better high-yield savings accounts at other online banks.
Credit Karma Savings Account Features
Current Credit Karma Savings Rate and How It Compares
The Credit Karma Savings interest rate is significantly higher than the average savings account interest rate of 0.41% APY. If you're primarily interested in opening a savings account with a high annual percentage yield, then this isn't a bad choice.
Credit Karma Save Account Fees and Minimum Opening Balance Requirements
The Credit Karma Money Save Account doesn't require a minimum opening balance, meaning that you don't need to have a certain amount of money ready to put into the account when you open it. It also doesn't charge any monthly service fees, so it could be a good choice if you're hoping to avoid bank fees.
Credit Karma also doesn't charge any overdraft fees. However, it also doesn't let you overdraft your account unless you set up a monthly direct deposit of $750 or more.
Credit Karma Save Account FDIC Insurance
Credit Karma isn't a bank, but it still provides FDIC insurance to its users by partnering with other FDIC-insured banks. Generally, FDIC insurance goes up to $250,000 per person per account type.
Credit Karma offers enhanced FDIC insurance. By spreading your money out between multiple different FDIC-insured banks, Credit Karma covers the money in your Credit Karma Money Save Account for up to $5 million. If the best bank for you includes extended FDIC insurance, then Credit Karma might be a good choice for you.
How Credit Karma Savings Works
Opening a Credit Karma Savings Account
Credit Karma works as an online-only platform, so you'll need to open a savings account using its website or app. Luckily, the process is pretty easy; first, you'll make a Credit Karma account, and then you'll fill out an online application. You'll need to provide some personal information and documentation, including things like a government ID, a Social Security number, and a home address to successfully open an account.
Depositing and Withdrawing Funds from Credit Karma Savings
Credit Karma doesn't charge transfer fees for any ACH payments you make. However, it does limit how many times you can withdraw from your account per month. You'll only be able to withdraw money six times per monthly cycle, which is pretty standard for savings accounts.
You'll also be able to use mobile check deposit through the Credit Karma app, if you want to put money into your account using checks.
Credit Karma Mobile App Experience
Credit Karma's app is well-reviewed on the app store; both Google Play and the Apple App Store give it over 4.5 stars. The Credit Karma app also provides features past those you would expect from a standard mobile banking app. Most notably, you can check your credit score with Credit Karma's app. The app can also analyze your spending and point out places you could be saving money.
Credit Karma Money Save Account Pros and Cons
Credit Karma Money Save Account Pros
- High interest rate compared to the average savings account
- FDIC-insured
- No monthly fees
- $0 minimum opening deposit
- Well-rated mobile app
- 24/7 customer service
- Offers other financial services
Credit Karma Money Save Account Cons
- No physical locations
- Low Better Business Bureau rating
- Recently settled a $3 million lawsuit
- Other online banks pay even higher savings rates
About Credit Karma
Credit Karma is an online personal finance platform that allows you to check your credit score. It also offers banking services, such as checking and savings accounts, under the name Credit Karma Money. It does so by partnering with MVB Bank, since Credit Karma is not a bank itself.
Credit Karma has a mobile app. It has strong ratings, with an average of 4.7 stars in the Google Play store and 4.8 stars in the Apple store.
For customer support, Credit Karma offers both a phone line and a live chat for Credit Karma Money account holders. The website does not list customer service hours to non-members; however, an Intuit Credit Karma spokesperson confirmed that both the phone line and live chat offer 24/7 customer support for account holders. You can also email customer service.
Is Credit Karma Trustworthy?
When reviewing banks and bank accounts, we include Better Business Bureau ratings and recent controversies to help you pick banks you can trust.
Credit Karma has an F rating from the BBB due to over 2,000 unanswered customer complaints in the last three years, 50 of which haven't been responded to. The BBB also listed a recent settlement as a reason for the rating. The company settled a case with the Federal Trade Commission in 2023, paying $3 million to affected customers.
In its lawsuit, the FTC says that Credit Karma made misleading statements to potential customers in to get them to sign up for services. According to the FTC, these statements included claiming a customer was pre-approved for a deal they didn't actually qualify for and offering misleading statistics on how many people qualified for an offer. Credit Karma does not admit wrongdoing by paying out the settlement.
Is Credit Karma Savings Right For You?
The Credit Karma Money Save Account comes with a strong APY and is a good bank for overdrafts if you can can meet the overdraft requirements. Its lack of monthly service fees and higher-than-average FDIC insurance might make it a promising pick for people who don't mind banking online.
Credit Karma works as an online-only platform, which means that people who prefer to go into physical bank branches might not enjoy banking with Credit Karma. It also doesn't let you open joint accounts, so people hoping to open an account with someone else will probably want to go with a different bank.
Credit Karma Money Save Account Alternatives
Credit Karma Money Save vs. Ally Savings
The Ally Savings Account is a close high-yield savings account comparison to the Credit Karma Money Save Account. Like Credit Karma, it is online-only, with no monthly service fee and a $0 minimum deposit. However, Ally also offers a savings bucket feature, letting you sort your money into different categories. This helps you easily track your savings goals without having to open multiple accounts. Credit Karma Money Save Account does not offer a similar service.
If you primarily care about getting a high interest rate, the Credit Karma Money Save Account is the better of the pair, although the best online savings accounts do currently offer slightly higher rates.
Credit Karma Money Save vs. Synchrony High-Yield Savings
The Synchrony High Yield Savings Account pays 4.00% APY. Synchrony also offers a money market account and certificates of deposit where Credit Karma doesn't, so if you're interested in opening either of those types of accounts, Synchrony might be your best bet.
In comparison, Synchrony does not offer a checking account while Credit Karma does. This means Credit Karma is the better choice if you're interested in opening a checking and savings account with the same company.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Credit Karma Money Save
At Business Insider, we use our bank account methodology to rate all of our banking products, including savings accounts. When rating savings accounts, we consider the account's minimum deposit, monthly service fees, interest rate, ethics, customer support capabilities, and mobile app. Accounts receive a score between 0 and 5 based on these equally-rated categories.
We've written down Personal Finance Insider's editorial standards so that you can see what exactly we consider when we review bank accounts, as well as what standards we hold ourselves to when reviewing.
Credit Karma Savings Account FAQs
The Credit Karma Money Save Account is a good option if you're looking for a high interest rate with no monthly service fee. However, its F rating from the BBB and recent lawsuit might give some customers pause.
Yes, Credit Karma offers the Credit Karma Money Save Account, which is a high-yield savings account paying 3.10% APY.
The Credit Karma Money Save Account pays 3.10% APY, which is competitive. Keep in mind that this interest rate is variable and can change at any time.
The Credit Karma Money Save Account is safe as it is FDIC-insured. It offers enhanced FDIC insurance that goes over the normal limit to FDIC insurance; this means up to $5 million is safe in an individual account should Credit Karma or its partner bank shut down.
How do I get money out of my Credit Karma savings account?
You can take money our of your Credit Karma savings account by transferring money to a linked external account or to your Credit Karma Money Spend Account. Withdrawing money is free, but if you transfer funds to an account with another bank, it could take a few business days for your money to show up in the account.
Credit Karma's high-yield savings option, the Credit Karma Money Save Account, does not help your credit score. But the platform has a savings account called Credit Karma Credit Builder that helps you improve your credit score.
Credit Karma's phone line for customer service is limited to active Money customers. If you are a Credit Karma Money user, you can use the online app to find what phone number to call for 24/7 support. You can also use Credit Karma's live chat service if you're a user. If you aren't, or you don't want to call, you can contact Credit Karma through their website's messaging service or use its online help center.
