Kiplinger\'s Personal Finance 03.2020

52 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 03/2020

MONEY

*Fund is waiving all or a portion of its expenses. †Internet only. #Money market deposit account.

^Live Oak Bank offers a sim‡ ilar yield. &Must be a member; to become a member, see website.

Home Loan Investment Bank offers a similar yield. SOURCES: Bankrate, DepositAccounts, Money

Fund Report (iMoneyNet).

covers devices that are

damaged or stolen (but

not lost). The type of

damage that qualifies

varies. Mastercard’s

pro tection, for example,

includes screen scratches

that don’t affect your

phone’s ability to make

or take calls; some other

plans exclude cosmetic

damage. Other exclusions

may include phones paired

with a prepaid wireless

plan, devices stolen from

checked baggage during air

travel and electronic prob-

lems not caused by physical

damage, such as inability

to charge the battery. If

your phone is stolen, you

may have to provide the

benefit administrator a

police report that was filed

within 48 hours of the in-

cident, and damage claims

may require a repair esti-

mate. And you’ll typically

have to file your claim

within a specified window

after the damage or theft

occurred—often 90 days.

If you buy insurance

through your phone carrier,

you may enjoy higher cover-

age limits of about $2,000

per claim and inclusion of

lost phones in the plan, says

Tina Chang, of WhistleOut,

a phone-plan comparison

site. But the cost may be

about $10 to $20 per month

in premiums. LISA GERSTNER

[email protected]

YIELD BENCHMARKS

*To earn the maximum rate, you must meet requirements such as using your debit card several

times monthly and receiving electronic statements. †Portion of the balance higher than the list-

ed range earns a lower rate or no interest. #Must be a member; to become a member, see web-

site. ‡Requires spending $1,000 or more in CCU Visa credit card purchases. §T-Mobile Money

offers a similar yield for wireless customers. SOURCE: DepositAccounts.

Consumers Credit Union (Ill.)# 5.09%‡ $0-$10,000 myconsumers.org

La Capitol FCU (La.)# 4.25 0-3,000 lacapfcu.org

TAB Bank (Utah)§ 4.00 0-50,000 tabbank.com

One American Bank (S.D.) 3.50 0-10,000 oneamericanbank.com

High-Yield Checking

TOP CHECKING ACCOUNTS

Must meet activity requirements*

Annual

yield as

of Jan. 10

Minimum

amount

Website

(www.)

Savings and Money Market

Deposit Accounts

CFG Bank (Md.)†# 2.25% $25,000 thecfgbank.com

Customers Bank (Pa.)† 2.25 25,000 customersbank.com

BrioDirect ( N .Y.)† 2.10 25 briodirectbanking.com

HSBC Direct (Va.)† 2.05 1 hsbcdirect.com

Annual

yield as

of Jan. 10

Minimum

amount

Website

(www.)

Certificates of Deposit

1-Year

Quontic Bank ( N .Y.)† 2.20% $1,000 quonticbank.com

Marcus by Goldman Sachs ( N .Y.)†^ 2.15 500 marcus.com

USAlliance Financial ( N .Y.)&^ 2.15 500 usalliance.org

Rising Bank (Mo.)†^ 2.15 1,000 risingbank.com

Annual

yield as

of Jan. 10

Minimum

amount

Website

(www.)

Certificates of Deposit

5-Year

Financial Partners CU (Calif.)& 2.85% $1,000 fpcu.org

Advancial (Texas)& 2.72 25,000 advancial.org

State Dept FCU (Va.)& 2.68 500 sdfcu.org

Pen Air FCU (Fla.)&‡ 2.60 500 penair.org

30-day

yield as

of Dec. 31

Taxable Money Market

Mutual Funds

Website

(www.)

Minimum

investment

Vanguard Prime MMF (VMMXX) 1.72% $3,000 vanguard.com

Gabelli US Treas AAA (GA BX X) 1.65 10,000 gabelli.com

Vanguard Federal MMF (VMFXX) 1.58 3,000 vanguard.com

Payden Cash Reserves MMF (PBHXX) 1.57 5,000 payden.com

As of January 10, 2020.

● (^) EE savings bonds purchased
after May 1, 2005, have a
fixed rate of interest.
● Bonds purchased before
May 1, 1995, earn a minimum
of 4% or a market-based
rate from date of purchase.
● (^) Bonds bought between
May 1, 1995, and May 1, 2005,
earn a market-based rate
from date of purchase.
Yield
Month-
ago
Ye a r -
ago
U.S. Series EE savings bonds 0.10% 0.10% 0.10%
U.S. Series I savings bonds 2.22 2.22 2.83
Six-month Treasury bills 1.55 1.57 2.51
Five-year Treasury notes 1.63 1.68 2.56
Ten-year Treasury notes 1.83 1.85 2.74
SOURCE: U.S. Treasury
Vanguard Muni MMF (VMSXX) 1.15% 1.51%/1.77% $3,000 vanguard.com
M Stanley T-F Daily Inc (DSTXX)*1.07 1.41/1.65 5,000 morganstanley.com
BNY Mellon Ntl Muni (MOMXX) 1.00 1.32/1.54 10,000 bnymellon.com
Fidelity Muni MMF (FTEXX) 0.92 1.21/1.42 1 fidelity.com
30-day
yield as
of Dec. 30
Tax eq. yield
24 %/35%
bracket
Tax-Free Money Market
Mutual Funds
Minimum
investment
Website
(www.)
DO YOU WORRY ABOUT CELL
phone mishaps? Before you
shell out for insurance, see
whether your credit card
comes with coverage as a
free benefit. Last year, Mas-
tercard began offering cell
phone protection for holders
of its World and World Elite
credit cards. Consumer
credit cards from Wells
Fargo come with phone in-
surance, and so do the Chase
Ink Business Preferred
Visa, Uber Visa and U.S.
Bank Visa Platinum cards.
To get the insurance, you
have to pay your monthly
wireless bill with the credit
card (check with the issuer
to see whether all phones on
a family plan are covered).
The coverage limit per claim
is often $600, although
Mastercard World Elite
cardholders get up to $800
a claim. Yearly coverage
limits apply, too, typically
ranging from about $1,000
to $1,800. And the number
of claims may be capped at
two or three annually. De-
ductibles run from about
$25 to $100.
The insurance usually
Free Protection for
Yo u r S ma r tp h o n e
CREDIT CARDS
RATE UPDATES
For the latest savings yields
and loan rates, visit kiplinger
.com/links/rates. For our top
rewards cards, go to kiplinger
.com/links/rewards. W (websiteww.)
Annual
yield as
of Jan. 10
Balance
range†
TOP-YIELDING SAVINGS