Mine will increase. I’m not pleased, but I figured from the start that I would only benefit for a few years.
Sounds like they do have their hooks into you. But would it be a consideration to just keep the minimum in the bank to get the benefits, and move the additional elsewhere? No reason to keep anything extra there. I have a bank with similar benefits and zero fees, and I can do most anything online, I don’t have to call them. Seems like you could just do what is required to keep the benefits (and if it’s something crazy like keeping a million in there and you’re losing hundreds or thousands of dollars a month to just keep those benefits), maybe it’s not really worth the loss. You don’t want to trigger unwanted capital gains, but sometimes there is a way to transfer things without cost, and certainly you wouldn’t want to pay early termination fees. Seems like if this is the way the bank wants to go, it would be good to divest yourself slowly, without additional cost, and certainly don’t give them anything more.
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I keep as little as possible at my retail bank, and even though I understand the bank’s flaws and limitations, inertia keeps me there…along with the safe deposit box and convenient physical location.
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It is as you say a “crazy” minimum balance. It’s also weird how they allow so little to be done online and are so old school about so much requires the banker. I can email but then any transaction requires them calling me to verify the email (which I don’t actually mind to avoid fraud). But they have the most antiquated online site compared to my secondary accounts at Fidelity and Schwab, for example. It can do basic things like transfers in/out of savings, but I cannot, for example, trade a stock or any other product online even in my self-managed account.
Still, all that is an excuse. I probably am leaving money on the table if I really added up the inefficiency of all the times I end up with money left in sweep accounts vs the benefits I get. I is nice when I want something done to always be able to get a human who knows me and my account, to have them to do the vast majority of the paperwork for me, to be able to, for example, email and ask them to compute all my estimated interest, dividends and capital gains year-to-date for estimate tax payments, etc.
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I don’t know enough to respond, and also do not want to wade into politics on this thread.
Regardless of current or proposed future tax brackets and rates, our recent grads in high-paying fields will automatically find themselves in higher brackets just based on their increases in compensation, so for that reason alone, I favor all Roth 401K for recent grads.
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LOL! We don’t care about cars either - just that they be reliable, safe, etc.
Until just a few years ago, we had a 1998 Honda Accord that was older than both of our kids.
My 8 year-old car has 120K miles on it (I hardly put any miles on it don’t put much on now). I’d like to get another 30K on it but if it is running fine will probably push it longer. 
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I have a feeling that it will be a combination of irritation at their antiquated systems and realization of monetary loss for you to decide to dump them. Sometimes it just takes that last straw to get you going.It really sounds like many of the benefits that you have can be obtained at many other banks. What I like the most is being able to manage my affairs without actually having to talk to anyone, which is why I like Fidelity and Schwab, I can get what I need without conversation, but if I have to talk to someone, it’s pretty quick. Vanguard, however, ugh! Just give me a user friendly website where I can do it all myself.
I wouldn’t call money markets “more volatile.” A brokerage sweep type money market’s price is always $1 (excluding the risk of “breaking the buck”, which has only happened a few times in US history and never to discussed products). Money markets that are based on federal products have yields of approximately federal funds rate - expense ratio. The high federal funds rate is 5.5%, and Vanguard’s money markets have an expense ratio of 0.11, so Vanguard’s core sweep account (VMFXX) pays 5.40% APY = 5.27% APR. If the fed drops rates later in the year, then the APY will have a corresponding decrease later in the year. Banks also are likely to change rates on HYSA, near the time that fed changes rates. Or they may change rates for other reasons, such as bait and switch promotional yields.
If you want a fully state/local tax exempt product, you could choose VUSXX over VMFXX, which pays 5.41% APY = 5.28% APR. Alternatively, one could invest in treasury products directly through their Vanguard/Fidelity account, with no expense ratio.
Rather than try to maximize 5.xx% vs 5.yy% or avoid this level of fees, I prefer using my Fidelity brokerage as my primary bank. Fidelity has a much higher expensive ratio on money markets than Vanguard, leading to lower yields. However, I prefer the banking + bill pay features at Fidelity to Vanguard, and I have a larger portion of investments at Fidelity, including my 401k. My experience is Fidelity offers superior banking services to the overwhelming portion of brick and mortar banks, including faster transfers between banks.
I use the Fidelity account above for paying bills, an “emergency fund”, and a general home base for cash flows. However, I choose other products for short-term savings that I am confident I won’t need to spend in the near future, but prefer to keep out of the stock market. For example, I am currently going through the Chase bonuses – $2000 private client bonus (can be linked to fixed income investments) + $900 for checking/savings. I am also finishing up a personalized offer with Schwab and starting one with E*Trade. I average an overall return of ~8% APY on my short term, after including such bonuses/offers and other alternative fixed income type investments.
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I just checked, and I’m getting 4.25 at Capital One bank. But they seem to have a habit of coming up with new names for accounts and making the new ones the highest yield, and if you don’t stay on top of it (I don’t) you lose out.
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I found that Chase private client bonus to not be such a great deal, actually. They sent me a 1099, and I had to pay tax on it. 
It’s a marginal offer, about at the minimum level that I’d bother with. If you hold $250k for 90 days, it pays $2k. That’s similar to a ($2k/$250k)*(365/90) = 3.24% APR = 3.28% APY. This bonus can be combined with fixed income investments via Chase. So if you choose a fixed income treasury type investment at ~5%, then the net is ~5% + 3.28% ~= 8.3% The 3.28% APY bonus is taxable at state/local level, but the fixed income yields are not, if you choose a treasury investment.
However, my experience was not as straightforward. To get the bonus, you have to invest via Chase’s managed investments. You cannot use Chase’s self-directed investments. The managed investments have limited options and have significant fees. For example, managed investments offers a t-bill ladder, but does not offer a short-term treasury product, like a money market. I’m told I can transfer the more than a dozen t-bills that compose my ladder to Fidelity after the 90 dey period, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other hassles. In my opinion there are other far better bonuses out there, which relates to why I’ve waited so long to pursue this Chase one.
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Your explanation is the reason why I have not bothered moving money over to Chase for the bonuses they keep mailing and emailing about.
I love their CC products but don’t want the hassle you described just to chase the bonus.
Of course, I may change my mind at some point!
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I have a modest inheirtance balance at my credit union where mom had her account too. It’s just a nice way to keep it segregated, easy to use for particular uses. Now that I can get CDs around 4.75%, I don’t feel so bad about it.
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Thanks, Data10. I appreciate the info. I have to educate myself more to fully understand all of what you said. 
. I guess it sounds like HYS accounts and money markets are both pretty safe…
Thanks, busdriver11. Totally agree that inertia is powerful - I’ve seen it govern a great many of my financial decisions and my friends’…!
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Inertia seems to also be governing many of my exercise routine decisions, too. The couch is pulling me.
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Last year we took half our emergency funds and put them into CDs. Split over the quarters. So I have 4 CDs making about 3% more than just savings account. We know could get a similar return with an online bank HY account, but we are not ready to make that jump.
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It can be just as important to acknowledge one’s comfort level as to maximize potential earnings. Minimizing stress and focusing on other things besides chasing an extra 50 basis points, even if it means the possibility of leaving a smaller inheritance, can be the best choice. Most of here don’t seem to be in situations where our financial decisions determine whether or not we can pay our way but rather how much we leave behind.
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Comfort level is much more important. Your portfolio should be designed to whatever assets allow you to sleep well at night. For some, that is more risk, for others, much less.
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I’ve had some cash parked in a Morgan Stanley preferred savings account, which I believe is just a MM account. It’s been yielding just over 5%.
There are a ton of cash vehicles right now that will get you near or just over 5%.
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