Well, it’s been about a year since I opened my FNBO Direct account. Although I was initially apprehensive about FNBO Direct, I am happy to say that I have now come to trust FNBO and can recommend their online savings account to others.

My initial concern stemmed from an e-mail I received soon after I opened my account. That e-mail stated I needed to verify some personal information or risk my account being closed. That e-mail was followed-up with second one stating the first was in error, however the ding to my confidence in their operations had already been done.

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Popularity: 50% [?]

When the news came out Tuesday about the Fed cutting the funds rate 75 basis points (3/4%), it was a foregone conclusion what would happen next– rates on online savings and interest-bearing checking accounts were about to follow suit. Well, the inevitable happened today for FNBO Direct as they reduced their interest rates from 3.85% APY to 3.25% APY.

There’s still a couple of silver linings though about FNBO Directs‘ rate cut. For one, FNBO didn’t lower the rate by the same amount the Fed did: a 0.60% drop versus 0.75% respectively. The second benefit is that FNBO’s new rate is still higher than some other bank’s rates that have not yet adjusted. For example ING Direct is at 3.00%, Salem Five’s eOne account is at 3.1% and Schwab’s Investor Checking is at 3.01% APY. I expect all of these to drop into the 2’s within a week.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Last year was a year of change for me. I overhauled my system in 2007, which resulted in $892.78 more cash back than 2006’s total of $1,329.97 (a 67% increase). The main catalysts behind this increase were two new cash back credit cards, a new online checking account and a new online savings account.

Starting in May of last year, I switched my primary credit card from the Chase Perfect Card to the Blue Cash from American Express. I continued to use my Chase Perfect Card to back up my Blue Cash card, until it dawned on me that I could do even better by backing it up with the Chase Freedom credit card. So in October, I began using the Chase Freedom as my new backup card.

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Popularity: 59% [?]

Back in May of this year, I opened an online savings account with FNBO Direct because of their high 6% APY promotional interest rate through September 28, 2007. Now that I’ve kicked the tires with them for a few months, it seems time to give an update as to my impressions so far with them.

FNBO did indeed hold true to their word and pay me the 6% interest during the promotional period. They recently announced that their new standard rate is now 5.05%. This was quite a drop, however it’s still higher than what other online savings accounts offer. At the time of this writing, HSBC Direct’s interest rate is 4.50%, ING Direct’s is 4.30%, and GMAC Bank’s rate is 4.75%. Because their OSA is still higher than most, I still have some of my money with them.

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Popularity: 44% [?]

There’s been quite a bit of buzz in the personal finance blogosphere this month about FNBO Direct’s new 3-month 6.00% APY offer for new accounts. I have to admit, curiosity got the best of me, and I opened up an account yesterday to start checking it out.

The application process was fully online and I was able to fill out a joint account application in about 10 minutes. My account application isn’t officially complete yet though, because I still need to wait for the account link verification deposits to show up in my checking account. Once I verify those in a day or two, I should be all set. I’ll share more impressions of FNBO Direct once my account is available.

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Popularity: 24% [?]