Schwab Offers High Yield Checking Account

Schwab has thrown its hat into the high interest checking ring recently. For those of you with Schwab brokerage accounts their "Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking" may be a convenient addition to your portfolio. A quick look at the account's stats show the following:

Rate: 4% variable APY.
Min: No account minimum.
Fees: No service charges or fees.
ATM: Unlimited ATM fee reimbursement.
FDIC: FDIC insurance up to $100,000.

I think it looks like the high-yield checking is a solid offering from Schwab. For starters, it beats the Electric Orange account from ING in terms of interest rates and features. Additionally, the Schwab money market is paying 4.32% (7-day avg as of 1-20-08), which means that if you give up .32% interest you can gain FDIC insurance and no minimum. A checking account isn't a great place to stash money in terms of investment opportunities, but if you have short term cash or carry a larger than average checking account balance it might be a good thing to look into.

Does a high yield checking account have a place in your portfolio, do you use a money market account with check writing, or just a plain old checking account?

Image: liewcf @ Flickr