In an effort to attract more new deposits, ING Direct is offering a new savings product with a high interest rate, the “Added Value” certificate of deposit (CD). If you are willing to deposit new money to ING Direct and let the bank hold that money for one year without any withdrawals, ING Direct will pay you a rate of 2.25% APY (as of October 18, 2009). This is the highest rate ING Direct is currently offering; the rate on the “non-Added Value” CD is 2.10% APY. Here are today’s best rates for 12-month CDs.
The interest rate offered on the “Added Value” CD is currently the best rate in the country for 12-month CDs among major national and regional banks. Is this a sign that ING Direct is returning to its roots as the bank that tops the charts for customers who are interested in having their money earn as much as possible while in mostly liquid accounts? I don’t think that’s going to happen; the interest rate on the bank’s flagship Orange Savings Account is currently 1.30%, ranking ING in the middle of the banks who claim to offer “high-yield” savings.
Customers tend to glow about ING Direct’s customer service, which shows that the bottom line is not always the primary, or at least not the only, concern for consumers.
Updated August 20, 2011 and originally published October 19, 2009. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
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Thanks for this tip. An added note, ING now accepts accounts in revocable trusts, which formerly they did not. This is an important issue for me, and very possible for others.
The rate still matters most for me. However, poor service can send me somewhere else.