The Best Savings Accounts in Louisiana for 2024
More than 4.6 million Americans call Louisiana home. Each of those residents needs access to banking services in one form or another. To meet the financial needs of Louisianans, dozens of banks operate in the state.
This is good news for those customers because more competition between banks means that the banks have to offer good deals, giving savvy consumers the chance to get a bargain on their savings account.
If you live in Louisiana and want to open a savings account, this article will cover the options available to you. As always, consider online savings accounts that are available nationwide.
The Best Savings Accounts in Louisiana
Red River Bank Basic Savings Account
The Red River Bank Basic Savings Account is exactly what it says on the tin. You get a basic savings account experience with no fees to worry about.
To open the account, you’ll need to make a $10 minimum deposit. Once the account is open, you’ll have to maintain a balance of at least $10. If your balance falls below that amount, you won’t earn any interest, but you also won’t be charged any fees.
The account offers other basic features, including mobile and internet banking and electronic statements.
Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Savings Account
The Gulf Coast Banks and Trust Savings Account offers a simple account experience with easy to avoid fees.
There is no minimum opening deposit requirement and no minimum balance that you have to maintain. There’s also no monthly fee to pay, but there is a $4.85 paper statement fee. Statements arrive once each quarter.
To avoid this fee, you can sign up for eStatements, maintain a $5,000 balance in the account, or maintain a $25,000 balance at the bank.
You may make up to six withdrawals per month without paying any fees. Each withdrawal after that will incur a $5 fee.
JD Bank ZydeCash Savings Account
The JD Bank ZydeCash Savings Account gives customers the chance to earn a great rate on balances up to $30,000 if they meet certain requirements.
There is a $25 minimum deposit to open the account. Once the account is open, there is no minimum balance requirement. To earn the elevated interest rate, you must link a JD Bank ZydeCash checking account and:
- Make 10 debit card transactions
- Receive a direct deposit or automatic payment
- Receive eStatements
- Sign in to online banking
The account also offers other benefits, such as ATM fee refunds at ATMs across the United States.
How we picked
MyBankTracker applied a methodology when choosing the best savings accounts in Louisiana. Our top recommendations were selected based on a thorough analysis of savings accounts offered by the top 50 banks by deposit market share in Louisiana (based on FDIC June 2023 data)--serving major cities including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, and Lake Charles.
We focused our choices on savings accounts with low monthly maintenance fees, easy-to-meet requirements to waive these fees, the bank’s physical branch and ATM network, excess withdrawal fees, and any other convenience features.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Savings Accounts from Local Banks
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Consider Online Savings Accounts
Once you’ve looked into your local banks and credit unions, think about opening an online savings account. You can open an account from anywhere in the United States and their benefits make them worthy of consideration.
Two of the biggest benefits of online savings accounts are their low fees and high interest rates.
Online banks save a lot of money by avoiding the costs of ATM networks and branches. They use the savings to offer their customers a better deal.
Online banks are also incredibly easy to use. You can manage your account from anywhere with an internet connection. Usually, all you have to do is transfer money into the account and let it earn interest.
Interest rates and fees
The interest rate you earn and the fees have a huge impact on the value of your savings account over time.
If you let your money sit in the account for years, you could be leaving hundreds or thousands of dollars on the table if you choose a low-interest account.
Consider this example:
You want to purchase a house and need to start saving for a down payment. You have $20,000 to put into an account today and plan to add $500 to your savings account each month. After five years, you’ll use the account’s balance as a down payment.
If you open a savings account at a brick and mortar bank, you might expect 0.05% APY. If you use an account that pays that rate of interest, you’ll have $50,086.97 at the end of five years.
Online savings accounts pay far more interest. You might find an account offering as much as 1.60% APY. If you use that account instead, you’ll have $52,875.59 in your account at the end of five years. You’ll earn almost $2,800 more in interest, just by choosing an online savings account.
Don’t forget that many brick and mortar banks charge monthly fees, widening the gap between the two accounts.
Low minimum deposits
Another reason to open an online savings account is their low minimum deposits.
Many brick and mortar banks won’t let you open an account until you can deposit between $25 and $100. If you have trouble getting that much spare cash together, you won’t be able to open a savings account.
Online savings accounts can be opened with much smaller amounts of money, often just a penny or a dollar. That makes it easier to start saving.
Same FDIC insurance
If you’re worried about the safety of online savings accounts, rest easy knowing that your money will be protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The FDIC offers insurance on up to $250,000 per account type, per customer at a bank.
So long as you never let your combined account balances at a bank exceed $250,000, you cannot lose money by depositing it into a bank account. If the bank goes under, the FDIC will reimburse you for the amount lost.
The Best Savings Accounts in Louisiana
There are a few compelling reasons to work with a local Louisiana Bank.
One is that local banks can meet the needs of local consumers in ways that national banks aren’t able to.
National banks have to target a national base of consumers, so they have to offer generic account features. They cannot offer features that benefit consumers in certain regions while being useless to others.
Local banks can offer those features that are only useful for locals.
For example, banks in communities with a strong boating culture may be able to offer special loans for the purchase or maintenance of boats.
Another reason to work with a local bank is that the staff at local banks will get to know you over time.
This will let them offer more personalized service than a national bank would be able to. As the staff learns about your personal situation, they will be able to provide more useful advice and account services.
Local banks also have more flexibility to waive fees and cut you a deal here and there. National banks tend to have more strict rules surrounding such things.
There are downsides to working with local banks.
For example, if you ever travel outside the region that your bank serves, you won’t have an easy way to access your account. You’ll be forced to rely on ATMs, which might be owned by other banks.
That means you’ll have to pay the fees charged by those banks.
If you ever move on a more permanent basis, you’ll probably have to close your account and find a new bank entirely.
Tips to Help Grow Your Savings Faster
Use these tips to help your savings grow even faster.
Focused on savings
If you have a lot of money in your savings account, it’s easy to be tempted to spend it unnecessarily.
Making it more difficult to access your money can reduce this temptation, helping you leave your savings to earn interest and grow.
Automatic transfers
If you have trouble with remembering to save, try setting up automatic transfers from your checking account.
Every month, money will be moved from your checking account without you having to do anything.
Direct deposit to savings
The best way to grow your savings is to add more money to it regularly.
Many employers will let you split your paycheck between multiple bank accounts.
Set up direct deposit of part of your paycheck to your savings account to make saving completely automatic.
