As the name suggests, high-yield savings accounts can help you get a better return on your savings than a standard account. Often, the difference in your potential earnings is much greater than a fraction of a percentage – even with the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cuts.

Even if the banks “gradually follow the example of the Fed reduce interest rates“, the “rates paid on federally insured high-yield savings accounts, many of which are offered by banks that operate only or primarily online, still exceed inflation,” said The New York Times. As of Nov. 22, “online banks this week were offering rates of 4 percent or more, compared with a national average rate of just 0.56 percent for all types of savings accounts,” the Times added, citing Bankrate.