Help Center

The main difference is the way you access your money. A money market account gives you more access because you can be issued a debit card and checks. An online savings account doesn't include checks or a debit card.

Discover more about our Online Savings and Money Market accounts. Also, find out how we can help you reach your financial goals when you're starting to save.

You can withdraw money in 4 ways:

• Online funds transfer
• Outgoing wire transfer
• Telephone transfer
• Check request

You should know that there are a few guidelines to these transactions:

You can always call us and request a check made out to you. You can also make unlimited deposits. But, Federal law limits other electronic, telephone and check transactions to a total of 6 per statement cycle. These limited transactions can be to other accounts or to a third party. If you go over the limit we charge $10 per transaction.

You can make six withdrawals and transfers per statement cycle from your Online Savings Account. The limit is set by federal law for electronic and telephone transactions from all U.S. savings and money market accounts. Please remember, you will be charged a $10 fee for each transaction that exceeds this limit.

You can withdraw money by online electronic funds transfer, telephone transfer, check, check card point-of-sale transactions, and ATM machine.

Please remember that federal law limits the number of most electronic, telephone and check transactions from all U.S. money market accounts to six per statement cycle. We charge $10 for each transaction over 6 per statement cycle. If you exceed this limit on more than an occasional basis, we may be required to close your Money Market Account.

Fortunately, ATM withdrawals are unlimited. To find a nearby ATM, use the Ally ATM & Cash Locator.

Federal law limits the number of withdrawals and transfers you may make from your Money Market Account during each statement cycle. You can make up to six withdrawal transactions — including electronic fund transfers and telephone transfers, checks, and debit card purchases — per statement cycle. Each transfer or payment from your Money Market Account is counted as one of the six limited transfers. You will be charged a $10 fee for each transaction that exceeds this limit. Fortunately, ATM withdrawals are unlimited.

Buckets are tools within your Online Savings Account that help you organize the savings in your account into different categories. They are not individual accounts. See how buckets work

Keep in mind, FDIC and beneficiary rules apply at the account level.

Log in to your Online Savings Account and select Organize to get started. You can then choose from popular savings categories, or make your own. You can add up 10 buckets.

Want to learn more about buckets? Watch this quick video

Yes, you can. For instance, you can create a vacation bucket to help you save for your trip to Spain. And then you can create another vacation bucket to help you save for your cross-country road trip. You can give these buckets a nickname to help you organize your savings.

To nickname your bucket, choose the bucket in your Online Savings Account you want to rename. Then select Edit Bucket.

You can have a bucket in your Online Savings Account with no money in it.

To move money from your core savings to your buckets, log in to your Online Savings Account and go to Organize. Then select Settings and choose Distribute.

Your money will go into your core savings by default. To change this default setting, go to Organize, select Settings, choose How money comes in, and then select Update Settings. Any new money coming in will be automatically deposited into your buckets according to the percentages you set.

Log in to your Online Savings account and go to Optimize. Then select the bucket you want to delete, choose Edit Bucket, and then select Delete Bucket.

Yes, you’re earning interest on all the money in your account. We’ll add all your interest paid to your core savings unless you choose a different bucket.

To change the bucket that gets your interest paid, log in to your Online Savings Account and go to Organize. Then select Settings and choose Interest Paid. From there, you can select any bucket you want.

We’ll add all your interest paid to your core savings unless you choose a different bucket. To change the bucket that gets your interest paid, log in to your Online Savings Account and go to Organize. Then select Settings and choose Interest Paid. From there, you can select any bucket you want.

Keep in mind, you’re still earning interest on all the money in this account, no matter what bucket you put it in.

When you move money out of your Online Savings Account, we’ll move money from your core savings first. If you have buckets set up, you can adjust the bucket order whenever you like, but we’ll always take money out of the core savings first. We recommend moving the buckets (like Emergencies) you’re using for long-term savings to the last position.

To update your withdrawal settings, log in to your Online Savings Account and go to Organize. Then select Settings, choose How money goes out, and then select Update Settings.

If you only want money to be withdrawn from your Vacation bucket, for example, you should prioritize that bucket above all your other buckets and zero out your core savings.

Want to learn more about how money goes out? Watch this quick video

You can set deposit percentages for your buckets. Then, any money coming in will automatically be divvied up into different buckets, according to the percentages you set.

To update your deposit settings, log in to your Online Savings Account and go to Organize. Then select Settings, choose How money comes in, and then select Update Settings.

If you don’t manually set percentages, your money will go into your core savings bucket by default. Then you can move money from your Core Savings into your buckets using the Distribute feature.

Want to learn more about how money comes in? Watch this quick video

Once you log in to online banking, choose Transfers. Select the account you want to transfer money from and the Online Savings Account you want the money transferred to, enter the amount you want to transfer, and set the frequency of recurrence.

Your money will be automatically deposited into your buckets according to the percentages you set in your How money comes in settings.

Once you log in to online banking, choose Transfers. Select the Online Savings Account you want to transfer money from and the account you want the money transferred to, enter the amount you want to transfer, and set the frequency of recurrence.

Your money will be withdrawn from your buckets according to the priority you set in your How money goes out settings. To change your priority, log in to your Online Savings Account and then go to Organize. Select Settings, choose How money goes out, and then select Update Settings.

No. You can change how money comes in, goes out or how interest is paid to your account without it affecting your boosters.

If you want to edit a booster that you have set up for your bucket, choose that bucket in your Online Savings Account, and then select Edit.

A booster is an automated money-saving tool, available in your Online Savings Account, that you can set up to help you reach your goals even faster. At the moment, we offer these two types of boosters:

1. Recurring transfers: Recurring transfers are a great way to reach your savings goals without having to constantly police yourself to set money aside. Want to learn more about our recurring transfers booster? Watch this quick video

2. Surprise Savings: This booster finds money in your linked checking account that could be earning more value in your savings. You can link your checking accounts at Ally Bank or at another institution to use for Surprise Savings.

Once you turn on Surprise Savings, our advanced analytics will compare what you normally spend in your linked checking account and identify any extra money to transfer to your Online Savings Account.

To make sure your Surprise Savings transfers don’t cause you to overdraft or get too close to $0, we’ll only move money on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays, and never move more than $100 at a time. We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred. You can stop Surprise Savings whenever you want.

To add boosters to your account, go to Optimize.

Want to learn more about our Surprise Savings booster? Watch this quick video

Yes, you can set up boosters in your Online Savings Account to transfer money from linked checking accounts you have at Ally Bank or other institutions. Keep in mind, you can only set up checking accounts for Surprise Savings.

You can add multiple checking accounts for us to analyze for Surprise Savings. Keep in mind, while you can set up multiple Surprise Savings boosters, you can’t use the same checking account twice.

To add a checking account, log in to your Online Savings Account, go to Optimize and then select Get Started in the Surprise Savings booster tile. Then, if you set up buckets, you can select any bucket you want for your Surprise Savings transfers to go into.

Once you turn on Surprise Savings, our advanced analytics will compare what you normally spend in your linked checking account and identify any extra money to transfer to your Online Savings Account.

To make sure your Surprise Savings transfers don’t cause you to overdraft or get too close to $0, we’ll only move money on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays, and never move more than $100 at a time. We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred. You can stop Surprise Savings whenever you want.

Once you turn on Surprise Savings, our advanced analytics will compare what you normally spend in your linked checking account and identify any extra money to transfer to your Online Savings Account.

To make sure your Surprise Savings transfers don’t cause you to overdraft or get too close to $0, we’ll only move money on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays, and never move more than $100 at a time. We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred. You can stop Surprise Savings whenever you want.

The amount of money we’ll move from your tracked checking account to your Online Savings Account will be variable in the range of $1 to $100. We’ll only move money on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays. Some weeks, we may find a little more, and some weeks, you may not get any Surprise Savings transfers at all. We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred.

We move money from your tracked checking account to your Online Savings Account in the range of $1 to $100 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays. Some weeks, you may not get any Surprise Savings transfers at all. It all depends on when we find money in your linked checking account that could work harder in your Online Savings Account.

We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred.

We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred, but not before. You can’t cancel the transfer while it’s in process.

We'll do our best to make sure none of your Surprise Savings transfers leave the balance too close to $0 in the checking account we’re analyzing.

You can cancel Surprise Savings in your Online Savings Account at any time, and your cancelation will take effect the following business day.

Yes, you can stop Surprise Savings whenever you want. Log in to your Online Savings Account, go to Optimize, and then select Edit in the Surprise Savings booster tile. Then choose Stop Surprise Savings for good. Your cancelation will take effect the following business day.

No, you can add checking accounts you have at other institutions for us to analyze and transfer money from for Surprise Savings. But the transfers can only go into your Online Savings Account.

To add a checking account, log in to your Online Savings Account, go to Optimize, and then select Get Started in the Surprise Savings booster tile. Then, if you set up buckets, you can select any bucket you want for your Surprise Savings transfers to go into.

Keep in mind, while you can set up multiple Surprise Savings boosters, you can’t use the same checking account twice.

You can only use your checking accounts, including those at other institutions, for the Surprise Savings booster.

This booster is available for Online Savings Accounts only.

Yes, you can. To add a recurring transfer to a bucket, log in to your Online Savings Account, go to Optimize, and then select Start Saving in the recurring transfers booster tile. From there, you can select the amount, set the frequency, and choose how you want it distributed to your buckets.

To edit your bucket distribution, go to Optimize and select View Your Recurring Transfers. Select Edit to change your distribution.

Want to learn more about this booster? Watch this quick video

Once you turn on Surprise Savings and we identify a savings opportunity in your tracked checking account, we’ll start moving money into your Online Savings Account. We’ll move $1 to $100 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays. Some weeks, you may not get any Surprise Savings transfers at all. It all depends on when we find money in your linked checking account that could work harder in your Online Savings Account.

We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred.

No, if we identify a savings opportunity in your tracked checking account, we’ll move $1 to $100 for Surprise Savings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays. Some weeks, you may not get any Surprise Savings transfers at all. It all depends on when we find money in your linked checking account that could work harder in your Online Savings Account.

We’ll send you an alert after each Surprise Savings transfer has occurred.

You can change the bucket that gets your Surprise Savings transfers. Log in to your Online Savings Account, go to Optimize, and then select Edit in the Surprise Savings booster tile. From there, you can select any bucket you want.

You can also cancel Surprise Savings whenever you want.

No, if we identify a savings opportunity in your tracked checking account, we’ll move $1 to $100 for Surprise Savings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not on bank holidays. Some weeks, you may not get any Surprise Savings transfers at all. It all depends on when we find money in your linked checking account that could work harder in your Online Savings Account.

No, we don’t charge a fee to transfer money to your Online Savings Account.

There’s no transaction limit on how often you can move money between your buckets. This is the great thing about having buckets instead of separate savings accounts. With buckets, you can move money from one savings bucket to another whenever you like. If these were separate savings accounts, you would be limited to 6 withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle.

Keep in mind, while you can make unlimited bucket-to-bucket transactions, you’re still limited to 6 account withdrawals or transfers from your Online Savings Account per statement cycle.

No, choosing how you want your recurring transfer distributed won’t affect your bucket settings for how money comes in.

Want to learn more about how money comes in? Watch this quick video

Any existing recurring transfers you have set up to go into your Online Savings Account will continue and show as a booster. By default, your existing recurring transfers will go into your core savings bucket. To divvy up your recurring transfer into multiple buckets, go to Optimize and select View Your Recurring Transfers. Select Edit to choose how you want it distributed to your buckets.

Yes and no. Each account holder of a joint Online Savings Account can view its buckets and boosters.

Each account holder may also edit or delete buckets. However, only the account holder who created the booster can edit or cancel it online.

The service we use to aggregate your account information has a strong security program to ensure the confidentiality, privacy, and protection of your accounts.

We use information from your other accounts to provide you with valuable insights about your money, your habits, and your goals.

You need to take some sort of action to help us finish adding them. Select the account from your Snapshot and follow the prompts to fix the issue.

Sometimes the process of getting a response from your other institution can take extra time.

If you’re certain that all of the account information you provided is correct, try contacting your other institution to make sure they allow external connections. Some institutions don’t.