American Express Personal Savings is a perfectly competent HYSA from a major brand. Marcus pays 0.15 points more with similar terms and a stronger mobile app. The case for Amex Personal Savings is almost entirely about ecosystem convenience for existing Amex cardholders. For pure savings yield, Marcus wins.
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- 1.Marcus APY: 3.65% flat
- 2.Amex Personal Savings APY: 3.50% flat
- 3.Minimum balance: $0 at both
- 4.Monthly fees: $0 at both
- 5.FDIC: Both fully insured to $250K
American Express launched Personal Savings in 2007 — one of the original major-brand online HYSAs. Marcus by Goldman Sachs launched in 2016. Both have been competitive throughout, both are fee-free, both are flat-rate. Marcus has consistently been a step ahead on yield, and Amex has consistently traded that yield gap for ecosystem integration with the broader Amex card relationship.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Marcus | American Express Personal Savings |
|---|---|---|
| APY | 3.65% | 3.50% |
| Minimum deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Monthly fees | $0 | $0 |
| Tiered rates | No (flat) | No (flat) |
| Joint accounts | Yes | Yes |
| ATM card | No | No |
| Mobile app | Standalone Marcus app | Integrated into main Amex app |
| Customer service | 24/7 phone | 24/7 phone |
| External transfer limit | $125K/day (after warm-up) | $50K/day, $100K/month |
| Same-bank credit card integration | None | Pay Amex card from savings |
| FDIC | Goldman Sachs Bank USA | American Express National Bank |
The substantive differences come down to rate, transfer limits, and the Amex card integration.
Where Marcus wins
Rate. 3.65 versus 3.50 — 15 basis points, the standard gap that has held for most of the past 18 months. On a $50,000 balance that is $75/year.
Higher external transfer limits. Marcus eventually supports $125K/day in external ACH transfers. Amex caps at $50K/day and $100K/month, which can be limiting for households moving larger sums during major financial events (home purchase down payments, large investment moves, etc.).
Mobile app focus. The Marcus app is purpose-built for the savings product and consistently rates 4.9 on the App Store. Amex Personal Savings sits inside the broader Amex card app and is functional but secondary to the card features.
Goldman Sachs charter. For depositors thinking about FDIC charter diversification, Goldman Sachs Bank USA and American Express National Bank are separate insured institutions — but the absolute size and credit profile differ. Most savers do not care; some do.
Where Amex Personal Savings wins
The Amex card integration. This is the only real reason to pick Amex savings over Marcus. If you already have an Amex card (Platinum, Gold, Green, Blue Cash, etc.), having the savings account in the same app and login is genuinely convenient. Paying your credit card from the savings account is straightforward; checking balances across both is one login.
Tenure and brand stability. American Express has been in the consumer banking business since the 1850s as a company, and Personal Savings has been continuously offered since 2007. The product is not going anywhere. For some savers that institutional permanence matters more than 15 basis points.
Amex-specific promotional offers. American Express occasionally runs cardholder-only promotional offers tied to Membership Rewards, Charles Schwab Platinum benefits, or other ecosystem hooks. These are sporadic and modest but exist.
Slightly more conservative rate trajectory. Amex tends to be slower to move its HYSA rate in either direction than Marcus. When rates drop, Amex sometimes lags on the cut; when they rise, Amex sometimes lags on the increase. Net-net Marcus has been higher, but Amex has been more stable.
Do not confuse Amex Personal Savings with Amex Membership Rewards. Personal Savings holds U.S. dollars in an FDIC-insured account at American Express National Bank. Membership Rewards are credit card loyalty points with no cash equivalence and no FDIC protection. These are completely separate systems despite sharing the Amex brand. Cash in Personal Savings is cash; Membership Rewards are not.
The "I already have Amex cards" case
For an existing Amex cardholder, the convenience case is real:
- One login for cards and savings
- One unified statement view (sort of — they are still separate accounts but visible together)
- Faster psychological "where is my money" picture
- Slightly easier to set up automatic credit card payments
What you trade for that convenience is 0.15 percentage points on whatever balance sits in the savings account. On $10K that is $15/year — barely worth the friction of opening Marcus. On $100K it is $150/year — probably worth opening a second account.
The break-even depends on how much you value the integration. For most cardholders maintaining a separate Marcus account for the higher yield is a 5-minute setup that pays for itself within a year on any balance over $5,000.
The "I do not have Amex cards" case
If you do not already have an Amex card, there is essentially no reason to pick Amex Personal Savings over Marcus. The integration benefit is zero, the rate is lower, the transfer limits are lower, and the app experience is built around card features you do not use.
Live HYSA comparison
- ✦Marcus pays 0.15 points more (3.65% vs 3.50%) with similar fee-free terms
- ✦Amex Personal Savings is meaningfully better for existing Amex cardholders due to unified app and login
- ✦Amex transfer limits are lower ($50K/day) than Marcus's eventual $125K/day
- ✦Both are FDIC-insured under different bank charters — useful for diversification at $500K+ aggregate balances
- ✦For non-Amex cardholders, Marcus wins clearly
What to Do Now
Related guides
Rates verified May 13, 2026 from each bank's published rate page. American Express Personal Savings is offered by American Express National Bank, FDIC-insured. Marcus is offered by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, FDIC-insured. SwitchWize may earn referral revenue from links on this page; this does not change our editorial conclusions.
Frequently asked questions
Is American Express Personal Savings linked to my Amex credit card?+
Can I transfer instantly between my Amex card payment and Amex savings?+
How long has Amex been offering HYSAs?+
Are there any rate boosts for being an Amex cardholder?+
Ranked by composite score: rate + trust + ease
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