Originally Posted by
tubman
Uh, no. Read the fine print. It is 0.45% on that first $9,999.99 tier that you need to keep on deposit to get the FF credits. It's only the tiered portions ABOVE $10K that earns at least 2.25%. In three months, that's a whopping $11.25 in interest you're earning on your $9,999.99.
https://promotion.suntrust.com/airtran/
You then need to pay taxes/fees on your free ticket, assuming you get the ticket you want with your FF credits against blackouts and other restrictions. I'd prepare yourself for perhaps a $50 out-of-pocket cost.
Yes, you're right about pulling your money out after three months. But if you close your account at SunTrust within six months, I believe that's a $25 fee they're going to charge you for closing your account so soon, so you need to factor that in, as well.
When all is said and done, if you need the flight credits, all your hard work might put you a few dollars ahead by banking your money at SunTrust's insultingly low MMA rates. But not much more than that. Hardly seems worth the effort.
SunTrust was never very good at writing clear and unambiguous copy. Regardless, the tiers refer to interest rates on the
collective balance, rather than on each balance tier. So you will get the 2.25%
APY, but there is the $25 close fee for <6 months. I figure for me, the opportunity cost is around $75. However I will take that since I typically redeem for last minute flights on lightly traveled routes, which would otherwise cost me $500 RT. Everyone needs to do their own math though to see if its worth the hassle. I could imagine that if you want to use the credits to go ATL-Florida, you'd be better off buying during one of the almost weekly sales.