The best savings accounts on the market pay 5% or better—offering the highest rates in two decades. Start earning a great return today, before rates fall.

I use each high-yield savings account for a different goal, like a vacation to Ireland, a kitchen renovation, or future car repairs.

As the name implies, a high-yield savings account is a savings account with a significantly higher interest rate than a standard savings account — with some high-yield accounts offering rates up to 20 to 25 times the national average, which the FDIC currently puts at a meager 0.05%.

Key Insights Perhaps the biggest winners of today's high interest rates are kids, with a handful of institutions below offering astronomical rates of 7% to 10% APY on child and teen savings accounts.Spectra Credit Union pays 10.

Savings accounts have a simple premise, but often come with complex mechanisms for you to earn bonus interest. When you open a savings account with a bank, you deposit money into it and let that money earn interest.

Despite the Fed cutting rates, you still have options to earn up to 5.50% APY in a high-yield savings account—even if you don't have a large deposit or ongoing balance.