What are the different types of savings accounts?

Every savings product is really a trade-off between rate and access. The more restrictions on withdrawing your money (a longer CD term, fewer monthly transactions), the higher the rate a bank is typically willing to pay. Here's how the main types stack up.

The core account types

• Traditional (regular) savings account: the most widely available option at any bank or credit union, but typically the lowest rate — branch-network banks have higher overhead than online-only competitors and pass less along in APY.
• High-yield savings account (HYSA): functionally identical to a traditional savings account, but usually offered by online-first banks with lower overhead, which pass the savings along as a meaningfully higher APY.
• Money market account (MMA): blends savings-account features with limited check-writing and/or debit-card access, often with tiered rates that increase at higher balances.
• Certificate of Deposit (CD) / share certificate: locks funds for a fixed term (commonly 3 months to 5 years) in exchange for a guaranteed fixed rate, with an early-withdrawal penalty for accessing funds ahead of maturity. Credit unions call the identical product a "share certificate."

Specialty accounts worth knowing about

• Kids/custodial savings accounts: structured with a parent or guardian as joint owner/custodian, since minors can't independently enter a binding account agreement.
• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): not a bank savings account in the traditional sense — an HSA requires an eligible high-deductible health plan and carries its own tax treatment (contributions, growth, and qualified withdrawals can all be tax-free), making it a distinct product from a standard bank savings account despite the similar name.
• Holiday/Christmas club accounts: still offered by some community banks and credit unions — a savings account structured around a seasonal goal, often with limited or restricted withdrawals until a set date.

The withdrawal-limit rule most people still think is federal law

For decades, federal Regulation D capped certain transfers and withdrawals from savings and money market accounts at six per statement cycle. In April 2020, the Federal Reserve amended Regulation D to remove that federal reserve-requirement distinction entirely — meaning there's no longer a federal cap on savings withdrawals. However, many banks still voluntarily enforce a similar six-transaction limit (or charge an excess-transaction fee) in their own account agreements, so check your specific bank's current terms rather than assuming the old federal rule still applies.