I’ve mentioned Ally Bank plenty of times on this blog, but Ally has a few more noteworthy CD rates you should know if you’re looking to put your cash in one of the most competitive CDs on the market. Ally is an online-only bank, which means you can’t drive downtown and walk into a branch. However, you can enjoy the higher CD rates your savings will earn when your bank has no “brick and mortar” overhead expenses to cover.

There is no minimum deposit for any Ally CD, and there are no monthly fees, either. The only fee ever charged is an early withdrawal fee if you close your account early. In that case, the fee would equal 60 days interest. Because of early withdrawal penalties, I would advise making doubly sure that you will not need the money until your CD reaches maturity.

So, if you have some cash you can stash away for three years, you can earn a 1.39% APY. Now, I know that isn’t sky-high, but it’s certainly better than some other savings rates I’m seeing right now. In many cases, even tipping the 1% mark seems tough. You can qualify for more interest with a 5-year CD, but I advise against long-term maturities in today’s market.

Bad at math? This bank has you covered. Ally’s website has a handy CD interest rate calculator — plug in a deposit amount and it calculates the amount of interest you will earn for different terms.

As with some other banks, your CD will automatically renew unless you close the account within 10 days after its maturity. And while you can’t add funds to a CD during the initial term, you do have the option to add money to the CD when it renews.

By the bullets

Here’s a rundown on the benefits of opening a CD at Ally:

• Open with zero dollars.
• No monthly fees.
• Get the best rate they offer for your CD term with the Ally “10 Day Best Rate Guarantee.”
• Daily compounding of interest for maximum earnings.
• FDIC insured to the maximum allowed by law.
• Automatic renewal at maturity.

To apply online or get more information, see the CD rates page at Ally Bank.

You may not love your bank so much that, like Rufus the dog in the Ally commercial, your dog barks “We love our bank.” But Ally has an Interest Checking offer with a variable interest rate that may make you purr.

Ally Interest Checking offers the convenience of a checking account with the interest of a savings account, plus several terrific bonuses that are hard to find in banks these days. A deposit of $15,000 or more garners the highest interest rate — 0.90 percent — but deposits as low as $1 get 0.50 percent.

Check out these banking advantages:

• No ATM fees at any ATM. Ally doesn’t charge, and if another bank does, Ally will refund your fees.

• Unlimited check writing.

• No monthly maintenance fees.

• Free overdraft transfer service if your account is linked to another Ally account, such as a savings or money market account.

• Postage-paid deposit envelopes.

• Zero dollars to open an account, 0.5 percent APY for balances below $15,000, but 0.90 percent for $15,000 and above.

• Free debit MasterCard.

• No limits on the number of checks you can write.

• Automatic money back on purchases at participating stores when you use your Ally Checking debit card. The money is deposited directly into your checking account.

• Manage your account online, by phone, or by ATM.

• You can talk to a real person 24/7. (This is huge!)

• Free standard checks.

• No minimum balance.

• Free online banking.

• Balance alerts. Set a target and if your balance goes above or below, Ally will send you an alert.

• Deposits insured by the FDIC up to $250,000.

One possible drawback:

• No brick-and-mortar buildings.

For more information, go to Ally Bank online.

The dog days of summer are making even my neck of the woods hot and sticky, but I’ve found a CD deal that’s going to kick up the heat a notch or two more.

Ally’s four-year CD rates give you a decent 1.99 APY now, plus the option of not one, but two, rate increases during the lifetime of the CD. Now, that’s a good deal!

If interest rates rise, and many of us believe they will (especially within four years), you won’t be stuck with a low-paying CD for months or years. When you compare it with other CD offers out there from big companies, it looks even better: ING Direct and Chase offer 1.25 interest on a four-year CD and HSBC Advance pays a paltry 0.80 percent.

Check these additional great features:

• Ally’s Ten-Day Best Rate Guarantee gets you the best interest rate they offer within 10 days of funding your CD.
• No minimum. You get the 1.99 APY rate regardless of your deposit. Most banks require a minimum deposit to open a CD and many pay lower rates for small amounts.
• Interest compounds daily, which grows your money faster.
• All deposits are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000.
• No monthly fees.
• Alerts to let you know when rates rise. (This is a real dealmaker — it keeps you from the hassle of constantly having to check rates yourself to know when to step up your interest rate.)
• Guaranteed rate for the life of the CD.
• 24/7 live customer service.

Possible drawbacks:

• Automatic renewal at maturity. Be sure and notify the bank if you don’t want your CD to renew automatically.
• Penalties for early withdrawal, although they’re rather low — the equivalent of 60 days interest.
• No brick-and-mortar buildings.

Ally began as GMAC and morphed into an online retail bank in 2009. For more information, go to Ally Bank online.

When it comes to banks I’m the type of  person who, even after I think I’ve gotten a great rate on a CD, can’t help but think that a better deal is just around the corner. Or that I just missed a great deal by a couple of days, one way or the other, and I’ll sit and worry … did I do the right thing?

Rest easier. Ally Bank has a two-year Raise Your Rate CD that pays 1.49 average percentage yield (APY). Yeah, I know that’s not a great rate, but the neat thing is you can raise your rate once during the life of the CD. And the rate is much better than what many other banks offer: Chase offers an anemic 0.50 percent and HSBC’s rates are even lower, coming in at a paltry 0.35 percent.

And another great feature for us worrywarts is that the CD comes with the Ally Ten Day Best Rate Guarantee, which guarantees you the best rate available around the 10-day period when you opened your account. No buyer’s remorse and a better night’s sleep.

Check these additional features:

• No minimum. Most banks require a minimum deposit to open a CD.

• Interest compounds daily. Some banks compound quarterly or monthly, but compounding daily helps your money pile up faster.

• Deposits insured by the FDIC up to $250,000.

• Automatic renewal at maturity. Be sure to notify the bank if you’re not going to automatically renew.

• Low penalties for early withdrawal — the equivalent of 60 days interest.

For more information, go to Ally Bank.

You know what drives me nuts about banks? ATM fees. Seriously, it makes no sense to me. You take out $20 to pay for something in a hurry and the machine hits you for $2 or maybe more. That’s just crazy.

And don’t even think about getting cash at the convenience store! Yikes, those little dial-up ATMs are like one-armed bandits. I’ve seen them charging $4. Think about it. Even if you take out $100 in cash (and who does that?), that’s a 4 percent profit.  Take out just $20 and that’s 20 percent profit for the banks!

I think I read that banks actually pay around 27 cents to get your money to you. That’s it! Less than three thin little dimes in cost to them, but anywhere from $2 to $4 instant profit. Remind me in my next life to come back as a banker…

So I was amazed and very much interested in Ally Bank’s new “no fee” nationwide ATM deal. Seriously, they cover it, anywhere. The ATM takes the money, and Ally puts it back by the end of the month. Pretty sweet.

Ally is an Internet-only bank. It used to be called GMAC, the financing part of the old General Motors, before it went bankrupt. What that means is you can’t walk into a branch and talk to a person. It’s phone and Internet only. That’s part of the reason they compete so hard on the deals, right?

I mean, sure, it’s cheaper for them to be online only, but that means they also have to entice you some way, and rates are not exactly sky high anywhere right now. So, free ATM use is one way.

Okay, so here’s the details for you:

> No monthly fee. Zero.

> No fee to open the account and no minimum balance.

> Free online banking and bill pay service.

> You get a free debit card (MasterCard) and unlimited check writing.

> It’s an interest checking account, so you get a little bit of return on your money. I ran it at $10,000 and the site told me 0.50 percent.

Their fees for some of the unusual things are reasonable, compared to most banks ($15 to stop payment, for instance).  You can find out more at www.ally.com.