NEW YORK, March 22, 2010 Bankrate.com released today its first of what may be an annual Rewards Checking Survey. The survey identified the features consumers may expect and the requirements to earning the top interest rate tier.

Bankrate initiated the survey because Rewards checking accounts are projected to grow in popularity in coming years as a new means for gathering deposits.

Among the key survey findings:

• The average Annual Percentage Yield for rewards checking accounts maxed out at 3.3%;

• The average default APY if not keeping up with the minimum requirements was 0.16%, a significant drop-off;

• The balance cap for earning the high APY was, most commonly, $25,000;

• Of the accounts surveyed, 95% have a requirement for a certain number of debit card transactions to be made each month in order to receive the highest APY. The average amount of debit card transactions required was 11, but the most common requirement was 10 per month;

• The majority (91%) of the rewards checking accounts surveyed have requirements for direct deposit and/or bill pay but 48% only require one or the other. One direct deposit per month is the standard requirement;

• A mandatory bill pay requirement is demanded by 35%, ranging from logging in to as many as four bill payments per month. One bill payment per month is the most common requirement.

"Consumers are looking for ways to boost their interest earnings in this low rate environment," said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. "Rewards checking accounts offer very compelling yields, so long as consumers are able to meet each of the account requirements on a monthly basis."

About the Survey: Bankrate surveyed 211 institutions for this study. Fifty-eight of those surveyed offer high-yield checking accounts, 41 of which are nationally available.

The full survey report may be found at: bankrate.com/finance/checking/high-yield-checking-perks-have-strings-1. aspx.

Source: Bankrate, Inc.