Savers have welcomed the long-awaited return of higher interest rates but the best rates are often only temporary or tied up in conditions.
Some banks have been passing on the Reserve Bank's cumulative 300 basis points of interest rate increases since May, but the highest rates typically come with strings attached, such as depositing a certain amount each month, or are promotional, so expire after a few months.
To attract the highest savings rate of 4.35 per cent per annum, for example, customers must be aged between 14 and 35, deposit $1000 into the linked transaction account and make five eligible purchases a month.
Canstar's finance expert Steve Mickenbecker said banks were employing a range of techniques to hold back savings increases to preserve and increase their margins.
"Wholesale funding costs started going up even before the Reserve Bank started moving, and savers are now the meat in the sandwich between borrowers and wholesale funders," he explained.
Common tactics include passing on lower increases than the RBA, hiking rates on some accounts but not others, and leveraging introductory rates that lock out existing savers from higher rates.
Canstar research shows the average base account, which excludes conditional and promotional bonus rates, is sitting at 1.81 per cent compared to 0.18 per cent in April.
But the average rate on promotional accounts, including the base rate, has lifted to 3.46 per cent from 0.47 per cent in April.
The average rate on a bonus account is sitting at 3.03 per cent, a 2.52 percentage point jump since interest rates started lifting.
Mr Mickenbecker said some banks were passing on higher rates and urged consumers to shop around.
"The difference in interest rate between the average and the best is startling and savers shouldn't be ignoring it," he said.
Despite the stark difference in rates offered by banks, Finder research found only 12 per cent of Australian savers had switched accounts in the past six months.
Finder money expert Alison Banney said the best deals lay outside the big four banks.
"Ask what interest rate you are getting on your savings and if it doesn't start with at least a 'three', it's time to switch," she advised.
The survey revealed most Australian savers are looking to make the most of higher interest rates, with around two in five making sacrifices to save more money.
