Anyone use different banks for on-hand checking and savings/MM accounts?

It can be a pain in the arse to deal with but its not that bad. I keep 3 months of salary in my local banks savings, and then keep the bulk of the emergency money in an affiliate brokerage account that pays better interest.

For a while, we had a checking/savings at a local bank and a savings acct at ING Direct. When the rates fell a few years ago, the difference in rates to me didn't seem like enough to justify the couple of days delay to move money. So we moved the savings from ING Direct to a credit union.

Is there a downside, no, as long as it's with an FDIC insured place.

I have the following

Local CU checking / savings
Discover High Yield Savings account
Vanguard IRA
Schwab Checking and Brokerage Account

Everything other than me depositing my paychecks is done automatically. Unfortunately my company is still stuck in the 1980s and does not offer Direct Deposit.

I have no problems with Discovers High Yield Savings account. It works well for my goals. Transfers to and from the account are normally around 3-4 days but that is more than OK. I keep my immediate emergency fund in my CU savings.