It's about 1% higher than most solid/large high-yield online banks right now (Capital One 360 at 3.4%, Discover Savings is at 3.5%, Ally Bank is at 3.6%).

So I wouldn't say that you could get 4.5% from a reputable bank at the moment.

If your amount is under 250K, its insured. If not, take 1/4 (or 1/8th) of funds and place in 4 or 8 week t-bills every week for 4 (or 8) weeks with automatic roll over. On Wed those rates were 4.80% and 4.88%.

The 4.5% rate linked above is in a money market account. It's the exact same rate available from Vanguard today.