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9 Best CD Rates
By Jackie Lam MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
4.05%
9 days
3 months - 10 years
$2,500
0.75%
N/A
6 months - 5 years
$1,000
0.60%
10 days
6 months - 3 years
$500
0.65%
10 days
1 year - 5 years
$1,500
0.65%
N/A
6 months - 7 years
$1,000
Our Top Picks for Best CD Rates
- Best 1-Year CD: CommunityWide FCU
- Best 3-Year CD: Quontic
- Best for High APYs: Comenity Direct
- Best 5-Year CD: PenFed Credit Union
- Best No-Penalty CD: Marcus by Goldman Sachs
- Best Rising Rates CDs: Ally Bank
- Best Rate Guarantee: Synchrony Bank
- Best for Veterans: Navy Federal Credit Union
- Best for CD Laddering: Discover Bank
Best CD Rates Reviews
Best 1-Year CD: CommunityWide FCU
Best 1-Year CD: CommunityWide FCU
CommunityWide Federal Credit Union‘s 1-year CD offers higher interest rates than its competitors. What’s more, its CDs don’t automatically get rolled over at maturity.
- Minimum deposit of $1,000
- May match a better rate
- No automatic renewal
- Hefty early withdrawal penalty
- Must be a CommunityWide credit union member to be eligible
If you’re looking for a short-term CD, you should know that members of CommunityWide Federal Credit Union can earn a higher-than-average interest rate on a 1-year CD (currently paying 0.85%). There’s a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000. The good news is that once the term ends for your CD, it doesn’t automatically renew – so you won’t accidentally get locked into another CD unless you specifically chose to do so. Another appealing feature: if you find a better interest rate elsewhere, CommunityWide may match the competitor’s rate.
Although CommunityWide offers low minimum deposit requirements and a higher-than-average APY on its one-year CD, you should be aware that if you need to withdraw your funds before the CD’s maturity date, the penalty can be substantial.
CommunityWide’s brick-and-mortar branches are located in Northern Indiana. However, if you live outside the state you can still become a member. You can make a $5 donation to either Habitat for Humanity Helpers, Marine Corps League of St. Joseph Valley, or Michiana Goodwill Boosters. There’s a $5 minimum balance requirement to maintain your deposit account.
Best 3-Year CD: Quontic
With competitive rates and a low minimum deposit requirement, Quontic stands out as the best in the 3-year CD category.
While Quontic’s 5-year CD pays a higher interest rate, its 3-year CD is notable and features a 1.10% APY. Once you are approved, you can fund your CD right away with the minimum deposit requirement of $500. After your CD matures, there’s a 10-day grace period in which you can either withdraw the principal amount or renew your CD. If you decide to renew, the renewal will be for the same 3-year term. If you’d like a CD with a different term, you can close your CD to open a new one.
To apply, you’ll need to provide basic information such as your contact information, date of birth, and Social Security number.
Best for High APYs: Comenity Direct
When it comes to high-yield CDs, Comenity Direct’s high annual percentage yields (APYs) across the board makes it a standout in this category.
- Higher overall interest rates on CDs compared to competitors
- No monthly fees on account
- Quick and easy application for CDs
- $1,500 minimum opening balance
- Hefty early withdrawal penalties: On CDs with terms from 12 months to 3 years, the penalty is 180 days simple interest. For CDs 4 years and beyond, the penalty is 365 days simple interest.
The biggest draw of Comenity Direct’s CDs is it has higher CD rates than most of its competitors. For short-term CDs, the APY for the 1-year CD is 1.0%, whereas the APY for a 2-year CD is 1.25%. The APY for a 3-year CD is 1.30%, and the APY for a 5-year CD is 1.50%.
Note that Comenity’s CDs have a minimum opening deposit of $1,500. You’ll need to transfer the funds from an existing Comenity deposit account. There’s a 10-day grace period after your certificate of deposit matures in which you can renew or close your CD and receive the money.
Best for 5-Year CD: PenFed Credit Union
For longer-term CDs, PenFed credit union offers the most competitive rates for 5-year IRA certificates. Plus, interest is compounded daily.
- Competitive interest rates for 5-year CD and 7-year CD
- Minimum deposit of $1,000
- Need to sign up to be PenFed member
- Early withdrawal before the 1-year mark results in losing all earned interest
While PenFed doesn’t offer a traditional certificate of deposit, its IRA certificates offer competitive rates for longer-term CDs: 1.75% APY for a 5-year CD, and 1.80% for a 7-year CD. You can choose a CD Roth, Traditional, or SEP IRA. Interest is compounded daily and paid monthly.
To open an IRA certificate with PenFed, you’ll need to be a member. You don’t need to be affiliated with the military to open a PenFed deposit account – but you will need to make a $5 initial minimum deposit.
Best No-Penalty CD: Marcus by Goldman Sachs
With a low opening balance requirement, competitive rates, and the option to withdraw funds early without getting hit with a penalty, Marcus by Goldman Sachs‘ no-penalty CD takes the top spot in this category.
- $500 minimum balance
- Have 30 days after opening a CD to fully fund it
- For traditional CDs, higher rates can be found among competitors
- Lower rates on the no-penalty CD
- Only 7- to 13-month no-penalty CDs available
While Goldman Sachs does not offer the best rates on its CDs, what stands out in our analysis is that it offers a no-penalty CD. Once you keep the funds in your account for at least 7 days, you can withdraw the funds early without penalty. The no-penalty CDs start at 7 months with an APY of 0.45%. There’s also an 11-month CD with a 0.35% APY, and a 13-month CD with a 0.65% APY.
You only need $500 to open a Goldman Sachs CD. And while other financial institutions require that you fund your CD immediately after opening the account, Goldman Sachs allows you to fully fund a CD within 10 days after you open it.
Best Rising Rates CDs: Ally Bank
With the option to take advantage of an increase in rates during a CD’s term length, Ally Bank is a standout online bank in this category.
- Option to increase your rate once during the 2-year CD and twice during the 4-year CD
- 10-day rate guarantee
- Also available as an IRA CD
- No minimum deposit to open
- Only two terms available for rising-rates CDs: 2-year and 4-year
- Automatically renews at maturity
While a downside of standard CDs is that you’re locked into a fixed rate, Ally Bank’s rising-rate CDs allow you to raise your rate should Ally’s rates for its certificates of deposit increase. You can boost it once if you have a two-year CD, and twice if you have a four-year CD. Currently, its APY for the two-year and four-year CD is 0.75%.
One thing to keep in mind is that the CD will automatically renew at maturity. If you decide to renew, you may receive a 0.05% loyalty reward from Ally. The loyalty reward may change, so check with Ally 30 days before the maturity date.
Bet Rate Guarantee: Synchrony Bank
Synchrony Bank is notable in the best rate guarantee category as it offers a 15-day best rate guarantee, which is longer than its competitors.
- 15-day best rate guarantee
- 3 months to 60 months available
- No minimum balance
- Strictly online-only bank
- Higher rates can be found elsewhere
Synchrony offers a 15-day rate guarantee, which means that if the APY increases within 15 days after you open your CD, your APY will increase to meet that new, higher rate. Another benefit of a Synchrony CD is that there’s no minimum balance. Term lengths range from 3 months to 60 months, and APYs are anywhere from 0.25% to 1.50%.
If you’re looking for a shorter time commitment, you can open a 3-month CD with Synchrony.
To make the most of Synchrony’s certificates of deposits, consider a CD ladder to optimize your cash flow.
Best for Veterans: Navy Federal Credit Union
- Variety of CDs available for veterans and other members
- Customers may add additional funds after account has been opened
- CD term lengths range from 3 months to 7 years
- 21-day grace period
- Not a huge difference in APY among deposit amounts
- Not the most competitive rates among longer-term CDs
If you’re a veteran, Navy Federal Credit Union has a handful of different CD options that can help you make the most of your savings. While the standard CD offered by Navy Federal requires a minimum $1,000 deposit, some of the featured starter CDs only require a $50 minimum – and you can add additional funds at any time.
While the rates for short-term CDs are in line with those offered by other institutions, the rates for Navy Federal’s long-term CDs aren’t as competitive. Similarly, there doesn’t seem to be a huge incentive to squirrel away more funds into a longer-term CD, as the difference in APYs between a $1,000 minimum deposit and a $100,000 minimum deposit is 0.05%.
Best for CD Laddering: Discover Bank
Whereas some of the other financial institutions we looked at only offer a couple of CDs, Discover Bank features numerous CDs of varying term lengths which are ideal for CD ladders.
- 3-month to 10-year CDs available, which is optimal for CD ladders
- No monthly account fees
- IRA CD available
- Need $2,500 to open a CD
- Doesn't offer no-penalty CD
Discover Bank stands out in our CD laddering category because of the range of CD terms it offers: 3 months to 10 years, with rates from 0.20% to 1.20%. This makes it easy for you to stagger your investments by payout date so that your money is regularly made available to you on a predictable schedule.
Discover Bank offers an online savings account and an online CD. However, it doesn’t have any brick-and-mortar locations. If you prefer to talk to a human at a branch, this might not be the best option for you.
Other companies we considered
We looked at other financial institutions in our search for the best CD rates. The following are some of the companies we studied that didn’t make the final cut, but are still worthy of consideration..
Connexus Credit Union
- Competitive rates ranging from 0.61% to 1.21%
- No checking account required
- $5,000 minimum deposit
- Dividends are credited quarterly
- Must be a Connexus member
Barclays Bank
- No minimum deposit requirement
- Interest compounds daily
- Lower rates for long-term CDs than competitors offer
Capital One
- No minimum balance requirement
- Can be opened online or at a physical location
- Low APY for shorter-term CDs
Citibank
- Minimum opening deposit is $500
- Offers a no-penalty CD, rising rates CD (although it has a low APY)
- Low APY rates (0.10% for a 1-year CD)
- Online-only savings accounts offer higher rates than most of its CDs
American Express National Bank
- No fees or minimum balance requirements
- Interest compounded daily
- Low APY for short-term CDs (0.20% for 1-year CD)
- Limited selection of offers
Bank of America
- Wide range of terms: from 28 days to 10 years
- CD laddering available
- Low rates compared to competition (0.03% APY)
- Only two types of CDs to choose from
CIT Bank
- Offers jumbo, no-penalty or rising rate CDs
- No account opening or maintenance fees
- Daily compounding interest
- Rates are below the competition (0.30% for a 1-year CD)
CD Rates FAQ
What is a CD?
What is a CD ladder?
What is a jumbo CD?
How We Found the Best CD Rates
To determine the best CD accounts, we gave preference to financial institutions that offer the highest APY rates and no-to-low monthly fees. We also considered the types of CD products each bank or credit union offers, such as no-penalty CDs, rising-rate CDs, CD laddering, and CD IRAs.
Our methodology also included looking at:
- Minimum deposit requirements
- CD terms
- Compounding schedule
- Grace periods after maturity
- Best rate guarantees
- Loyalty reward programs
- Online banking and mobile apps
All CDs are federally insured, either by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Summary of the Best Rates of 2022
- Best 1-Year CD: CommunityWide FCU
- Best 3-Year CD: Quontic
- Best for High APYs: Comenity Direct
- Best 5-Year CD: PenFed Credit Union
- Best No-Penalty CD: Marcus by Goldman Sachs
- Best Rising Rates CDs: Ally Bank
- Best Rate Guarantee: Synchrony Bank
- Best for Veterans: Navy Federal Credit Union
- Best for CD Laddering: Discover Bank
