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- PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS
- CD NEWS
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Below, we lay out more than 50 options for locking in a CD rate until 2026, 2027, or even 2028-2029, with returns as high as 5.10%.
- It's expected the Federal Reserve will start lowering interest rates in 2024, and it will likely continue in 2025. That means CD rates will start coming down soon.
- With future interest rates expected to be lower, it's a smart time to lock in a multi-year CD with a nationally competitive rate.
- Any CD you open today will have a guaranteed rate until the end of its term—whether that's months or years down the road.
- CD rates surged to a 20-year peak last fall, thanks to the Fed's aggressive battle against decades-high inflation. Though now slightly lower, the best CD rates are still near record highs.
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Why Now Is a Great Time for Mid- to Long-Term CDs
More than two years ago, the Federal Reserve embarked on an aggressive rate-hike campaign in a fight against decades-high inflation. With 11 increases to the federal funds rate between March 2022 and July 2023, the Fed raised that benchmark rate by a cumulative 5.25 percentage points. That's the highest level for the fed funds rate since 2001.
Bank and credit union deposit rates are directly influenced by the federal funds rate. As a result, certificate of deposit (CD) rates surged in 2023. And though CD rates have softened a bit since then, they're still paying historically high returns. Just compare today's rates below to what CDs were paying in early 2022.
But with inflation coming down—to 3% in its reading this morning—the Fed is moving closer to a new phase: rate cuts. While it's expected the Fed will hold rates steady one more time at its meeting that concludes July 31, financial markets currently forecast that the central bank will announce a first rate cut of 0.25 percentage points on Sept. 18, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
As soon as the Fed signals it's ready to begin lowering its rate, CD returns will start to drift downwards as well. That means we could see lower deposit rates in a few months—and possibly 2025 rates that are lower still.
In fact, after the Fed met on June 12, it released its quarterly “dot plot” projections for where the federal funds rate would be at the end of 2024, 2025, and 2026. You can see below that, as of the June meeting, Fed committee members predicted the benchmark rate would be lowered by more than 2 percentage points over the next two and a half years.
This likelihood of falling CD rates makes it a smart move to stash money you won't need for a while in a CD that will secure one of today's historically high rates. And the longer you can commit, the longer you'll enjoy that rate guarantee—no matter what happens with the Fed.
Today's Best CD Rates With Guarantees Until 2026, 2027, or Even Longer
Our daily ranking of the best CD rates always provides you with a list of the highest nationally available offers. Right now, the highest returns are available on shorter-term CDs. But since odds are high that interest rates could enter a two- to three-year slide, it could be smart to lock in a rate today that will be guaranteed for two years—or even longer if you feel confident you can live without access to the funds.
Here are our roundups of today's hottest rates that will guarantee your annual percentage yield (APY) into 2026, 2027, or even as long as 2028-2029.
All the CDs listed below are available nationwide, even if offered by a credit union. And all are federally insured—covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for banks or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for credit unions. That means even in the unlikely case the institution fails, your deposits up to $250,000 are protected.
Top CDs That Will Mature in 2026
For more details about these CDs, including early withdrawal penalties and information about the institutions, visit our daily rankings:
- Best 18-Month CDs
- Best 2-Year CDs
Top CDs That Will Mature in 2027
For more details about these CDs, including early withdrawal penalties and information about the institutions, visit our daily ranking:
- Best 3-Year CDs
Top CDs That Will Mature in 2028 or 2029
For more details about these CDs, including early withdrawal penalties and information about the institutions, visit our daily rankings:
- Best 4-Year CDs
- Best 5-Year CDs
Can't Commit for Two Years? Here Are Your Next-Best Options
If you don't have funds you're willing to lock up for a couple of years, you can still benefit from today's historically high rates. Instead, you could put money in a shorter-term CD, depending on your personal timeline:
- Today's Best 3-Month CD Rates: Rates up to 5.51%
- Today's Best 6-Month CD Rates: Rates up to 5.60%
- Today's Best 1-Year CD Rates: Rates up to 6.00%
As you can see, many of these CDs pay higher rates than you'll find for terms of two years or longer. That makes them near-term winners. But your rate guarantee will end sooner.
For money you need to keep fully accessible and can't commit to a CD at all, consider a high-yield savings account. Our daily ranking of the best savings account rates reaches up to 5.55% APY, with more than 10 additional offers paying 5.25% or more.
Savings account rates are variable, meaning they can change at any time. Right now, the top high-yield savings account rate is at a 20-year high. But once a Fed rate cut appears on the horizon, savings account rates will start to decline.
How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates
Every business day, Googlawi tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000.
Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.