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- PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS
- CD NEWS
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- For the rest of July, you can snag the top nationwide rate of 6.00% from Nuvision Credit Union on a 10-month term. But the offer is limited to a $5,000 maximum deposit.
- Eleven additional CDs guarantee at least 5.40% for 3 to 12 months, including runner-up TotalDirectBank's 5.51% on a 3-month or 6-month term.
- But if you want to lock in a longer rate guarantee, our best 18-month and 2-year CD rankings include 16 CDs that will paying 5.00% or better until 2026.
- For even longer terms, you can secure rates of 4.70% to 5.00% until 2027, 2028, or 2029.
- The Fed has been holding interest rates steady for about a year, as it waits for inflation to ease. But a rate cut is looking likely soon—making now a smart time to nab one of today's best CD rates while you can.
Below you'll find featured rates available from our partners, followed by details from our ranking of the best CDs available nationwide.
Top Rates From 5.40% to 6.00%—On Terms of 3 to 12 Months
NuVision Credit Union continues to offer the top nationwide CD rate of 6.00% on a 10-month term, advertised as available until July 31. Until last month, we hadn't seen a rate that high since November. But while this is easily the best CD return nationwide, NuVision's promotional certificate only accepts a $5,000 maximum deposit.
The runner-up is our rate leader in the 6-month CD term, TotalDirectBank, which is paying 5.51% APY on 3-month and 6-month certificates.
You might also like one of six additional certificates paying 5.40% APY or better on terms of at least 6 months—which means they'll stretch into 2025. That includes the best 12-month rate of 5.40%, available from both USAlliance Financial and NexBank.
The 16 Offers Guarantee 5.00% to 5.10% on Terms Stretching to 2026
Since it's predicted U.S. interest rates will decline over the next couple of years, it's smart to lock in a high multi-year rate while you can. The top 2-year CD rate is 5.10% APY. This rate is available from Credit Human on a term of your choosing between 18 and 23 months, or from USAlliance Financial for a full 24 months.
But there are 14 more options with terms of 18 to 24 months that pay at least 5.00%. That gives you lots of choices for guaranteeing one of today's great rates into 2026. You can find those in our daily rankings of the best 18-month and best 2-year CD rates.
If you're looking for an even longer rate guarantee, consider the best 3-year CDs, which are paying 5.00% APY. Vibrant Credit Union promises that APY for 30 months, while DollarSavingsDirect offers it for a full 36 months.
To secure your rate further, the best 4-year CD pays 4.70%, or you can secure 4.75% for 5 years. Both of these term leaders are offered by BMO Alto, with the 5-year rate seeing a reduction last week from 4.80% APY. Grow Financial also pays 4.75% on a 5-year CD.
LARGE U.S. BANK LEADS 4- AND 5-YEAR CD TERMS
The top nationwide CD rates are typically offered by smaller banks and credit unions. But right now, the top 5-year return comes from a large U.S. Bank. BMO Alto is the online-only arm of banking giant BMO, which operates about 1,000 physical branches and is the 12th-largest U.S. bank by deposits. Though it only pays the top nationwide rate in the 4-year and 5-year terms, BMO Alto also has reasonably competitive rates on CDs ranging from 6 months to 3 years.
CD Rates Are Near Their Highest Level in 20 Years
CD rates briefly touched a historic peak of 6.50% in October 2023, and they have drifted just slightly lower since then. In February of this year, 30 CDs in our daily ranking guaranteed at least 5.50% APY. Now, however, you'll find just nine.
Despite that, looking back over the past 20 years shows that today's CD rates remain exceptional. APYs above 4% still present a great investment opportunity, and it may be worth locking one in now—before the Fed cuts rates.
Note that you don't have to get the absolute highest APY to feel satisfied with your choice. If you find a certificate account with a term length and features you like, it may be wise to grab it now, rather than perhaps regret it later if rates go down and you miss your opportunity.
Jumbo CDs Sometimes Offer a Premium Rate
If you've got a big enough deposit for a jumbo CD, you can also shop our ranking of the best jumbo CDs. But in every term but one right now, you can earn more from the best standard CD. The one term where you can score a slight rate premium with a jumbo CD is the 5-year term, where Grow Financial Federal Credit Union is paying 4.86% vs. the top standard-CD rate of 4.75% APY.
Where Are CD Rates Headed in 2024?
To combat decades-high inflation, the Federal Reserve aggressively hiked the federal funds rate between March 2022 and July 2023, raising the benchmark rate to its highest level in 22 years. That's important to savers because when the fed funds rate rises, banks and credit unions increase the interest rates they're willing to pay on customer deposits.
As a result, this past fall saw historically favorable conditions for CD shoppers and anyone holding cash in a high-yield savings or money market account. Rates on CDs rose to an October-November peak that was the highest we've seen in two decades.
However, the Fed has been in a holding pattern since its last rate hike in July 2023. As was all but certain, the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee announced on June 12 that it was once again maintaining the federal funds rate at its current level. It was the seventh meeting in a row in which the central bank has held its benchmark rate steady.
That's because inflation has been cooling, allowing the Fed to stop raising interest rates and enter a "wait-and-see" mode as it looks for the right timing for a rate cut. It's also expected the Fed will hold rates steady for one more meeting, which will conclude July 31.
But the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released last week provided encouraging evidence that inflation is coming further down. Compared to May's 3.3% annualized inflation reading, June's CPI registered just 3.0%.
As a result, fed funds traders have increased their bets that a first rate cut will come in September. For the July 31 meeting, roughly 90% of traders still expect a rate hold. But by the Sept. 18 meeting announcement, a similar 90% instead predict the Fed will have implemented a 0.25 percentage point decrease, with some traders anticipating even more substantial rate cuts.
While Fed officials will continue watching and waiting for additional data before making any decisions, it's possible this week's stronger confidence in a September rate cut could start pushing CD rates lower. So it's a good time to lock in one of today's stellar CD rates while you can.
DAILY RANKINGS OF THE BEST CDS AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
Best 3-Month CD Rates
Best 6-Month CD Rates
Best 1-Year CD Rates
Best 18-Month CD Rates
Best 2-Year CD Rates
Best 3-Year CD Rates
Best 4-year CD Rates
Best 5-Year CD Rates
Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
Best Money Market Accounts
Note that the "top rates" quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Googlawi has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.
How We Find the Best CD Rates
Every business day, Googlawi tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the CD'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.