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- PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS
- CD NEWS
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- For the first time since November, you can earn a remarkable 6.00% on a nationwide CD. Nuvision Credit Union unveiled the offer today, on a 10-month term. But it's capped at a maximum deposit of $5,000.
- That makes a runner-up out of former national leader TotalDirectBank. Its 5.51% rate is available for either a 3-month or 6-month term.
- Want a longer rate lock? You could consider Credit Human's 2-year offer of 5.25%, guaranteeing your rate until 2026. Or you could choose one of three institutions paying 5.00% on 3-year CDs.
- To secure your return as long as 2028 or 2029, the best 4-year and 5-year CDs are paying in the upper-4% range—including BMO Alto's nation-leading 5-year CD paying 4.80%.
- Today's best CD rates are slightly below last fall's historic peak, having softened when it seemed the Fed would cut rates. But it could be months still before the Fed makes a move.
Below you'll find featured rates available from our partners, followed by details from our ranking of the best CDs available nationwide.
Lock In 5.35% to 6.00%—On Terms of 3 to 13 Months
After two weeks of the top nationwide rate holding at 5.51%, a new national leader significantly raised the bar today. Nuvision Credit Union is paying an eye-popping 6.00% APY on a 10-month certificate. It's the first nationwide certificate paying at least 6.00% since November. However, Nuvision's promotional rate is only available on deposits up to $5,000.
TotalDirectBank's 5.51% rate on a 3-month or 6-month term is now the runner-up, with the longer duration of this leading rate securing your return beyond Thanksgiving. But its limitation goes the other way—it requires a hefty $25,000 minimum deposit.
Can't commit that much? Four runner-up CDs offer 5.50% with required minimums ranging from $5 to $2,500. And more than 20 CDs are paying at least 5.35%, some of which have terms long enough to lock your rate well into 2025. The longest of these is a 5.36% offer for 13 months from CIBC Agility. That certificate will guarantee your rate until the 4th of July next year.
Longer CDs Will Guarantee Your Rate Until Fall 2025 or Beyond
Choosing a CD term of two years or longer is also smart, since it's possible U.S. interest rates could enter a declining period over the next 2-3 years. To lock in a rate that will last far into the future, you can choose Credit Human's pick-your-term offer of 5.25%. Available for 18 to 23 months, it could stretch your rate guarantee until spring 2026.
The longest term offering a rate of at least 5.00% is 3 years, letting you secure your rate promise until 2027. Or you can opt to secure a rate in the high-4% range for as far as 4 or 5 years down the road.
LARGE U.S. BANK IS A CD RATE LEADER
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 5-year term, BMO Alto also has reasonably competitive rates on CDs ranging from 6 months to 4 years.
CD Rates Are Still Near 20-Year Highs
CD rates have inched lower since they climbed to a historic peak of 6.50% in October. At the start of February, the number of CDs in our daily ranking that paid at least 5.50% APY was 30. Today that count sits at six.
But don't lose sight of how much certificates of deposit (CDs) still pay relative to the past 20 years. Locking in a yield in the 4% to 5% range for a year or more down the road is still a great earning opportunity.
Also keep in mind that snagging the absolute highest APY isn't the only way to win with today's CDs. Since CD rates could fall quite substantially in 2024 and 2025, locking in a long-term rate now—before rates move lower—can be a smart move.
OTHER BIG BANKS THAT PAY ATTRACTIVE RATES
If you only want to open a CD at a big-name bank, be sure to do your homework, as the CDs at the bank where you have your checking account may pay peanuts. Among the 30 largest U.S. banks, however, there are a handful that pay a reasonably competitive rate. You can find the top options in our list of better-than-average big bank CDs.
Jumbo CDs Offer a Rate Bump in Some Terms
Two leading jumbo CDs let you earn even more than you can with the best standard CDs in their term. State Department Federal Credit Union offers 5.41% APY for 15 months. To really stretch your rate lock, Grow Financial Federal Credit Union unveiled a new 5-year rate yesterday of 4.86% APY.
Beware that the best jumbo CD rates don't always pay more than standard certificates. Often, you can do just as well—or better—with a standard CD. That's the case right now in six of the eight terms below, so it's always wise to shop both certificate types before making a final decision.
Where Will CD Rates Go 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, as well as for 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.
But since its last rate hike in July, the Fed has been in a holding pattern. As was almost universally expected, the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee announced on May 1 that it is maintaining the federal funds rate at its current level. It was the sixth 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. Yet, further inflation progress has been elusive. That puts the central bank in wait-and-see mode as it looks for evidence that inflation is falling enough to justify lowering the federal funds rate.
The Fed's written statement on May 1 left out discussion of projected rate cuts. When asked about this during his press conference following release of the statement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell responded that the stalled progress against inflation means it will take longer than originally expected to lower the fed funds rate.
"My colleagues and I today said that we didn't see progress in the first quarter," Powell said. "And I've said that it appears then that it's going to take longer for us to reach that point of confidence. So I don't know how long it will take. When we get that confidence, then rate cuts will be in scope."
Several Fed board members have spoken publicly since the last meeting, conveying that although they believe inflation will continue to come down, it's not on a quick path. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said he expects the inflation fight to extend into 2025, while Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said that due to the stalled progress against inflation, she's unlikely at next month's meeting to stick with her projection of three rate cuts in 2024.
"I think it's too soon to tell what path inflation is on," Mester said.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller recently joined the chorus, saying: "I need to see several more months of good inflation data before I would be comfortable supporting an easing in the stance of monetary policy."
It therefore seems likely the fed funds rate will stay where it is for a number of months—with great uncertainty on when exactly the Fed will first cut rates. According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, which shows the real-time bets of fed funds traders, more than 60% are predicting a first rate cut will be announced in September.
New monthly inflation data was reported Friday, with the eagerly awaited Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) coming in flat at 2.7%. That both matches the previous month and economists' forecasts. While downward movement is what's ultimately needed, it was seen as a positive sign that the PCE reading did not rise.
In the meantime, Fed officials are expected to continue watching and waiting for additional data before making any decisions. This means CD rates are generally expected to continue their plateau. When at some point the Fed signals it's ready to start cutting rates, that will begin driving CD yields down more quickly. But that could be months away.
The central bank will hold five more rate-setting meetings in 2024, with the next one scheduled to conclude June 12.
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.