Just a quick note to let you know that Pentagon Federal Credit Union has raised their CD rates (see CD rates from last summer). Their 3, 5 and 7 year CDs have APYs of 5.5%, 5.75% and 6.0%. The early withdrawal penalties for the 3 and 5 year CDs are 6 months of interest, whereas there is a one year penalty on the 7 year CDs. We’re currently sitting on some 5 year PenFed CDs @ 5.25%. We bought these two years ago when they were a screaming hot deal, and a quick and dirty calculation suggests that it’s not worth breaking these to go after the extra quarter point over the remaining three years… It looks like the six month penalty would more than offset any extra earnings. (Thanks to John Howard for the tip.)