With online savings accounts interest rates falling lower by the minute, I decided to put together a list of the best certificate of deposit (CD) rates. Over the past several months, I've maintained a list of the best CD rates. While that worked fine for awhile, the frequent rates changes made it challenging to maintain. I've thus decided to replace it with the following automated rate table from MoneyRates. You can thus now search for CD rates at more banks, and across a wider range of maturities. Moreover, the rates are guaranteed to be current. Simply select the relevant account type, deposit amount, and term and then click Compare Rates.
Compare the best bank rates
Best CD Rates (Updated!)
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FacebookUsing the rate comparison tool above will allow you to compare many more accounts side by side, but I’ll also occasionally update the list below. Since interest rates at historical lows, I’ve focused my efforts here on shorter-term CDs — no sense in locking up your principal for too long when rates have nowhere to go but up!
What follows is a list of the best CD rates at ten well-known, nationally-available banks. Rates are for 12 months CDs unless otherwise indicated. I’ve sorted the list based on APY, and have also indicated the minimum deposit to open a CD.
Best CD Rates (12 Month Term)
(All CD rates current as of 10/30/09)
| Bank | CD Rate | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Everbank | 1.81% | $1,500 |
| ING Direct | 2.10% | $1 |
| Ally Bank effective 1/15/2010 | 1.74% | $1 |
| DollarSavingsDirect | 2.25%* | $1,000 |
| Bank of Internet | 2.02% | $1,000 |
| Discover Bank | 2.00% | $2,500 |
| HSBC Direct | 1.85% | $1 |
| Citibank | 1.50% | $500 |
| E*Trade Bank | 0.45% | $1,000 |
*Rate applies to sixteen month CDs.
For the sake of comparison, check out my list of the best online savings account interest rates. Right now, there’s not a whole lot of difference. However, the CD rates listed here can be locked in such that they won’t drop over the next year. With savings accounts, things may well get worse before they get better.
Finally, if you’re looking for a higher yield and don’t mind taking on some additional risk, you might want to check out Lending Club. It’s not FDIC-insured, but annual returns have been averaging 9.61% — far better than the best CD rates on the market. It’s free to open an account, and you can get started with as little as $25.
Published on July 15th, 2009 - One Comment
Filed under: Banking, Saving & Investing
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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July 15th, 2009 at 11:38 am
I didn’t look to see if one would be better over the other, but wouldn’t it make more sense to invest in the savings installment-type of savings account, such as what Wilshire Bank offers? I know there’s always the possibility of rates getting cut, but if you go with one year, like you mentioned in your post, the risk is low.
Just a thought….