Story by kpulliam@businessinsider.com (Kit Pulliam)
- Two credit unions are offering CDs with at least 9% APY, which is much higher than normal.
- The Fed is expected to cut rates soon, so opening a CD can help you lock in a great rate.
- Both credit unions are local, so not everyone will be able to open a CD with them.
The Fed is predicted to drop rates soon, which means CD rates will probably go down. Opening a CD could be a great way to lock in an incredible rate for longer than you'd be able to keep it otherwise. But you'll need to meet some strict requirements in order to successfully open one.
How to open a CD with 9% APY
Whether you open a CD with California Coast Credit Union or Express Credit Union will largely depend on where you live. Since both of these financial institutions are credit unions, you'll need to be eligible for membership to open any accounts with them.
For California Coast Credit Union, you'll need to live or work in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Imperial, San Bernardino, or Riverside counties if you want to become a member. Express Credit Union's requirements are broader; as long as you live, work, or worship in Washington state, you'll be able to become a member. You'll also be able to become a member of Express Credit Union if an immediate family member is already a member of that credit union.
To become members of both credit unions, you'll need to open a savings account with them and keep at least $5 in it.
California Coast Credit Union offers the California Coast Credit Union Celebration Certificate, which lasts for five months and gives 9.50% APY. You'll have to put at least $500 but no more than $3,000 of new money into the account, which they define as money that isn't currently in a California Coast Credit Union account. You can only open one of these CDs per Social Security number.
In order to earn the high APY, you'll need to meet one of the following options:
- Have an active checking account with California Coast Credit Union that has eStatements on (In this case, "active" means that the account has at least one transaction a month, whether that transaction is from direct deposit, checks, ATM transactions, debit card use, bill pay, or other methods)
- Have a new money market account with a minimum balance of $5,000
- Have a new regular certificate with a minimum balance of $5,000
- Have a new IRA certificate with a minimum balance of $5,000
- Have a new, funded consumer loan that isn't a share secured loan, certificate secured loan, or credit card
The Express Credit Union 90th anniversary 1-year CD special gives a slightly lower rate at 9.00%, but it has a longer term length and is easier to open. You can only open this account on the 9th of every month, and you'll need to put at least $200 but no more than $5,000 in the account. You'll also need new money for this account, but Express Credit Union counts money that's been in an account for less than two months as new money. The last day to open this account is December 9th; it won't be available past December.
Featured Nationally Available CD Rates
Account Name APY (Annual Percentage Yield) Accurate as of 8/5/2024 Minimum Account Opening Balance
USALLIANCE FINANCIAL 1 Year Online CD 5.20% $500
Sterling Federal Bank 3 Month CD 5.10% $1
SkyOne Federal Credit Union 1 Year No Penalty CD 4.75% $1
Discover 18 Month CD 4.40% $2,500
Bread Savings 2 Year High-Yield CD 4.60% $1,500
Quontic 5 Year CD 4.30% $500
Why you might open a CD now
If you're interested in the top CD rates, it might be a good idea to open them soon. The next Fed meeting is in September, and it's predicted that it will drop its rates. When the Fed drops its rates, banks and credit unions usually follow suit. This means that rates for CDs and savings accounts will probably go down more in the next couple of months.
Opening a CD sooner rather than later means that you'll be locking in a great rate that will stay the same even after the Fed lowers its rates. CDs have a fixed interest rate, which means that their interest rates don't change until their term length is over. For example, if you open the Express Credit Union 90th anniversary 1-year CD special, you'll be locked into that rate for a full year — long after the Fed has dropped its rates.
This also means that there's a chance these CDs won't exist for long. The Express Credit Union 90th anniversary 1-year CD special is stated on Express's website to be available until this December, but we don't know how long the California Coast Credit Union Celebration Certificate will still be available.
Keep in mind that there are also other alternatives to CDs that could be more suitable for your needs. Once you've put money in a CD, you won't be able to take it out again until the term length is up without having to pay penalties. If you think there's a good chance you'll need that money before the term length is up, you'll probably want to avoid a CD. And you might be able to earn better returns by investing, although that comes with more risk. If you're OK with some risk, an online brokerage account might be a better option than solely opening bank CDs.
Other banks with high rates
If you don't live in California or Washington state, you won't be able to earn rates as high as these. But you'll still be able to open CDs with 5% interest or more, depending on where you go.
We've selected some of the top offers from banks and credit unions that anyone can join to consider if you can't open a CD with either of these banks.
Account Name APY Minimum Opening Balance
EagleBank 12 Month CD 5.40% $1,000
Newtek Bank 6 Month CD 5.35% $2,500
Climate First Bank 6 Month No Penalty CD 5.34% $500
Dow Credit Union 3 Month Simple CD 5.30% $500
Bask Bank 9 Month CD 5.30% $1,000
NBKC 7 Month CD 5.25% $1,000
CIBC Agility 1 Year CD 5.21% $1,000
Mission Valley Bank 3 Month No Penalty CD 5.18% $1
Blue Federal Credit Union 9 Month No Penalty CD 5.10% $1
USALLIANCE Financial 2 Year Certificate 5.00% $500
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