High(er)-rate CD deals

[Rosie]

Hi folks, I was thinking it might be helpful to post info about CD deals and rate promotions in one thread. They tend to come & go fairly quickly.

(If there is already such a thread here, I applogize -- let me know & I'll delete this).

I'll start:



PenFed recently announced a 15-month CD (1.51% APY), minimum deposit $1K, with no maximum balance cap.

More details here

 

[2035]

PenFed recently announced a 15-month CD (1.51% APY), minimum deposit $1K, with no maximum balance cap.

More details here

Thanks for the info. I'll take a looksie


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[Another Reader]

Thanks! I just opened one. Looks like the offer might be good until the end of the month.

 

[audreyh1]

This PenFed offer just snuck in there. Thanks for the heads up!

Does anyone get alerts on these things?

 

[Car-Guy]

Industry Bancshares, Inc, affiliated banks (Texas) offers IRA CD's at ~2%. Last time I checked (recently) many of their banks were offering a 1.97 (~2%), 30 mo initial term, no max amount for CD's in an IRA. They "may" still offer no early withdrawal penalties too however, normal IRA distributions taxes would still apply when withdrawn/distributed.

 

[Moneygrubber]

Needham Bank 1.2% for a 1 yr CD 1000$ min, no need to open checking or savings.


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[Another Reader]

The website www.depositaccounts.com is the most comprehensive source of rates I have found. I would have seen the PenFed deal the next time I checked, but deals are so rare these days that I only check about once a week.

CapitalOne360 just raised their one year CD to 1.30 percent. No minimum deposit. I had opened a 14 month Synchrony special at that rate before the recent rate hikes by other institutions. Synchrony is at 1.25 percent for a 12 month CD. Some of the credit unions are higher.

Now if we could just get PenFed to bring back the 3 percent 5 year deal....

 

[Earl E Retyre]

Synchrony Bank - 2.3%, 5 yr cd with 6 mos early withdraw penalty
Nasa Federal Credit Union - 2.3%, 49 mos with 6 mos early withdraw penalty

 

[VFK57]

E-Loan 5 years CD is at 2.45% APY, it is FDIC covered. Ever and Barklays Banks are at 2.25%.

 

[Another Reader]

I see 2.2 percent for 60 months at Synchrony, with 2.25 offered for a minimum deposit of $25,000 once you sign in. I don't see 2.3 percent.

I'd go for the E-loan if it were still at 2.45 percent. Current rate appears to be 2.3 percent. E-loan is supposedly tied to Puerto Rico, but the CD's are FDIC insured. Worst case in a failure is you get your money back and look for another deal. I had no hesitation signing up for the Countrywide and Wachovia CD's when the mortgage mess started. Bank of America and Wells Fargo honored the CD's and paid every penny of interest.

 

[mystang52]

I don't mean this post to be a downer, but for me chasing that last oodle of percentage is not worth the less simplicity in my financial life. Unless the principal is very large, the small differentials translate to actual small dollar amounts.
I generally accept "free money" so the small extra interest is ordinarily worth the keystrokes needed to start the process. But I have a CD ladders with Ally and that keeps my overall interest level reasonably good.
I do the finances in our household, although DW is in the loop where our money is. For her, the simplicity of one bank is worth whatever small interest we might lose. I don't disagree, so we don't go after the small differentials.
YMMV.

 

[audreyh1]

Synchrony Bank - 2.3%, 5 yr cd with 6 mos early withdraw penalty
Nasa Federal Credit Union - 2.3%, 49 mos with 6 mos early withdraw penalty

Synchrony is also offering at 1.25%, 1 yr CD with 90 days withdraw penalty
and a 1.3%, 14 month CD with 180 days withdraw penalty.

 

[Another Reader]

I look at CD's as a growing, laddered portfolio. I don't change banks for existing CD's if the difference in interest rate is small, but I do look for the best deals for new money. I have a hard time committing large amounts of money at a time with these low rates, so I ladder smaller amounts. Might not be the very best practice, but depositing six figures at 1.25 percent for an extended period is not something I can be comfortable with.

 

[travelover]

I'm interested because I plan to sell my home this summer and rent for a year. The thought of $400,000 sitting there earning less than inflation is depressing.

So, thanks for this thread and may it survive as long as needed.

 

[audreyh1]

I don't mean this post to be a downer, but for me chasing that last oodle of percentage is not worth the less simplicity in my financial life. Unless the principal is very large, the small differentials translate to actual small dollar amounts.
I generally accept "free money" so the small extra interest is ordinarily worth the keystrokes needed to start the process. But I have a CD ladders with Ally and that keeps my overall interest level reasonably good.
I do the finances in our household, although DW is in the loop where our money is. For her, the simplicity of one bank is worth whatever small interest we might lose. I don't disagree, so we don't go after the small differentials.
YMMV.

It just so happened that I had not rolled over a PenFed CD that paid out a couple of weeks ago, so this message was really timely.

 

[audreyh1]

I look at CD's as a growing, laddered portfolio. I don't change banks for existing CD's if the difference in interest rate is small, but I do look for the best deals for new money. I have a hard time committing large amounts of money at a time with these low rates, so I ladder smaller amounts. Might not be the very best practice, but depositing six figures at 1.25 percent for an extended period is not something I can be comfortable with.

For a year? Is that an extended period?

 

[Another Reader]

I guess I'm wired to expect reversion to the mean. I can deposit $10k for a year, but not $100k, probably because I unconsciously expect rates to go up. $100k is also a number that I would think of as an "investment" not as "savings." I would be motivated to deposit that amount at Fido or Vanguard...it's hard to get past that early training, when the numbers were smaller!

I also keep six figures in cash or close to cash reserves, because of the rentals. A couple of roofs and a really bad year for tenant turnover can get expensive. Insufficient reserves are a landlord's worst enemy.

 

[Bikechuck]

I don't mean this post to be a downer, but for me chasing that last oodle of percentage is not worth the less simplicity in my financial life. Unless the principal is very large, the small differentials translate to actual small dollar amounts.
I generally accept "free money" so the small extra interest is ordinarily worth the keystrokes needed to start the process. But I have a CD ladders with Ally and that keeps my overall interest level reasonably good.
I do the finances in our household, although DW is in the loop where our money is. For her, the simplicity of one bank is worth whatever small interest we might lose. I don't disagree, so we don't go after the small differentials.
YMMV.

That's kind of where I am too. I had built up a bit too much cash in my brick and mortar bank which was earning close to zero. I am in the process of opening an Ally Bank online savings account and establishing a five year cd ladder with them. The simplicity of keeping everything in one place is appealing and worth trading off a small amount of yield.

 

[Rosie]

When we sold our home last fall, I was looking to set up a CD ladder with some of the proceeds, but I was reluctant to commit much in case rates went up. So my ladder is fairly short-duration.

In October I opened a one-year and a two-year CD at CIT Bank (whose rates were the highest available at that time), but funded each with only 6 months worth of living expenses. I also opened a savings account at CIT that pays 1%, where I parked the bulk of our remaining cash reserves. I figured I would wait about 6 months and open another one-yr and 2-yr CD (not necessarily at CIT), at which point I'd have CDs maturing every October & April w 6 months of living expenses.

The 15-month CD available now at Penfed fits nicely into that schedule. I'll see if it's worth the hassle to set up a CD at yet another institution -- heck, I'm retired, it's not like I'm short on time.

For my 3rd year rung, I managed to get the 3% 3-yr CD at Northwest Federal CU and fund it to the maximum. (That's actually what motivated me to start this thread, I might have missed that offer were it not mentioned in this forum. )

 

[rbmrtn]

This PenFed offer just snuck in there. Thanks for the heads up!

Does anyone get alerts on these things?

This sites blog gets updates on specials. The PenFed deal is there

https://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/

 

[jazz4cash]

The website www.depositaccounts.com is the most comprehensive source of rates I have found. I would have seen the PenFed deal the next time I checked, but deals are so rare these days that I only check about once a week.

I think this thread is a great idea. Navy Federal also has a .5% IRA CD bonus deal running for new money rolled over from another institution. This deal showed up on depositaccounts.com before it was posted to NFCU's website!

 

[Rosie]

The website www.depositaccounts.com is the most comprehensive source of rates I have found.

I agree, it's a great resource.

Make sure to click on the Blog link, that's where notifications of the short-lived deals tend to show up.

 

[Gotadimple]

See also Bauerfinancial. They rate banks and credit unions and post the most attractive rates.

CD Ratewatch: Top CD Rates

 

[audreyh1]

This sites blog gets updates on specials. The PenFed deal is there

https://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/

Thanks - I'll have to check that more often.

I bought a PenFed 15 month CD this morning. I keep one year of expenses in 1-year CDs (or thereabouts). Having part of it mature a couple of months later is fine.

 

[savory]

I recently decided to invest in 5 year CDs. I had been investing in shorter term ones hoping/believing rates would go up.

I finally paid attention to the CD penalty calculators. If I had done that sooner, I would have been ahead as I was losing about 1% per year on my shorter term CD maturity.

So, my current strategy is to buy the higher rate 5 year CD and if/when it makes sense I will sell early, being charged the penalty. Based upon my calculation, this will result in almost the same interest as the 1 or 2 year offers but with the upside of the long range (5 yr) CD.

This is the calculator I am using https://www.depositaccounts.com/tools/ewp-calculator.aspx