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Key Takeaways
- After expiring at the end of last year, Nuvision Credit Union’s nation-leading 5.50% certificate returned to the market earlier this month. The 8-month CD allows deposits up to $5,000.
- If you want to make a bigger deposit or lock in for a different term, you can choose from 13 other CDs that pay at least 4.60%. That includes a 9-month offer from Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union at 4.85%.
- To stretch your rate longer, the leading 1-year and 18-month CDs will let you lock in 4.50% until 2026. Those offers are available from several institutions.
- Credit Human is the rate leader for 2-year and 3-year CDs, offering up to 4.40%, and Transportation Federal Credit Union pays the best long-term rates, letting you lock in 4.40% for 5 years.
- The Fed’s December rate cut has triggered many banks and credit unions to reduce rates in 2025. So if you’re shopping today’s best CDs, it’s wise to lock in as soon as you can.
Below you’ll find featured rates available from our partners, followed by details from our ranking of the best CDs available nationwide.
Nation-Leading 5.50% Offer Locks In APY Until Fall
Two weeks ago, we announced the end of the 5%-plus era for CD rates. From November 2022 through the end of 2024, you’d continuously been able to earn at least 5% with the top nationwide CD. Several periods in that stretch offered dozens of 5%-or-better CDs—and rates even reached above 6% in late 2023.
But with the Federal Reserve now three cuts into a rate-reduction phase—having lowered the federal funds rate by a cumulative percentage point across September, November, and December meetings—the best CD rates have been drifting lower. That included a Dec. 31 sunset date for what had been the national CD rate leader: a 5.50% offer from Nuvision Credit Union.
A week after that offer disappeared, Nuvision surprised us by putting its promotional 8-month certificate back on the market. Stating a fresh expiration date of Jan. 31, the CD retains its restriction of only allowing deposits up to $5,000.
In runner-up position is Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union. Its 4.85% rate lock is available for a 9-month term, and it allows much larger deposits. Beyond that, the best 1-year certificates, available from a number of institutions, guarantee a 4.50% rate that’s yours to keep until next January.
Consider Mid- to Long-Term CDs to Secure Your Rate Further Down the Road
Among CDs that will lock your return into later 2026 or as far as 2027, two good options are 4.50% offers from Credit Human for 12–17 months or XCEL Federal Credit Union for 18 months. Meanwhile, the top APY on a 2-year certificate is also from Credit Human. With its take-your-pick term of 18–23 months, its 4.40% rate can be guaranteed as far as December 2026. Or choose its 24–35 month CD paying a just slightly lower 4.35% APY.
If you want an even longer rate lock, you’re in luck, as the leading 4- to 5-year rates rose earlier this month. Transportation Federal Credit Union leads both of these terms, letting you enjoy a promised 4.35% for 4 years or 4.40% for 5 years.
Long-term CDs are likely smart right now, given the possibility of continued Fed rate cuts. The central bank has so far lowered the federal funds rate by a full percentage point, and 2025 could bring another cut or two. While any interest-rate reductions from the Fed will push bank APYs lower, a CD rate you secure now will be yours to enjoy until it matures.
Today’s Best CDs Still Pay Historically High Returns
It’s true that CD rates are no longer at their peak. But despite the pullback, the best CDs still offer a stellar return. October 2023 saw the best CD rates push above 6%, while the leading rate is currently down to 5.50%. Compare that to early 2022, before the Federal Reserve embarked on its fast-and-furious rate-hike campaign. The most you could earn from the very best CDs in the country ranged from just 0.50% to 1.70% APY, depending on the term.
Best Jumbo CDs Out-Pay Standard CDs in Just One Term
Jumbo CDs require much larger deposits, but they don’t always offer higher rates. Right now, the best jumbo CDs lead in just one of the eight terms we track. Among 1-year CDs, you can earn a higher 4.75% with a jumbo certificate from Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, compared to 4.50% for the best 1-year regular CD. But in the other seven terms, the highest jumbo rate is at or below the best standard rate.
Where Are CD Rates Headed in 2025?
Last month, the Federal Reserve announced a third cut in as many meetings to the federal funds rate, reducing it by another 0.25 percentage points. That follows a bolder 0.50-point decrease in September and a quarter-point reduction in November.
All of this represents a pivot from the Fed’s historic 2022-2023 rate-hike campaign, in which the committee aggressively raised interest rates to combat decades-high inflation. At its 2023 peak, the federal funds rate climbed to its highest level since 2001—and remained there for 14 months.
Now that inflation has cooled—and if the trend continues—it’s expected the Fed will continue to lower interest rates. According to the central bank’s “dot plot” forecast, Fed committee members predict they will reduce interest rates another 0.50 percentage points in 2025, and then another half-point in 2026.
Fed rate moves are significant to savers, as reductions to the fed funds rate push down what banks and credit unions are willing to pay consumers for their deposits. As a result, it currently seems likely that CD rates, as well as savings account rates, are in for a slow and gradual decline over the next two years.
Time will tell what exactly happens to the federal funds rate in 2025 and 2026. But with three Fed rate cuts already in the books, the CD rates available now are probably the best you’ll see for some time. That makes now a smart time to lock in the best rate that suits your financial timeline.
Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts
Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia 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, Investopedia 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), the CD’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000, and any specified maximum deposit cannot be under $5,000.
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.