Top CD rates today: December 30, 2024 | These banks offer up to 4.65% APY
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Key takeaways
- The highest CD rate across terms is 4.65 percent APY, offered on a three-month term.
- National averages are significantly lower than top rates, so it pays to shop around.
- After climbing for around two years, high-yield CD APYs have been declining the past few months in response to Federal Reserve rate cuts. However, competitive CDs continue to earn around triple the national average rates.
December has proven to be a quiet month when it comes to changes in competitive certificate of deposit (CD) rates. Among banks monitored by Bankrate for this daily page, we’ve only seen three decreases over the month — while there actually have been a handful of upticks in top rates, thanks to a couple of banks increasing their annual percentage yields (APYs) ever so slightly.
While the highest APY available of 4.65 percent is on a short term of just three months, you can lock in a similar enough APY of 4.52 percent for a full year. This could benefit you if going rates on new CDs continue to decline in 2025.
Check out Bankrate’s table below for the highest APY on CD terms from three months to five years, as well as how much $5,000 would earn for each term.
Today's CD rates by term
| CD term | Institution offering top APY | Highest APY | National average APY | Estimated earnings on $5,000 with top APY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-month | Popular Direct | 4.65% | 1.29% | $57 |
| 6-month | Popular Direct | 4.61% | 1.69% | $114 |
| 9-month | America First Credit Union | 4.50% | N/A | $168 |
| 1-year | TAB Bank | 4.52% | 1.76% | $226 |
| 18-month | Popular Direct | 4.30% | 1.83% | $326 |
| 2-year | Popular Direct | 4.25% | 1.51% | $434 |
| 3-year | Popular Direct | 4.25% | 1.43% | $665 |
| 4-year | America First Credit Union | 4.20% | 1.46% | $894 |
| 5-year | America First Credit Union | 4.25% | 1.43% | $1,157 |
Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of December 30, 2024. APYs for some products may vary by region.
N/A: Not available; Bankrate doesn’t track national averages for the 9-month CD term due to limited available data. Estimated earnings are based on the highest APYs and assume interest is compounded annually.
How much could $10,000 earn you in a one-year CD?
If you’re comfortable locking $10,000 into a one-year CD right now, and the CD earns 4.50 percent APY, it would earn around $450 in interest by the time it matures. Bankrate’s CD calculator can help you determine how much a CD will be worth at the end of its term. Just input the CD’s APY, the term length and the amount of your opening deposit.
What the current rate environment means for CDs
Recent federal funds rate changes: The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate three times in recent months, and the federal funds rate currently stands at a target range of 4.25-4.5 percent. Prior to these rate cuts, the Fed had gradually raised rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023, and rates stood at a 23-year high leading up to the September cut.
What this means for deposit accounts such as CDs: Yields on competitive savings accounts and CDs tend to move in lockstep with the Fed’s interest rate moves. As such, many banks increase their yields when the Fed raises rates, and they lower yields when the federal funds rate drops. The Fed’s recent December rate cut could spur further decreases in CD APYs.
Prior to the September 2024 rate cut, the Fed had held rates steady since July 2023. Meanwhile, top CD APYs peaked in late 2023 and have since been decreasing gradually, as illustrated below.
CD glossary
Here are some terms you’ll likely come across when choosing a CD.
- Add-on CD: A CD that enables you to make additional deposits after your initial investment. This feature affords more flexibility than traditional CDs, which only allow one deposit at the beginning of the term.
- Annual percentage yield (APY): A percentage that indicates how much interest a CD earns in one year, which takes into account the effect of compounding.
- Brokered CD: A type of CD issued by a bank but sold through a brokerage firm or other financial institution.
- CD ladder: An investment strategy that involves purchasing multiple CDs with varying maturity dates to provide liquidity and take advantage of higher rates.
- Early withdrawal penalty: A fee charged if funds are withdrawn from a CD before the maturity date. Penalties often range anywhere from 90 days to 365 days’ worth of interest.
- Grace period: A specific time after the maturity date during which an account holder can make changes to the CD without penalties. A grace period typically ranges from five to 14 days.
- IRA CD: A CD that’s held within an individual retirement account.
- Minimum opening deposit: The lowest amount of money required to open a CD account, which can vary by institution. Some institutions don’t have a minimum deposit requirement.
- No-penalty CD: A type of CD that allows you to withdraw your money without facing a penalty while providing a fixed APY.
- Promotional CD: Also known as a bonus or special CD, it’s a CD with an above average APY. These may be offered by banks and credit unions as a way to obtain new customers.
- Jumbo CD: A CD that has a high minimum balance requirement, typically $100,000, sometimes as low as $95,000. This type of CD tends to offer a higher interest rate than regular CDs with the same term.
- Bump-up CD: Also known as a “raise-your-rate CD,” a bump-up CD provides savers with the option to increase the CD’s APY without having to change its term. Generally, only one rate increase is allowed during its term.