Top CD rates today: March 20, 2025 | Top APY remains 4.50% after Fed rate decision
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Key takeaways
- The current leading CD rate across terms is 4.50 percent APY, offered for a three-month term.
- Highest CD rates on some terms are around triple the national averages.
- The Federal Reserve held rates steady at its March meeting, and top CDs continue to earn the best returns in over a decade, outside the current rate cycle.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve chose to hold its benchmark rate at a range of 4.25-5 percent. This marks the second consecutive meeting in which officials left rates unchanged, after cutting rates at their previous three meetings.
In remarks following the rate-setting meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said inflation “remains somewhat elevated” and cited tariffs as a possible reason. “Inflation has started to move up now, we think partly in response to tariffs,” he said. “There may be a delay in further progress over the course of this year.”
What does the Fed’s latest decision mean for certificates of deposit (CDs)? Yields on competitive CDs could remain stable as they tend to move in lockstep with the federal funds rate. In monitoring top CD annual percentage yields (APYs) for this page, Bankrate has seen only a handful of slight decreases since the Fed started holding rates steady in January.
Bankrate monitors the top and average rates every weekday, and you’ll find today’s top CD rates in the table below.
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 | Bask Bank | 4.50% | 1.30% | $55 |
| 6-month | Bread Savings | 4.50% | 1.77% | $111 |
| 9-month | Bask Bank | 4.40% | N/A | $164 |
| 1-year | Bask Bank | 4.40% | 1.86% | $220 |
| 18-month | TAB Bank | 4.16% | 2.11% | $315 |
| 2-year | Popular Direct | 4.15% | 1.62% | $424 |
| 3-year | America First Credit Union | 4.15% | 1.54% | $649 |
| 4-year | America First Credit Union | 4.20% | 1.69% | $894 |
| 5-year | SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union | 4.25% | 1.54% | $1,157 |
Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of March 20, 2025. 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.
Where to find the highest-paying CDs
As seen in our table above, all of the top-paying CDs are available from banks and credit unions that operate mostly or entirely online. Online-only financial institutions are known for offering higher yields than big brick-and-mortar banks. Common reasons for this are:
- Relatively new online-only banks may pay highly competitive yields as a way to attract customers. (Conversely, established brick-and-mortar banks that don’t have a strong need for new deposits generally don’t offer high APYs.)
- Financial institutions operating entirely online don’t bear the cost of maintaining branches, and some may pass along the savings to customers through higher yields.
Whether or not they maintain branches, credit unions are commonly a source of high yields. This is because they’re not-for-profit institutions, so profits are distributed to members through dividends.
Recent trends in top CD rates
Competitive CD APYs trended downward throughout 2024 and are decreasing so far in 2025. For example, the highest one-year CD APY at the start of January 2024 was 5.66 percent, whereas it was 4.40 percent on March 20, 2025. Among the popular terms Bankrate monitors for this page, all rates saw steeper declines in the second half of 2024, as compared to the first half.
CD glossary
Here are some terms you’ll likely come across when choosing a CD.
- Add-on CD: An add-on CD 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.