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This Year’s CD Deals We Can Be Thankful For

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I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy the feast and the company of your family and friends. Thanks for all of your support this year.

It’s sort of my blog tradition for Thanksgiving to look back at some of the bank deals this year that we can be thankful for.

First, we can be thankful for another year of rising interest rates. The Fed has now raised the federal funds rate eight times, and it looks very likely we’ll see a ninth rate hike in December. We now have internet banks offering non-promotional savings account rates as high as 2.35% APY. Last year at Thanksgiving, the highest APY was only 1.55%.

Just like previous years, the best CD deals this year have come from credit unions. First, let’s start with the ones that are still active as of 11/22/2018.

Andrews Federal Credit Union has been offering an exceptional 9-month CD since July. With a rate of 2.75% APY, it’s still the rate leader for nationally available CDs with terms under one year and with similar minimum deposit requirements. On Black Friday, an even better CD special is scheduled to be available at Andrews Federal. As I described yesterday, this Black Friday special will have an 8-month term and a 2.86% APY.

For a larger minimum deposit ($50k), Advancial Credit Union, has some exceptional short-term CD rates. These CD terms include a 6-month (2.78% APY), 12-month (3.01% APY) and an 18-month (3.15% APY). This is another easy-membership-requirement credit union as described in my CD and credit union review.

We are finally starting to see a few 4% CDs, but the nationally available ones are still not lasting long. One that is still available is the 5-year CD at Connexus Credit Union. It has a 4.00% APY with a $5k minimum deposit. The early withdrawal penalty is 365 days of interest. Please see my CD and credit union review for more details.

Occasionally, a credit union will offer an unbelievable CD rate special, but there’s typically a catch. That catch is a relatively small maximum deposit. Great Lakes Credit Union is currently offering this type of CD special. It’s a 7-month term CD with a 7.00% APY. Maximum deposit is $7k. Please refer to my deal and credit union review for more details.

Now let’s review the 2018 hot deals that have ended.

Not all CD specials with an exceptional rate have small maximum deposits. One example this year was the 7-month CD special at Keesler Federal Credit Union. This had the exceptional rate of 5.00% APY with no stated maximum deposit. These hot deals never last long. This one ended just a few days after I reviewed the deal.

It wasn’t as exceptional as the Keesler deal, but the 15-month CD special at NASA Federal Credit Union was still pretty hot when it was offered in September. The 15-month CD special had a 3.25% APY which would still be a rate leading CD if it were offered today. The special lasted a month, ending on October 1st.

One of the first 4% CDs that we saw this year was the 64-month CD special at Sharonview Federal Credit Union. This special had a 4.00% APY with a maximum deposit of $250k with new money. The special began on March 1st and ended on March 9th, only about a week after my CD and credit union review.

Sometimes a credit union will offer exceptional rates on only IRA CDs. That was a case this year at Achieva Credit Union with its 5-year IRA CDs that had APYs that ranged from 4.00% ($500 minimum) to 4.20% ($75k minimum). This deal lasted for a few months during the summer and early fall, ending on October 1st.

We have been seeing more 4% CDs in the last month. One that came and went quickly was the 4-year CD special at Garden Savings Federal Credit Union. This had a 4.08% APY with no stated balance cap and an early withdrawal penalty of only 180 days of interest. This special CD lasted just for a few days early this month.

Lastly, we shouldn’t forget the Ally Payback Promotion which will allow customers to earn up to an additional $1,000 on top of Ally Bank’s standard interest rates. The promotion details weren’t the easiest to understand, but it did allow for existing customers to participate. I was worried that Ally Bank may let its accounts become uncompetitive during the promotion, but they have continued to raise rates. The latest rate hike was a 5-bps rate increase on the 11-month No Penalty CD which now has rates up to 2.25% APY for $25k+ deposits.

With rates continuing to be on the rise, hopefully we’ll soon see more 4% CDs, and hopefully, we’ll see them at both internet banks and credit unions in which anyone can join. I’m thankful that more credit unions have expanded their fields of membership. You can see these in our big list of credit unions anyone can join.

What deposit account deals were you thankful for this year?

Related Pages: 1-year CD rates, 5-year CD rates, nationwide deals
Comments
klink
  |     |   Comment #1
Thanks Ken for all you do and too you and yours have a safe holiday season.
Robb
  |     |   Comment #2
Thanks Ken and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your team!!
Duck
  |     |   Comment #3
Happy Thanks Giving to all and to you Ken guess mine were latest CD is Nasa had it come just at the right time an shortest for yield was Ally bonus no penalty goin to prep my turkey enjoy the day all
RichReg
  |     |   Comment #4
Ken, ..thanks for giving us all a place to come together to find and share the best deals for our money.
And have a great Turkey day!
slimjimmy51
  |     |   Comment #5
Thank you Ken for all you do for the average investor. Your hard work pays off for us all. Have a wonderful Holiday.
Ricochet
  |     |   Comment #6
Wish you the pleasant surroundings and the comfort of sharing the day with family and loved ones.
For the work you do to help DA save safely, Would save you a place at our family table as "Uncle Ken"
Jennifer
  |     |   Comment #7
I am especially thankful for this blog! It is very important to me and has helped me gain thousands of dollars in interest that I would have never known otherwise. I simply adore it.
scottj
  |     |   Comment #8
As a long time reader I'm thankful for this Blog, I retired 10 years ago at 47 and this site has been a great help at getting me the most out of my money. So a big thanks to Ken and all the valuable contributors here! As for deals this year I think my best was HarborOne 14 Month 2.75% I did last February. And also thankful for another 2 years to go on Penfed's 5% CD, I think that has to go down as the number deal ever found here.
snookums
  |     |   Comment #10
when did u get a 5% penfed cd?
AnnO
  |     |   Comment #11
Looks like it was a 10-year CD offered back in 2010. https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=61341
proper credit
  |     |   Comment #16
Select PenFed Members Can Reserve CDs with Yields from 3.50% to 5.00%
POSTED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010 BY Ken Tumin
snookums
  |     |   Comment #18
oh, it was only for select penfed members?
scottj
  |     |   Comment #20
It did say for select members but anyone was able to do it, I think I got credit for being the first to figure that out and post it. Dang almost 9 years ago, time sure fly's

https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/pentagon-fcu/offers/#p14751
snookums
  |     |   Comment #21
wow i wish i would have known about it that is an amazing deal
lou
  |     |   Comment #42
As someone who also took advantage of that deal, I can vouch that scottj was the one who figured out how Penfed members who didn't initially qualify could purchase those CDs.
DOA
  |     |   Comment #14
That 5% Penfed CD is definitely a good one, but a couple of others to note to give Ken thanks for informing us on.

A 10 year Capital One Direct CD issued in 12/2008 at 5.7% APY. Unfortunately it reaches maturity next month.

This one may be hard to top.
Those IBonds offered back in March of 2001 with a fixed rate of 3.4%. As of today, those bonds are currently earning a compiled rate of 5.66%!
lr5558
  |     |   Comment #28
I am going to miss Penfed when my cd's mature next month. The employees are wonderful. Unfortunately the EWP make anything they offer next month impossible.
OzarkLady
  |     |   Comment #39
Exactly, if it hadn't of been for this site I would never have known about it and it was the best deal I've every gotten.
Blade
  |     |   Comment #9
I check this site daily and appreciate the info provided - thank you and Happy Thanksgiving! Offer wise... I'm currently most thankful for the 2.5% savings account I opened at East Boston Savings Bank which I learned about on this site. It was a hassle to open but worth it in the long run. I'm hoping 2019 brings all of us multiple 4%+ CD offers at banks with easy online enrollments!
evol
  |     |   Comment #12
Thank You Ken. I am Thankful for your blog.
Amos
  |     |   Comment #13
Many thanks to Ken, and the other helpful contributors here. As for me, I am thankful for the Sharonview and Achieva deals that came along, which I was able to take advantage of. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
QED
  |     |   Comment #15
Happy Thanksgiving, Ken, to you and your family. Enjoy!! But down to business:

You mentioned in your writeup the ongoing Connexus "four for five" deal. After doing Garden I very nearly went in; was really close. Then I read the Connexus comments here from earlier this year. After that, I still have my money and Connexus does not have my money. Financial institutions need to learn that it is OUR money, at the very least it is our money upon maturity of the CD for goodness sake!

Comments here raised the possibility Connexus might be unaware of this. And if there is one thing, above all, I need upon maturity of my certificate it is prompt availability of MY money. This with no doubts, hassles, arguments, or hesitations whatsoever. Period. Full stop.

So while the Connexus deal might appear superficially juicy at 4%, like the juice from an undercooked turkey the Connexus juice might contain undesired pathogens.  Perhaps this in part explains why the deal has survived while other 4% CD deals disappear so quickly.
lou
  |     |   Comment #43
QED, I suppose I could look at the comments to which your referred, but are you suggesting people due to no fault of their own didn't get their money back after their CDs matured,
QED
  |     |   Comment #45
Everyone got their money back, Lou. But not without, in some instances, severe hassle and tribulation . . . . far outside anything either you or I would consider to be the norm. And, yes, you do need to read the comments for yourself . . . from May of this year.

I spoke with a Connexus rep and brought this up. The guy was nice as could be. But he was totally unaware of DA.com, no less the reports here. He also was not even in Wisconsin!! It appears to me Connexus is a credit union with visions of grandeur. The leaders, to my way of thinking, envision a far flung financial empire with them at the center of importance. But they are out of touch with their members and out of touch with things being written about them, the way they do business, and the way members are treated.

You know, it's weird. I'm confident Garden is a much smaller, far less sophisticated operation. Yet when speaking with the people at Garden I sensed a member focus, a realization that we (members) are of primary importance to Garden's success. It was just the opposite at Connexus. It's difficult properly to explain this. I'm totally comfortable with my money on deposit at Garden. I was not at all comfortable with Connexus, a CU too detached from reality in my view, detached to the point of being able to consider withholding a member's funds when his CD matured.
jjflyman
  |     |   Comment #17
Thanks for this site Ken,
I check in here several times a day to keep up with the deals
SMT1
  |     |   Comment #19
Thank you, Ken, for this awesome site for those looking for safe Government Insured investments. Thru your hard work, I was able to secure great deals at Sharonview, Keesler, Achieva, Nasa, Ally, Garden Savings and Freedom (3.56%@30 months). I was going to pass on the Connexus 4% deal, but with recent Stock Market action etc., I may go for it before it potentially disappears. Have a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
gregk
  |     |   Comment #27
I've had the same impulses in regards to the Connexus offer, - allured by it at first (a 4% CD after so many years when 3% has been the gold standard), but then followed by a tempering of enthusiasm (rates are rising, and better can be had if we wait just a bit longer), and now some reconsideration provoked by a measure of anxiety (could the bottom fall out of things and this be as good as it gets, with regrets if I miss out on it?). It might be they withdraw it before I make a decision in the next week or so (as happened with Sharonview and then Garden State while I remained stuck on the fence), - but what if the markets are gyrating over the next few months and growth prospects more uncertain in the collective economic mindset? Even with another Fed increase in December (2019 has become less predictable now) is 4.25% or 4.50% for a 5 year CD at all likely in the near-term? Connexus may be the last good offer before FI's dial things back, and the self-recriminations potentially bitter for failing to act on it.
lou
  |     |   Comment #44
I hear you gregk. I,too, was disappointed about missing the Garden State deal. I can't get too mad at myself since by the time I discovered the deal it had already been taken off the market. What I really liked about it were the 6 months EWP and the 4 yr term. I am not too enamored of a 1 yr EWP, however - which is why I am resisting the Connexus offer. In a rising interest rate environment, not to sure i want to be stuck with a CD for 5 years. Despite the recent static, I still think interest rates will continue to go up for the foreseeable future.
gregk
  |     |   Comment #50
Having invested heavily in the PenFed 3% CD's 5 years ago (now all maturing in December & January) and the Keesler 7 month back in August (maturing in early March), it's a rather crucial time approaching for making decisions to commit or hold off on any new and attractive long-term offers that become available in the next few months. Potentially I can keep everything liquid for some period (even a long one) given the 2.25%-2.50% savings accounts readily to be had now, but judging when rates are peaking and the time for an "all-in" arrived is likely to be a dicey and uncertain game here throughout the next year (and beyond?). I don't myself have the plodding and formulaic mentality of our laddering friends at DA who won't concern themselves with al that, but rather aim to find the sweet spot of maximal yield in any given cycle, and deploy all funds available to their best possible resting place once I've pinpointed it. It's a high anxiety and tea leaf reading strategy most appropriate for the smart people here, but for those quick enough on their feet to be good at it, bound to exceed in results the conservative (laddering) alternative.
dollarsncents
  |     |   Comment #51
I am perfectly content with my CD laddering approach which I started years ago. No anxiety over hitting the perfect "sweet spot", which is a gamble within itself. Besides, even if a person goes "all in" at the perfect time at the highest interest peak, nothing is to say their CDs won't mature during the lowest point in the next interest rate cycle.
RJM
  |     |   Comment #52
My problem with laddering is the last two longer term CDs that I laddered with were a 4 year at 2% and a 5 year at 2.2%.

I'm stuck earning those terrible rates until 7/21 and 7/22.

Plenty of anxiety over that.

Nothing over 15 months since those two nightmares,
gregk
  |     |   Comment #55
Whatever the virtues of laddering may be, to go long when deposit rates are in the mud just for the sake of filling a gap that strategy may formally demand seems irrational. Why in the world did you do it?
RJM
  |     |   Comment #56
The savings rate was lots lower at the time. I can't recall exactly but low.

And how was I supposed to know rates would increase so fast and so far?
Nothing
  |     |   Comment #59
RJM. Now that the so-called crying towel is getting dry... what did they say when you wanted to renegotiate the rate, what were your arguments, and would you gain or lose (a small amount b/c of EWP) but have peace of mind by taking some/most/all out? Or at the end of the day a mit gun shy with the current rates to move anything? What says you?
SMT1
  |     |   Comment #60
Gregk, I did pull the trigger and went for the Connexus deal early morning on November 23. The website was still advertising the 4% share certificate on their website at the time. Later in the day, I received emails verifying membership. I also received a phone call from a representative regarding my new member number. I told him I was going to open up the 4% Certificate and I was told that it was changed to 3.5% that day. I told him that the website was still advertising 4% when I applied that morning and if there was anything he could do to honor that deal. He said he would have to discuss with his superiors to see what he could do. I found out after the Holiday weekend that they would honor the 4% and my certificate is now funded and open. I guess I was lucky to apply early in the AM while the website was still advertising 4%, the representative went to bat for me, and Connexus honored the deal.
tck
  |     |   Comment #22
Indeed, much to be thankful for. Thank you for your excellent work.
snookums
  |     |   Comment #23
When could we seen 5% rates again?
Risky
  |     |   Comment #24
But do the credit unions insure your deposits?? Rather stick with a lower rate that’s FDIC insured!
OzarkLady
  |     |   Comment #40
They're insured.
Milty
  |     |   Comment #26
I am especially thankful for Ken providing us this information and keeping this site, notwithstanding the occasional turmoil, on a even keel. And am thankful for Deplorable1 keying me in to that ESBS savings account rate, which albeit unfortunately short lived is still producing for those grandfathered in. Also, thanks to this site I also learned about Hub accounts and Shared branching.
111
  |     |   Comment #29
Ken, thanks for the fantastic job you and your staff have done, and continue to do. In addition to some other offers this year, your website enabled me to participate in the Keesler and Sharonview CDs. It is highly unlikely that I would have noticed them early enough to participate, had I not seen them here.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
rockies
  |     |   Comment #31
Thank you, Ken. I admit I check out other sites from time to time. But, yours is the most comprehensive and timely. Thanks to your efforts, I was able to take advantage of Ally, Garden, Connexus, Advancial, NASA, Pima and Keesler....and even a less prominent one that I may discuss here later if it works out. Thank you for all you do for us!!
DOA
  |     |   Comment #33
Rockies,

I think your list may be the new kids on the block that replaces the old time use to be three favorites of mine, Penfed, USAA, and Navy Federal Credit Union. This appropriate time to raise rates to comparable levels just is not happening with those three anymore.
Robb
  |     |   Comment #35
The Connexus 5 year rate just dropped from 4% to 3.5%. The 4% nationwide deals have not lasted long due to high demand.

Pretty good drop in the 10 year note from the highs this month.
???
  |     |   Comment #36
OUCH ! that hurts
gregk
  |     |   Comment #38
Was going to initiate action on the Connexus 4% offer today. Will there be another?
Jennifer
  |     |   Comment #37
I just found out about 30 minutes ago when i was talking to Connexus that the rate had been reduced to 3.5%
milty
  |     |   Comment #46
Crap, that torches my 4% CD plans. However, it appears the US Senate FCU still has their 3.63% 5yr CD.
Att
  |     |   Comment #49
One thing I learned with CD or savings offers that are much higher thancurrent rates is to open an account soon as possible before they close out the offer. I remember talking to a rep at a CU that advised me that one of their CDs had a 21 million dollar cutoff point and they were nearing the limit so I quickly opened the CD. The next day the offer was closed. If you have doubts that another offer may come along, put some money or percentage of your available funds in the current offer and you will still have funds for another offer in the future. Your not always going to get the very highest rate.
Greg
  |     |   Comment #32
Let me echo the "thanks" of many others, Ken, for all that you do. For income investors who want no credit risk, there's no better site in the world.
Kathy M.
  |     |   Comment #34
THANKS TO KEN!
Ratesaver
  |     |   Comment #41
Thanks Ken for your time that has helped all those 40 people and I to make money on something other than the stock market...Have a marry Christmas
pure_code
  |     |   Comment #47
Justice FCU at 3.35% for 2 years CD back in August-ish...
deplorable 1
  |     |   Comment #48
I'm thankful for this website and all of the deals and thoughtful contributions by the readers throughout the year. A late Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

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