Special CD Offer Is Paying 9.5% APY for 5 Months (2024)

The full article continues below these offers from our partners.

The Fine Print for This Remarkable 9.5% Rate

Back in October 2023, the top overall rate in our daily ranking of the best nationwide CDs reached a brief peak of 6.50% APY. Rates were at their highest level in more than 20 years. So a CD advertised at 9.5% is certainly big news.

Offered by California Coast Credit Union to honor its 95th anniversary, the 9.5% "Celebration CD" has a 5-month term. Though Cal Coast generally serves residents of San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Imperial, and San Bernardino counties, a customer service representative confirmed during a phone call that anyone nationwide can become a Cal Coast member.

But here's the rub. This promotional CD includes a list of limitations and requirements in order to earn the high 9.5% rate. Here are the details:

• You can only deposit up to $3,000 in one of these CDs (the minimum deposit is $500). And you can only open one Celebration CD per person.
  
• Within 30 days of opening the CD, you must also have another open Cal Coast account from the following list of eligible accounts:
• A checking account with e-statements and at least one transaction per month (e.g., direct deposit, check, ATM, debit card, bill pay, etc.)
• A new money market account with a minimum balance of $5,000
• A new regular or IRA CD with a minimum balance of $5,000
• A new (funded) consumer loan
• If you do not meet the requirements within 30 days, you'll earn Cal Coast's standard 3-month CD rate, which is a near-zero 0.10% APY.

Though 9.5% is a phenomenal return, the $3,000 maximum deposit dramatically limits this offer's value. Compounded monthly for 5 months, your earnings would be about $116. If you instead deposited the same $3,000 in a 5-month CD paying 5.50% APY with no special requirements, you'd earn about $68. That makes the value of this offer just $48 ($116 minus the $68 you could earn elsewhere).

The hassle of maintaining an additional Cal Coast account you may not want probably isn't worth a $48 payoff. As a result, this offer is best suited to those interested in establishing a longer-term relationship with Cal Coast.

Fortunately, we have plenty of other excellent options for you.

A Top-Ranked CD—Without Caveats—Will Likely Serve You Better

Every business day, we track the certificate of deposit (CD) rates of over 200 banks and credit unions that offer certificates nationwide. As a result, our daily ranking of the top CD rates always provides you with 15–20 options for earning a nation-leading rate. In addition, we publish daily rankings for each major CD term so that if you're looking, for instance, to open a 2-year CD, you can find the top 15–20 rates for CDs of that specific length.

Today's top rates across terms range from 4.80% at the 5-year end of the spectrum to 5.51% in the 3-month and 6-month terms. All of these CDs are offered by nationwide institutions that are federally insured.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000.

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.