Bank of American hardly needs any introduction. They’re the second largest bank in the United States by assets, with over $2.61 trillion in total and they are the third largest bank in the country by branch locations with roughly 4,559 across all 50 states.

That said, their savings rates – both fixed and variable – leave much to be desired and lag the current national average(s) for their respective terms by considerable margins.

This isn’t unique to Bank of America though, as all the big banks at the moment offer abysmal rates to savers. Both Citibank and Chase Bank have kept their savings rates significantly under the national averages for all of 2020.

For those considering opening a fixed-rate, certificate of deposit with Bank of America continue reading our full review below.

Bank of America CD Rates + Account Details

Bank of America CDs are federally insured by the FDIC up to the applicable limits. These are $250,000 per depositor or $500,000 on joint accounts.

Bank of America has two sets of certificates of deposit available to consumers currently: “Featured CDs” and “Standard CDs.”

The Featured CDs come with a higher minimum deposit requirement of $10,000 compared to just $1,000 for the Standard CDs. Bank of America’s Featured CDs also offer five oddball terms to choose from. These are:

• 7 months
• 10 months
• 13 months
• 25 months
• 37 months

Bank of America Featured CD Rates

To put these yields in perspective the current national average for a 12 month CD and a 60 month CD sits at 0.22% APY and 0.47% APY, respectively. There are also several nationally available credit unions with CD rates still above the 1.0% APY mark for longer terms.

Their Standard CDs have much more flexible terms ranging from 1 month to 10 years (120 months). Consumers may choose the exact number of months within that range. Current rates, however, are flat across the board for all terms.

Bank of America Standard CD Rates

Interest is compounded and credited monthly on both featured and standard CDs.

In normal interest rate environments two variables may affect the overall APY (annual percentage yield) applied to your CD from Bank of America. These are:

1. Your Location
2. Your Deposit Amount

While these variables do not change your rate at the moment, Bank of America still requires you to select these before disclosing the yields they offer on their website.

Your location is determined by the zip code you reside in and the deposit amount is broken up into four ranges for the Featured CDs and three ranges for Standard CDs. For Featured CDs, the deposit ranges are:

• Less than $10,000
• $10,000 to $100,000
• $100,000 – $1m
• $1m +

For all of Bank of America’s Standard CDs the deposit ranges are:

• Less than $10,000
• $10,000 to $100,000
• $100,000 +

Early Withdrawal Penalties

Bank of America’s early withdrawal penalties vary by length of the term of the deposit. Below is a breakdown of what you can expect to pay if you need to make an early withdrawal to your CD. You should note that for CDs with terms of 60 months (5 years) or greater, fees can potentially add up to more than the overall interest earned if withdrawals happen often enough.

The interest penalties above are applied to the amount withdrawn.

Grace Period

The grace period is the brief window of time after your CD matures and before it gets renewed in which you have the ability to add or withdraw funds penalty free.

Bank of America’s grace period is slightly lower than the standard 10 days at just 7 days.

Bank of America’s CDs also automatically renew, so if nothing is done within this 7 day period your CD will automatically renew with the same terms and whatever the current APY happens to be at that time.

Bank of America will send you reminders leading up to the grace period of your deposit but be sure to set up your own notifications as well.

Final Thoughts

While banking with large institutions such as Bank of America has its advantages such as easy in-person branch access, vast network of ATMs, and a wide range of financial products, their current CD rates are simply not competitive at this time.

In normal interest rate environments having both featured CDs with higher APYs and standard CDs with customizable term lengths is a major advantage, however Bank of America’s current yields make these standout features inconsequential today.

If you’re after a high yield CD, a nationally available credit union or online bank is going to be able to provide you with much better rates.