APY GUY: Maximize Your Savings & Earnings

CD Rates

State Employees’ Credit Union CD Rates: Up to 0.55% APY


image credit: ncsecu.org

The State Employees’ Credit Union of North Carolina has certainly come a long way since its humble beginnings. Incorporated in 1937, the credit union began its operation in the basement of the agriculture building in Raleigh, NC. Today, they are the second largest credit union in the country both by assets and members – serving over 2.1 million members with over $40.6 billion in assets.

Despite their size, State Employees’ Credit Union (NCSECU) is fairly exclusive. They only offer membership to select groups, most of which are based in North Carolina. If you are eligible to join, however, they offer some fairly competitive rates on many of their deposit products.

These personal banking products include:

  • checking accounts
  • money market accounts
  • certificates of deposit (6 to 60 month terms)
  • IRA (individual retirement accounts)

In our review below, we will cover the rates (APY), details and features of these products as well as go over the membership requirements for State Employees’ Credit Union.

State Employees’ Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA (FDIC equivalent for credit unions) up to $250,000 per depositor or $500,000 for joint accounts.

State Employee’s Credit Union CD Rates + Account Details

State Employees’ Credit Union has eight standard term certificates of deposit that range from 6 months to 5 years and come with a minimum deposit requirement of $250.

State Employees’ Credit Union CD Rates

TermAPY
6 months0.30%
12 months0.35%
18 months0.35%
24 months0.40%
30 months0.40%
36 months0.50%
48 months0.50%
60 months0.55%

To give these offers some context, the current national average on a 12 month CD and a 5 year CD sit at just 0.15% APY and 0.32% APY, respectively, according to recent FDIC data.

Interest and Payments

Unfortunately, with State Employees’ Credit Union CDs you will not receive compounding interest on your funds. This is a bit unusual for credit unions or banks to only provide interest on your principal, but not unheard of. That said, you will still receive daily interest on your principal. Due to this, your APY (annual percentage yield) will be the same as the interest rate.

Interest payments are deposited to another SECU account every month selected by the owner. This is ideal for those living off of interest for income.

Early Withdrawal Penalties

If you need your funds prior to your deposit maturity, SECU will impose an early withdrawal penalty equal to 90 days of interest, or all interest accrued, whichever is less.

This is much more lenient than most early withdrawal penalties we see which tend to increase with the term. And in some cases we’ve even seen penalties dip into the principal.

Money Market & Other Variable Rate Accounts

State Employees’ Credit Union offers six variable-rate “Share” accounts that earn interest. These are:

  1. Share,
  2. Zard Share,
  3. FAT CAT Share,
  4. Summer Cash,
  5. Holiday Cash Club, and
  6. Money Market Share

The Share account is required to establish membership. It has a $25 minimum deposit requirement as well as a $25 minimum balance requirement to maintain membership.

The Zard Share is a savings account designed for teens to save money, build good savings habits, and learn about budgeting. There are also a variety of tools with this account, but you must be ages 13 – 19 to open one.

The FAT CAT Share account is a more basic version of the Zard Share account. It is for children 12 and under.

The Summer Cash account is designed for teachers and educators and those who work 9, 10 or 11 months out of the year. It helps you save money from each paycheck during the school year and allows for access to these funds during the summer.

The Holiday Cash Club account helps people save money throughout the year for holiday shopping. Deposits can be made up until the last business day of October at which point the funds are transferred to your Share, money market or checking account.

The Money Market Share account is a fairly standard MMA. It comes with a minimum deposit requirement of $250. You will also have to maintain this as your monthly balance to earn dividends. Dividends are compounded daily and paid monthly.

Share Account Rates and Minimum Deposit Requirements

Below are the interest rates associated with the six Share accounts mentioned above. To put these offers in perspective, the average APY on a savings account sits at just 0.07% currently.

AccountMin DepositAPY
Share$250.15%
Zard Share$250.15%
FAT CAT Share$50.15%
Summer Cash$00.60%
Holiday Cash$00.15%
Money Market Share$2500.20%

These rates are variable and subject to change at any time without notice.

Membership and Eligibility

As mentioned, despite its membership size, State Employees’ Credit Union is quite exclusive. Below is a list of eligibility requirements. You must meet ONE of these to join. Upon joining you will also need to open and maintain a Share account with at least $25.

  • Employees of the state of North Carolina
  • Federal employees assigned to North Carolina state agencies (for example, a federal US Department of Agriculture employee assigned to work at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture)
  • Employees of public boards of education
  • Members of the North Carolina National Guard
  • County employees of Social Services, Health, Mental Health and Civil Defense
  • Employees of associations formed for the benefit of state of North Carolina employees (e.g., State Employees’ Association of North Carolina)
  • Employees of agencies or departments whose employees are subject to the State Personnel Act
  • Individuals retired from the above employment or service as pensioners and/or annuitants from the above employment or service. This includes former employees who are “vested” and have not withdrawn or terminated future eligibility to be a pensioner and/or annuitant.
  • Un-remarried spouses of persons who died while in the field of membership
  • Immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) of a current member
  • Individuals sharing a single economic unit with a current member

Final Thoughts

If you are eligible to join NCSECU and are in the market for a fixed rate certificate of deposit, then their CDs may meet your needs.

That said, more competitive APYs can be found at credit unions like Navy Federal Credit Union or PenFed Credit Union which also have more lenient eligibility requirements.

Best CD Rates in New York for February 2021


Average 1 and 5 year CD rates in New York currently sit at 0.34% and 0.44% APY, respectively.

APYGUY tracks and publishes noteworthy APYs (annual percentage yields) on both fixed and variable rate deposit products from hundreds of banks and credit unions nationwide.

In this January 2021 report, we’ve published what we’ve found to be the top CD rates available to residents in New York looking for FDIC or NCUA insured, fixed-rate certificates of deposit. While we do our best to keep rates updated on a monthly basis at the minimum, we advise that you check with each financial institution individually to get updated CD and savings rates.

According to DepositAccounts.com there are 215 local, regional and national banks serving the state of New York with over 4,600 branches.

There are also 331 credit unions serving the state with almost 6 million members throughout New York and combined assets of over $88 billion in New Yorkers’ hard earned cash, according to the New York Credit Union Association.

Credit unions and banks of all sizes within the state of New York and throughout the country offer federally insured CDs with varying terms, generally ranging from a few months to 5 to 10 years. The FDIC insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per depositor and the NCUA insures credit union deposits up to $250,000 per depositor.

Generally speaking, with fixed-rate CDs, the longer you lock up your funds (ie the greater the term) the higher the APY you will earn.

That said, savings rates – both fixed and variable – at banks and credit unions are generally correlated to Federal Reserve rates which have been anchored between 0.0% and 0.25% and are unlikely to move in the near term. Therefore expect CD rates to not only be extremely low compared to where they’ve been historically, but also expect a smaller spread in yield between short term and long term deposits.

In many cases we’ve even seen flat lining yields where 1 year CDs provide the same APY as 5 year CDs. This isn’t typical with all banks and credit unions, although our current interest rate environment is making it more common, especially with the larger national banks.

Below is our report on the best CD Rates in New York for the month of February 2021.

Top 6 month CD Rates in New York

Below are the top five 6 month CD rates available to residents in New York state. These products may not be exclusive to New York residents in all cases.

Bank or Credit UnionMin. Deposit APY
Navy Federal Credit Union$100,0000.50%
Pen Air Federal Credit Union$250.45%
United Orient Bank$5000.40%
MySavings Direct$1,0000.30%
Live Oak Bank$2,5000.25%
Northeast Community Bank$10,0000.25%

The two institutions on this list that are exclusive to residents of New York are United Orient Bank and Northeast Community Bank.

North East Community Bank was founded in 1934 in Manhattan and has just 10 locations. These consist of both branches and loan production offices in New York and Massachusetts. In New York they have locations in Manhattan, the Bronx, White Plains, New City, Spring Valley and Monroe. And in Massachusetts they have locations in Danvers, Framingham and Quincy.

United Orient Bank is a community bank serving residents and business owners in New York City’s Chinatown. They have two branches. Their main branch is in lower Manhattan in Chatham Square (10 Chatham Square New York, NY 10038) and their other branch is in Chinatown on Canal street (185 Canal Street New York, NY 10013). Both of their locations are currently open but have adjusted hours due to the ongoing concern of COVID-19. You can give them a call at (212) 699-3888.

Top 12 Month CD Rates

Below are the top five 12 month CD rates available to residents in New York state. These products may not be exclusive to New York residents in all cases.

Bank or Credit UnionMin. Deposit APY
United Orient Bank$5000.85%
Navy Federal Credit Union$100,0000.60%
Flushing Bank$1,0000.50%
CFG Community Bank$5000.67%
Ally Bank$00.60%
Goldman Sachs$5000.55%

Although CFG Community Bank has “community bank” in their name, their products are available nationally through their website.

Flushing Bank has been in business since 1929 but is a local bank to residents in the metropolitan area of the city. They have branch locations in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and on Long Island.

To give the offers above some context, the average APY on a 12 month CD in New York sits at 0.34% as of January 2021 according to Bankrate.

Top 2 Year CD Rates

Below are the top five 2 year CD rates available to residents in New York state. These products may not be exclusive to New York residents in all cases.

Bank or Credit UnionMin. Deposit APY
United Orient Bank$5001.00%
Pen Air Federal Credit Union$250.80%
Navy Federal Credit Union$100,0000.60%
Comenity Direct$1,5000.75%
Live Oak Bank$2,5000.65%

To put these offers above in perspective, the average 2 year CD rate in New York currently sits at just 0.36% APY.

Top 3 Year CD Rates

Below are the top five 3 year CD rates available to residents in New York state. These products may not be exclusive to New York residents in all cases.

Bank or Credit UnionMin. Deposit APY
Massena Savings and Loan$1,0001.23%
Flushing Bank$1,0000.85%
Navy Federal Credit Union$100,0000.75%
Comenity Direct$1,5000.85%
Ally Bank$00.65%

To put these offers above in perspective, the average 3 year CD rate in New York currently sits at just 0.38% APY.

Massena Savings and Loan is a small bank based out of Massena, New York. They have just two branch locations and under $170 million in total assets. As with all of the other banks listed in this report, they are federally insured by the FDIC. To open their 36 month CD you will have to visit a branch or you can give them a call at 315-764-0541.

Top 5 Year CD Rates

Below are the top five 5 year CD rates available to residents in New York state. These products may not be exclusive to New York residents in all cases.

Bank or Credit UnionMin. Deposit APY
Massena Savings and Loan$1,0001.53%
Pen Air Federal Credit Union$251.15%
Navy Federal Credit Union$100,0000.95%
Comenity Direct$1,5000.90%
Ally Bank$00.85%

To put these offers above in perspective, the average 5 year CD rate in New York currently sits at just 0.44% APY.

New York CD Rates vs National CD Rates

Banks and credit unions operating in New York and serving the residents therein, are currently featuring higher CD rates and APYs than what we find at the national level.

We’ve compiled a chart comparing average CD rates in New York vs average CD rates in the US using both Bankrate and FDIC data. You can see the results below. These are accurate as of February 2021.

Average CD Rates in New York – vs – Average CD Rates Nationally:

CD TermAvg. APY NYAvg. APY US
12 month0.34%0.15%
2 year0.36%0.20%
3 year0.38%0.24%
5 year0.44%0.32%

Final Thoughts

If you’re in the market for a fixed-rate, certificate of deposit with a competitive APY and you reside in the state of New York, you’d be better suited going with a local community bank rather than a large national one this month.

Just be sure to check with the institution directly to confirm their current rates. Also, it should be noted that opening a deposit at a small community bank in New York may require you to visit a local branch.

Best 6 Month CD Rates for February 2021


If you’re in the market for a fixed rate certificate of deposit but don’t want to keep your funds locked up for a long period of time, then a 6 month CD may be a good option for you to kick off 2021.

Normally 6 month CDs would offer much lower APYs (annual percentage yields) when compared to CDs with longer terms such as 3 or 5 years, however, in our current interest rate environment the difference between long and short term rates is far less significant.

We review several hundred banks and credit unions on a monthly basis and have visual pings set up to notify our system whenever rates change. We’ve used this data to compile our top 12 list of the best 6 month CD rates for February 2021.

Top Eleven 6 Month CD Rates

Some institutions featured below have regional exclusivity and others offer their products to customers nationwide. All are federally insured by either the FDIC (for banks) or the NCUA (for credit unions) up to the applicable limits.

Name of InstitutionMinimum DepositAPYAvailability
ParkeBank$5000.75%NJ and PA
Community Wide Federal Credit Union$1,0000.70%nationwide
United Fidelity BankNA0.65%Must open in branch
Spectrum Federal Credit Union$5000.60%nationwide
Navy Federal Credit Union$500.45%must have family in armed services.
First Internet Bank$1,0000.45%nationwide
Tab Bank$1,0000.40%nationwide
Georgia’s Own Credit Union$5000.40%Georgia residents
Bethpage Federal Credit Union$500.40%nationwide
Patelco Credit Union$2500.35%nationwide
PenFed Credit Union$1,0000.30%nationwide
Sallie Mae$2,5000.30%nationwide

To give the annual percentage yields above some context, the current national average on 12 month CD sits at 0.22% APY and the current national average on a money market account sits at just 0.11% APY.

#1 ParkeBank – 0.75% APY

ParkeBank is a full service bank with a regional presence. They are based out of Washington Township, New Jersey and only have 7 branch locations throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Although they are a small brick and mortar bank, they do offer online banking to clients. You will need to be a resident and stop by a local branch to open a your initial account, but once it’s open you can move funds into other accounts like CDs through their online portal.

You can see their full list of CD rates here.

United Fidelity Bank, formerly First City Bank of Florida – 0.65% APY

United Fidelity Bank, formerly First City Bank of Florida is a small community bank with just two branch locations in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. This town is located in the Northwest region of Florida just outside of Pensacola. You do not need to be a resident of Florida to open a CD with them, but you DO need to stop by a local branch. These CDs cannot be opened over the phone or online.

That said, they will gladly accept deposits from residents in all 50 states.

#2 Community Wide Federal Credit Union – 0.70% APY

Community Wide Federal Credit Union is a small member-owned institution based out of South Bend, Indiana. They were founded in 1967 and relied on seed money from the Catholic Church to survive their early days. Today, like many local credit unions, even if you don’t live, work or worship in South Bend, Indiana you can still become a member by joining one of their partner organizations. These memberships typically come with annual fees though, so be mindful of that when calculating potential earnings on your CD. You will also be required to make a minimum deposit into a Share Savings Account. This also acts as your ‘share’ in the member-owned credit union. You can see Community Wide Federal Credit Union’s full list of partner organizations here.

#3 Spectrum Credit Union – 0.60% APY

Spectrum Credit Union merged with Chevron Credit Union back in 2012, but still operates under its own brand. They have 100,000 members mostly in the Bay Area, but like Community Wide FCU, they open their arms to anyone who joins one of their partner organizations (found here).

#4 Navy Federal Credit Union – 0.45% APY

Navy Federal Credit Union needs little introduction being the largest credit union in the country by both members and assets with 9.4 million members and $130 billion in assets.

Despite NFCU’s vast size, they do not provide membership to anyone. They used to provide backdoor membership by joining one of several partner organizations, but this changed sometime in 2017 according to this online report.

That said, service members in all branches of the armed forces, along with their family and household members are eligible. You may apply online here or you can give them a call at 1-888-842-6328 or visit a local branch. Locate a branch near you.

#6 First Internet Bank – 0.45% APY

First Internet Bank has been selling online CDs since dial-up modems and AOL accounts.

As their name implies, they quite literally were the first, one-hundred percent online bank complete with FDIC insurance. They were founded in 1997 by David Pecker and opened their digital doors to customers on February 22, 1999.

Today, their CDs remain competitive for each term they offer up to 60 months. Their CDs can be opened both online or over the phone at 1-888-873-3424.

#5 TAB Bank – 0.40% APY

TAB Bank stands for Transportation Alliance Bank and is known as the bank tailored for truckers. They got their start in 1988 in Odgen, Utah and entrenched themselves with truckers by starting out as a banking service that operated within the truck stops.

Today, they offer their high yield, FDIC-insured online deposit products to people nationwide. Outside of their 6 month CD on our list, they also have a variable rate, online savings account with an APY that’s often found at the front of the pack for online savings accounts.

#7 Georgia’s Own Credit Union – 0.40% APY

Georgia’s Own Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit, full-service financial institution.

Getting their start back in 1934 with just $160 they’ve since grown to be the 3rd largest credit union in the state of Georgia by both members and total assets. Today they serve more than 200,000 members and control just shy of $3 billion in assets.

Unfortunately, for many, this credit union is restricted to residents of Georgia. To see their complete eligibility checklist, visit their membership page.

#8 Bethpage Federal Credit Union – 0.40% APY

Bethpage is a small credit union based out of Bethpage, New York on Long Island (locate branches here) that has been serving members since 1941.

Despite their seemingly regional presence they actually open their membership to anyone willing to deposit $5 into a share savings account. This also serves as your ownership ‘share’ in the credit union. You can open a share account and learn more here.

Bethpage FCU also has a noteworthy youth savings account which provides a lucrative APY of 2.0% on the first $1,000, followed by a still respectable 0.35% on balances above $1,000.

#9 Patelco Credit Union – 0.35% APY

Unlike the other institutions on our list, Patelco offers its CD terms in ranges. For short term CDs, they have ranges of:

  • 3 – 5 months
  • 6 – 11 months

Their 3 – 5 month CDs come with an APY of just 0.20% while the 6 – 11 month term features the APY of 0.35%.

Although Patelco’s branches are limited to the Bay Area of California, they serve members in all 50 states. Like Bethpage, to join Patelco you must simply open a share account (minimum of just $1.00) which also functions as your stake in the institution. You can learn more and join using this link.

#10 PenFed Credit Union – 0.30% APY

Unlike Navy Federal Credit Union, PenFed opens its doors to anyone in the country willing to deposit $5 into a share account. You used to have to donate to a charity of their choosing for membership if you weren’t eligible through the standard paths, but that is not the case anymore.

You can complete a membership application online here or give them a call at 800-247-5626 and complete it over the phone.

On top of their solid 6 month CD, PenFed also has a variable rate online savings account that earns an exceptional APY of 0.55%. You can read more about this offering here.

#11 Sallie Mae – 0.30% APY

Sallie Mae originally came on the scene in 1973 to service federal education loans. They became private and offered private student loans while still operating under contract to service federal loans.

An overview of their history and controversies can be found here, but needless to say, their product line has evolved quite drastically since inception.

Along with their competitive 6 month CD, Sallie Mae also has an extremely competitive, variable rate savings product called SmartyPig. This account pays up to 0.80% APY on balances of $10,000 or less.

Who Should Open a 6 Month CD

In general, CDs (certificates of deposit) are good products for people looking for a fixed-rate of return for a specified period of time – 6 months.

They are considered short-term deposit products, along with 3 month and 9 month CDs, and are ideal for those who can keep funds untouched for the entire duration. If you are unsure whether or not you can keep your funds tied up for that long, you may want to consider a 3 month CD or a variable-rate savings account or money market account. Savings and money market accounts do not feature fixed rates though and are subject to change at any time without notice to the account holder.

CDs are also good options for people who are saving for something particular and do not want to have access to the funds they’ve set aside.

A 6 month CD, specifically, can be a good savings vehicle for those looking to save up for a vacation, a wedding ring, a downpayment to a car, etc. If you’re looking to save for something larger like a downpayment to a house you may want to consider a longer term CD with a higher rate.

CDs come with early withdrawal fees that can greatly reduce your earnings and even your principal in some cases. This can work as a great hindrance for those tempted to reach into their deposit prior to maturity.

6 Month CD – Bank or Credit Union

Deciding on whether to open a 6 month CD at a bank or credit union is going to rely on several factors other than simply who has the highest rate.

Credit Unions are not-for-profit, member-owned institutions that generally pass along profits back to its members in the form of lower loan rates and better savings rates. That is why you’ll generally see better APYs with credit unions than you would with brick and mortar banks – and especially the big banks (Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, etc).

However, given that credit unions are smaller, member-owned institutions and are not purely profit driven with aggressive growth goals, they tend to be more exclusive with membership than your average big bank. Some provide loopholes through membership in partner organizations, but you’ll need to check with each credit union individually for specific eligibility requirements.

Online banks may be a good option if your desired credit union is out of reach. They can compete on APY as well as they have little overhead compared to their brick and mortar counterparts. The operational savings found in their online business model can be used to entice new customers in the form of lower loan rates and better savings rates.

Alternatives to 6 month CDs

If you’re turned off by the current interest rate environment for short term CDs, you have some alternatives to consider.

For those relying on the safety of FDIC coverage, you might want to explore cash management accounts.

These accounts are hybrid accounts that usually provide a combination of checking, savings, and investment services. They are tech companies at their core, but rely on the FDIC insurance of their partner bank(s). At the end of each day funds are swept into partner banks to leverage their FDIC-insurance. You can generally exceed the $250,000 FDIC limit as well by having funds swept into multiple institutions at day’s end.

A good cash management account comes with no fees and features high APYs. Currently the most popular options hover between 0.30% and 0.40% APY. The Aspiration Spend & Save account still features an APY of 1.00%.

Another option that provides FDIC insurance are rewards checking accounts. These accounts usually provide cash back on spending or very generous yields on savings. Many accounts pay well over 1.00% APY on balances, but there is generally a catch.

Most of the accounts require a certain number of debit card transactions from the account each month (typically 10) as well as a direct deposit set up. On top of that, in most cases you can only earn the exceptional APY up to a certain balance amount. Capping balances from $5,000 to $10,000 is typical but some go higher.

Failing to meet either the required number of debit card transactions OR the monthly direct deposit will result in either no interest paid, or worse, a hefty fee. Check with the institution directly to see what the exact monthly requirements are.

If you’re open to taking on more risk, we’ve also compiled a list of alternatives to CDs and savings here that feature a dozen different options.

Discover Bank CD Rates – Now up to 0.60% APY!


image credit: discover.com

[Update January 2021: Discover Bank CD rates remain unchanged to start the new year. See below for current rates.]

Ever since Sears first introduced the Discover Credit Card back in 1985, the Discover Bank brand has largely become a household name.

Although the bank is often associated with their popular credit cards, they also have a suite of deposit products featuring annual percentage yields considerably above the current national average(s). This suite comes with an online savings account, money market accounts and certificate of deposits with wide-ranging terms.

In this review we will just focus on Discover Bank’s CDs. Terms range from 3 months to 10 years and, like all of Discover Bank’s deposit products, are federally insured by the FDIC up to $250,000.

If you’re in the market for an FDIC insured bank CD, Discover Bank is certainly worth exploring.

Discover Bank CD Rates

Discover Bank CDs require a minimum deposit of $2,500 to open an account. All CD accounts are federally insured by the FDIC up to the applicable limits.

CD TermAPY
3 months0.20%
6 months0.25%
9 months0.30%
12 months0.50%
18 months0.50%
24 months0.50%
30 months0.55%
3 years0.55%
4 years0.55%
5 years0.60%
7 years0.60%
10 years0.60%

To put Discover Bank’s CD Rates in perspective, the current national average for a 12 month and a 60 month CD sit at just 0.15% APY and 0.32% APY, respectively, according to recent FDIC data.

Discover Bank still has ascending rates with longer terms, albeit not by much. We saw this curve flatten over the course of 2020 with many online banks and credit unions and expect it to remain flat through 2021.

How Do Discover Bank CDs Stack Up Against The Competition?

As mentioned, all of Discover Bank’s CD accounts come with a minimum deposit requirement of $2,500. This is steeper than most online banks which generally feature minimum deposits between $0.01 – $1,000.

Their APYs (annual percentage yields) are on par with other online banks at the moment and are comfortably ahead of the big banks.

That said, there are still several online banks and a handful of nationally available credit unions that offer better yields on fixed rate deposits.

Discover Bank isn’t shy about benchmarking their deposit rates against the competition either.

Discover Bank lets you compare their deposit rates to other competing banks.

In fact, on the CD section of Discover Bank’s website (shown above), they have a very helpful interactive widget that allows you to add other banks and compare current deposit rates.

They have a couple banks defaulted into the module when you start – US Bank, Bank of America and Capital One, but you can choose up to 6 different banks to compare (only 3 at a time).

Unfortunately no credit unions can be added to the comparison module at this time.

Opening your Discover Bank CD

Once you’ve found the right CD term for you, you can navigate to Discover Bank’s online CD page here and click the orange “Open an Account” button found at the top right of the page and directly in the center under the words “Lock in your future.”

When you begin the application process, you’ll want to have some personal information readily available. Be prepared with the following:

  • full name
  • home address
  • date of birth
  • phone number
  • Social Security number
  • employment status (employer and length of employment may be requested)
  • driver’s license, passport or other form of photo ID

After your application is completed and accepted you can fund the account.

Funding your Discover Bank CD

Upon completing the application you will have exactly 45 days to fund this account. The account can be funded in one of 4 ways. Here are the 4 ways in which you can fund your account:

  1. Transfer funds from another bank account via an online transfer.
  2. Transfer funds from another bank account via telephone. This function is only available for your initial transfer. Call 1-800-347-7000 to get started.
  3. Download their mobile app from iTunes or the Google Play store and complete a mobile check deposit.
  4. Make a check out to yourself and send it via snail mail to the following address: Discover Bank P.O. Box 30417 Salt Lake City, UT 84130

Discover Bank CD Account Details

There are a few details to your Discover Bank CD that you should be aware of.

First, your deposit is federally insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 in case of bank insolvency during your deposit term.

Second, fees. While this account has very little to worry about in terms of fee’s there are a couple you should be aware of – most notably early withdrawal fees. If you need your funds in the case of an emergency an early withdrawal fee will be applied. That said, this is quite standard with any Bank CD and Discover Bank’s fees in this regard are on par with other major banks.

Discover Bank’s early withdrawal fee structure:

CD TermPenalty
less than 1 year3 months simple interest
1 – 4 years6 months simple interest
4 – 5 years9 months simple interest
5 – 7 years18 months simple interest
7 – 10 years24 months simple interest

The only other fee you’ll need to be aware of is for outgoing wires. If you plan on moving any money out of the CD upon maturity you’ll incur a $30 fee per wire.

What Happens When Your Discover Bank CD Matures?

Exactly 30 days prior to your Discover Bank CD maturing, Discover Bank will send you a notification making you aware of the date.

Upon maturity you will enter what is referred to as a grace period. The grace period with Discover Bank CDs is 9 days. During these 9 days you can make additional deposits, withdraw any interest or principal or change the term of your deposit. However, once you take any of the aforementioned actions, this will trigger the end of your grace period, even if the full 9 days are not up.

If you do nothing during the 9 day grace period your CD will automatically renew into the same CD term you had before with whatever current APY Discover Bank is offering on said term.

Earning and Allocating Interest On Your Discover Bank CD

You’ll start earning interest on your deposit the same day it is funded. The interest is compounded daily and returned to the deposit (or another Discover Bank account) once per month.

With the interest earned you can do one of two things:

  1. The do nothing / default option places the interest back into the CD to compound until maturity.
  2. If you’re living off of the interest as income, or for whatever reason want the interest to be accessible, you may have it transferred to another Discover bank account.

Discover Bank Customer Sentiment + Account Features

Discover’s performance as a bank is above average with user reviews hovering around ​4 out of 5 stars on the top review sites​.

The online institution simply has a reputation for being a stand-up company with total transparency, and it’s known for having a team of customer service representatives that are as helpful as they are speedy. User reviews reflect satisfaction with the bank, with only the occasional angry customer reporting excessively long transfer holds, unexpected account closures, and the like.

Likewise, the Discover app is top-notch. Millions of Apple and Android users agree that this mobile banking app deserves a near 5 star rating for a platform that’s almost as simple to use as it is functional. If you’ve read our mobile app reviews of other online banks you’ll quickly notice this is far from the norm. Discover Bank has native apps for both IOS and Android.

Overall, Discover online and mobile banking platforms are user-friendly and representatives are knowledgeable and friendly.

Discover has multiple phone lines devoted to various banking needs, and these are all open 24/7 year-round. To open or manage an account, call 1-800-347-7000. For online banking tech support, call 1-800-290-9885. For everything else, visit ​this page​ for the right number. Mail can be addressed to:

General Correspondence Discover Bank
P.O. Box 30416
Salt Lake City, UT 84130

Discover has only one branch (the bank’s headquarters in Delaware), but there is a sizable network of ATMs​ from which you can service your accounts at no cost.

Discover will allow you to make incoming or outgoing ACH transfers of up to $250,000 per month.

Final Thoughts

Discover Bank CDs consistently feature APYs that are significantly higher than the national average – usually just a handful of basis points away from the highest yielding accounts.

They have invested considerable time and resources into developing one of the most straight and easy to navigate online banks with account perks that outdo many of their competitors.

If you like all of your accounts under one roof, then Discover Bank is definitely worth the look. From online savings accounts, checking accounts, credit cards and CDs, Discover Bank has it all.

Salem Five CD Rates – Up to 0.75% APY!


image credit: salemfive.com

Salem Five is a full service financial services company that got its roots in New England (Salem, to be exact) in 1855 as a savings bank.

They’re a mutually owned bank with no stockholders and are federally insured by the FDIC.

They were one of the early adopters of the internet and online banking, opening their virtual doors in 1995.

Today they offer a plethora of online banking products that are available nationwide. For the purpose of this review we will focus on Salem Five Direct’s fixed rate certificates of deposit. They offer several standard term CDs, IRA CDs and special CDs with some noteworthy APYs (annual percentage yields).

To see if these deposit accounts are right for you, continue reading about their offers below.

Salem Five Bank CD Rates + Account Details

Salem Five Bank Certificates of Deposit Suite

Salem Five Bank has three types of CDs available to customers online. All of the products are federally insured by the FDIC up to the applicable limits.

The three types of CDs offered are:

  • Regular CDs
  • IRA CDs
  • Special CDs

The minimum deposit requirements on these products range from $500 to $10,000. See below for details.

Regular CD Rates

Salem Five Bank offers ten ‘regular’ CDs with terms offered in ranges. These ranges can be as little as 3 – 6 months to as long as 5 years.

CD TermMin. DepositAPY
91 – 181 days$2,5000.05%
182 – 364 days$2,5000.05%
12 – 17 months$5000.25%
18 – 23 months$5000.25%
24 – 29 months$5000.25%
30 – 35 months$5000.35%
36 – 41 months$5000.35%
42 – 59 months$5000.50%
60 months$5000.50%
9 Month No Penalty*$10,0000.05%

*The 9 month no penalty CD is not available as an IRA CD.

To give the yields above some context, the current national average on a 12 month CD and a 60 month CD sit at just 0.15% APY and 0.32% APY, respectively, according to recent FDIC data.

If you’re looking for a higher yield when compared to the national average, you might want to check out Salem Five Bank’s special CDs (rates below).

Salem Five rotates new CD specials in and out of its deposit account suite fairly often, so you may want to bookmark this page as we do our best to update rates and products in a timely manner.

Special CD Rates

Salem Five Bank has seven CD specials at the moment. These all come with standard terms ranging from 12 months to 5 years and a higher minimum deposit requirement of $10,000.

CD TermMin. DepositAPY
12 month$10,0000.50%
18 month$10,0000.50%
24 month$10,0000.50%
30 month$10,0000.75%
36 month$10,0000.75%
48 month$10,0000.75%
60 month$10,0000.75%

To put these promotional deposits in perspective, some of the best yields for 5 year CDs still top 1.00% APY from credit unions with nationwide acceptance.

The top 6 month CD rates in the country also reach the 0.75% APY mark but may be geographically limited.

If you are looking to keep certificates of deposit in your IRA, then Salem Five Bank may be a good place to go. Almost all of the CDs mentioned above – both regular CDs and special CDs – are offered as IRA CDs with the same APYs and minimum deposit requirements listed above.

The only product that is not available in the IRA is the 9 month no-penalty CD.

Salem Five Bank CD Account Details

Salem Five Bank CDs feature monthly compounding interest. Earned interest is also credited to your account monthly. This is less competitive than most banks’ compounding schedule which generally feature daily compounding interest.

All CD account holders have a standard grace period of 10 days in which you may add or withdraw funds from your CD penalty free.

Salem Five will send out a maturity notice for your CD, but be sure to set your own reminders as well. If nothing is done during this 10 day period, Salem Five Bank will renew your CD with the same terms and the going rate at that time.

Please note that you will need to instruct Salem Five Bank in writing how to handle your funds on or prior to the maturity date if you do not wish to have the account renewed.

If you have a “Special CD” and do nothing doing the grace period, these accounts will renew into standard term CDs.

Here’s how they will transfer:

Existing Special CDRenewed to Regular CD
12 – 17 months12 month
18 – 23 months18 month
24 – 29 months24 month
30 – 35 months30 month
36 – 41 months36 month
42 – 59 months42 month
60 months60 month

If you need funds prior to the maturity of your CD, Salem Five Bank will impose an early withdrawal fee.

Currently the penalty is equal to 4 percent of the balance withdrawn.

If the amount of the penalty exceeds the amount of earned interest that has not already been paid to you, Salem Five Bank may deduct some of the penalty from your principal.

Genisys Credit Union CD Rates – Up to 1.05% APY


image credit: genisyscu.org

Genisys Credit Union, based out of Michigan, is currently offering some respectable CD rates despite an abysmal environment for savers in 2021.

Back in the early Spring of 2020, they had 3 promotional CDs with oddball maturities and very respectable rates, but with the FED maintaining its near zero stance on rates in 2021 and beyond, these products have all since been discontinued.

Their current promotional CDs consist of “Flex Certificates” and come with terms of either 1 year or 2 years and an APY of 0.60%.

The best yields come from long term jumbo CD rates. The 60 month jumbo CD features an APY of 1.05% currently.

Are you interested in taking advantage of Genisys Credit Union’s CD products?

Here’s everything you need to know before opening an account with them.

About Genisys Credit Union + Eligibility Rules

Today, Genisys Credit Union headquartered in Auburn Hills, MI, is the 5th largest credit union in the state of Michigan and the 97th largest credit union in the country. They service over 220,000 members in Michigan, Minnesota, and one county in Pennsylvania. They control assets of just over $2.7 billion and have sold nearly $250m in non-brokered deposits.

What’s more impressive is that they’ve seen 10% year over year growth in deposits held at the credit union despite an abysmal savings rates environment.

Genisys Credit Union has had their fair share of re-brands since their inception as General Motors Truck & Coach Federal Credit Union back in 1936. Over the past 40 years they’ve rebranded 3 different times before settling on Genisys Credit Union.

Genisys Credit Union Membership Eligibility

Unfortunately Genisys Credit Union runs a pretty tight ship when it comes to eligibility. And geography is going to be your largest barrier.

Currently Genisys Credit Union only offers membership to those who work, live or worship in:

  • Anywhere in Michigan
  • The following six counties in Minnesota: 1. Dakota 2. Ramsey 3. Anoka 4. Hennepin 5. Scott and 6. Washington Counties
  • or Montgomery County in Pennsylvania.

If you’d like to search eligibility by zip code you can do that here.

Genisys Credit Union Promotional CD Rates

Genisys Credit Union is notorious for offering promotional deposit products with odd-ball terms and maturity dates throughout the year. Before the FEDs latest rate drop to zero, they had several promotional deposits with longer durations – 17 months, 33 months and 61 months. They rolled these back in March of 2020 and had no promotional deposits for a few months until this 19 month deposit showed up.

Today they offer just two promotional CDs called “Flex Certificates.” They come with terms of 1 or 2 years and an APY of 0.60% and three noteworthy features.

These features are:

  1. Additional deposits are allowed daily between $10 to $25,000.
  2. One time option to change the rate offered on the same product.
  3. One time option to withdraw up to 25% of principal with no penalty

These Flex Certificates require a minimum deposit of at least $500.

We will provide updates here when more promotional deposits come back online.

Genisys Credit Union Traditional CDs

Here are Genisys Credit Unions standard CD rates and Jumbo CD rates. Currently, the jumbo CDs provide a higher yield to the tune of 0.05% per term.

To put these yields in perspective, the current national average on a 12 month CD and a 60 month CD sit at just 0.15% and 0.32% APY, respectively, according to recent FED data.

Genisys Credit Union’s CD Rates:

CD TermAPY
6 month0.30%
1 year0.45%
18 months0.50%
2 years0.55%
3 years0.75%
4 years0.90%
5 years1.00%

As with their CD specials their traditional deposits all require a minimum deposit of $500 and come with NCUA insurance up to $250,000. The NCUA is the FDIC equivalent for credit unions.

Genisys Credit Union’s JUMBO CD Rates:

CD TermAPY
6 month0.35%
1 year0.50%
18 months0.55%
2 years0.60%
3 years0.80%
4 years0.95%
5 years1.05%

Final Thoughts

If you find yourself eligible to join Genisys Credit Union and you’re in the market for a CD with a respectable APY, then some of their products may be worth a look, however you can still find better yields with online banks.

Although Genisys Credit Union has been known to offer exceptional certificate of deposit promotions in the past, they have rolled back many of these products to start 2021. Check back often, as rates and products change frequently.