Washington Mutual (WAMU) has the best CD rates for 12 month CDs at an amazing 4.50% APY interest rate! This is a very high CD rate for a nationwide, reputable bank. This rate only applies to certificates of deposit accounts opened online and does NOT apply at their normal bank branches.

• Only $1000 minimum required to open a new CD account
• FDIC Insured
• Can take as little as 7 minutes with their online application

Comparison of 1 year CDs (12 month CDs) at other banks:

• etrade: 3.45% APY
• eloan: 4.35% APY
• countrywide: 3.90% APY

AmtrustDirect has the best CD rate of 3.51% APY on 6 month CDs. The minimum deposit is only 1000 dollars. Here are some online reviews for Amtrust Direct Bank.

If you are interested in 9 month certificates of deposit then AmtrustDirect also has a great rate of 3.76% APY. E-Loan also has 9 month CDs at 3.66% APY (10,000 minimum). Both AmtrustDirect and E-Loan beat Countrywide’s CD rates by a wide margin. Their 9 month CD is only at 3.00% APY with a 10,000 dollar minimum deposit. Countrywide’s CD rates are likely falling because of their recent merger with Bank of America.

AmtrustDirect.com says that you can open a new CD account with them online in less than 10 minutes. If this is true then it’s definitely a plus; it’s sometimes painful to wait for snail mail to complete a new online account creation.

Eloan currently has the highest CD rates for 3 month CDs at 3.26% APY. Now this is definitely one of the best rates right now on a short term certificate of deposit. There’s a $10,000 minimum deposit required to open a CD at E-loan and they are FDIC insured.

I’ve had experience with Eloan before and although I didn’t like how their online savings account worked I still might back to them if they had the best rate for a CD with the appropriate length. I would not open another online savings account with Eloan.

The good news about Eloan is that it was easy enough to get my money out of there and my money still earned the best savings interest rates at the time.

Countrywide Bank has the highest APY for 1 year CDs. Countrywide has a minimum deposit $10,000 for new CD accounts. They also have the best jumbo CD rates since they offer the same 3.95% APY for balances over 250,000 dollars. You will incur a penalty if you withdraw your money out of their CD account early.

indymacBank has a promotion going on right now for new certificates of deposit with a 5000 dollar minimum deposit. They are offering a great 12 month CD rate of 4.15% APY which edges out Countrywide’s 1 year CD rate of 4.10% APY. Countrywide’s minimum deposit is also double indymacbank’s at 10,000 dollars.

GMAC Bank has the highest short term CD rates around at over 3.4 % APY for all of their certificates of deposit. If you want to invest your 2008 tax stimulus check money with zero risk then a CD may be right for you. Here’s a list of GMAC Bank’s current CD Rates:

CDs at GMAC Bank only require a $500 minimum (compare that with Countrywide Bank’s $10,000 minimum deposit for opening CD accounts) and they are FDIC Insured. GMAC Bank’s rates are even better than Countrywide’s CD rates right now which are only at 3.25% APY for 3month, 6month, and 9month CDs.

Countrywide Bank again has some of the highest CD rates around. Their 6 month CD is at 4.05% APY. This applies for Certificates of Deposit with $10,000 minimum deposit.

iGOBanking has high rates for 5 year CDs (60 month CDs) at 4.30% APY. Their minimum deposit is only $500, so this is a good option for those that may not want to make a long term investment without a large sum of money.  If you only invested $500 and let this deal run the full term (you don’t withdraw early and incur a penalty) then you would have about $617 dollars total in 5 years.  That’s a net gain of 117 bucks with no risk.

iGObanking has a high APY for their 15 month certificate of deposit at 4.00% APY. This is somewhat of a nonstandard rate since most banks offer 12 month CDs and 18 month CDs with nothing in between. Countrywide bank in comparison has their 12 month CD at 3.50% APY and their 18 month CD at 3.25% APY.  This is a high CD APY with a bank that is FDIC insured.  iGObanking has a $500 minimum to open a CD account.

Countrywide Bank still has the highest CD rates around at 4.45% APY on a 6 month CD with a $10,000 minimum deposit requirement.  Their online savings account APY is also very high at 4.50% however this rate is variable and subject to change at any time.  With a 6 month certificate of deposit you can lock in your high rate.  Online savings account interest rates are volatile; CDs allow you to lock in a good rate.

You can be assured that your money is safe (up to 100,000 dollars) at Countrywide since they are FDIC insured.

Countrywide Bank has the highest certificate of deposit rates on a 3 month CD at an amazing 4.80% APY. There was a lot of concern regarding Countrywide Bank however they were recently bought by Bank of America. Their investment products are also FDIC insured so your money is guaranteed safe (up to 100k per account typically).

You will need $10,000 minimum to open up a CD at Countrywide Bank.

ETrade has a great rate for a 6 month CD at 5.18% APY. Click on the link for list of all their CD rates.

It’s very easy to open an account with ETrade online.  I actually switched my online savings account from Eloan to Etrade recently.
A minimum of $1000 is required to open a new CD account and they are FDIC insured.

Indymac Bank has very high CD rates for their 3 month CD at 5.40% APY.  A high rate on a 3 month CD is great because your money is not tied up for long.

The main drawback is that they require $5,000 minimum to open a CD.  They are FDIC insured.

In contrast Eloan’s 3 month CD is only at 5.00% APY.

Umbrella Bank has a high rate CD for 6 months at 5.13% APY. This is relatively high considering CD rates offered by other banks at the moment. A quick comparison of other 6 month CDs:

• ING DIRECT 4.70% APY
• E-loan 5.06% APY
• Bank of Internet 4.86% APY

Take advantage now because the Fed may cut the prime rate yet again.

Eloan is offering high CD rates despite the recent interest rate cuts by the Fed. Their 3 month CD is at 5.01% APY and their 6 month CD rate is at 5.05% APY.

The only drawback to Eloan is their $10,000 minimum deposit requirement.

Bank of the Internet currently has a great CD rate at 5.17% APY on their 6 to 8 month CD. 12 to 17 month CD rates are somewhat less at 5.11% APY.

CD rates have dropped since the Federal Reserve cut the prime rate by 1/2 a percent. Read more about this in Investment Education.

Right now ELOAN has the best CD rate for 3 month CDs at an 5.55% APY.

This is even higher than their 6 month CD that is at 5.20% APY. Opening a 3 month CD with ELOAN is one of the smartest investments that you can make if you are looking for a short term no risk investment.

If you need access to your money frequently then consider their online savings account. At 5.25% APY, ELOAN beats ING DIRECT by a whopping .75% APY!

There’s a $10,000 minimum to open any CD account at ELOAN and they are FDIC insured.

Washington Mutual (WAMU) is offering a very high rate CD for 6 months at 5.50% APY. This is definitely one of the highest rates at a trusted well known bank. This rate only applies for CDs that are open online.

Here’s a comparison of other “big banks” to put this 6 month CD rate in perspective:

• BofA - 5.10% APY - 5 Month CD - $5,000 minimum
• Wells Fargo - 4.90% APY - 5 Month CD - $5,000 minimum
• US Bank - 4.93% APY - 7 Month CD - $1,000 minimum

The minimum balance required to lock in this CD rate is only $1,000 which is low enough for many people looking to start making small investments for the future.

Bank of Internet currently has the best CD rates around. CD rates have dropped somewhat in the past few weeks. Hopefully you locked in a good rate a month or two ago. Bank of Internet is FDIC insured. Here are their current CD rates:

ELOAN currently has the highest CD rate for 60 month CDs at an amazing 5.60% APY. I currently have an online savings account with them since they offered the best interest rates at the time.

There’s a $10,000 minimum to open any CD account at ELOAN and they are FDIC insured.

They don’t have the best online interface but the transfers from your ELOAN account into your primary linked account occur VERY FAST-usually within 1-2 days.

In comparison, ING DIRECT usually takes 3-4 days to get money transferred from your ING Account into your primary linked account. This is in reference to the online savings accounts from these institutions (you wouldn’t make transfers regularly with CDs as you would incur penalties.)

Transportation Alliance Bank is offering the best CD rates on their 24 to 60 month CDs. If you open a 2 year CD you will get 5.48% APY and for CDs between 3 and 5 years you will get the currently highest CD rate of 5.50% APY.
The minimum deposit for opening a CD with them is only $1000 and they are FDIC insured.

The biggest problem with this deal is that they don’t offer the ability to open the account online. To get this best CD rate of 5.50% you will need to call them at 800-837-4214 or fill out the PDF and mail it in. They will probably lose a lot of business to other banks just because of the lack of online sign up ability.
Find out more about them at www.tabbank.com.

Element Direct has many different tiers for their CD rates. They have minimums ranging from 5000 to 100000 dollars. Here’s the general breakout as of today:

• $5,000 Minimum Deposit CD Rates:
  

  Term	APY
  3 Month CD	5.35 %
  6 Month CD	5.44 %
  9 Month CD	5.42 %
  12 Month CD	5.42 %
  18 Month CD	5.41 %
  24 Month CD	5.41 %
  30 Month CD	5.38 %
  36 Month CD	5.38 %
  48 Month CD	5.38 %
  60 Month CD	5.41 %

• $25,000 Minimum Deposit CD Rates:
  

  Term	APY
  3 Month CD	5.35 %
  6 Month CD	5.45 %
  9 Month CD	5.42 %
  12 Month CD	5.42 %
  18 Month CD	5.41 %
  24 Month CD	5.41 %
  30 Month CD	5.38 %
  36 Month CD	5.38 %
  48 Month CD	5.38 %
  60 Month CD	5.41 %

• $50,000 Minimum Deposit CD Rates:
  

  Term	APY
  3 Month CD	5.35 %
  6 Month CD	5.45 %
  9 Month CD	5.42 %
  12 Month CD	5.42 %
  18 Month CD	5.41 %
  24 Month CD	5.41 %
  30 Month CD	5.38 %
  36 Month CD	5.40 %
  48 Month CD	5.40 %
  60 Month CD	5.41 %

• $100,000 Minimum Deposit CD Rates:
  

  Term	APY
  3 Month CD	5.35 %
  6 Month CD	5.45 %
  9 Month CD	5.44 %
  12 Month CD	5.44 %
  18 Month CD	5.41 %
  24 Month CD	5.41 %
  30 Month CD	5.38 %
  36 Month CD	5.41 %
  48 Month CD	5.41 %
  60 Month CD	5.45 %

Element Financial is a division of Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B. and they are FDIC insured.

Countrywide Bank is offering a high rate CD of 5.40% APY for only 6 months. This is one of the best CD rates around for a 6 month CD. They do require a $10,000 minimum deposit to secure this high rate. Also check out their 5.40% Online Savings Account.

While the name Bank of Internet may sound sketchy, they have actually been established as an “internet bank” by the FDIC shows that they have been in business since 2000 and they are indeed insured by the FDIC.
The current Bank of Internet CD rates are right up there with the best:

• $1,000 minimum deposit
• $100,000 maximum deposit

iGOBanking.com is offering a promotional 8 month CD at 5.40% APY with only $500 minimum deposit. This is for new and existing customers however the money must be “new money” and can’t be transferred into this new CD account from an existing igobanking.com account. This is an excellent rate for only $500 minimum required deposit.

ELOAN currently has the best CD rate on their 1 year CD at 5.45% APY. They edge out Umbrella bank (with Umbrella bank’s 1 year CD at 5.40% APY.) The only problem with ELOAN is that you need a minimum $10,000 deposit.

Currently UmbrellaBank.com has the best rate on a 6 month CD. A very good investment choice since the minimum opening deposit is only $1000.