Top CDs Today: New Leader Matches Best Nationwide Rate—With a Flexible Term

Just one day after welcoming a new CD rate leader, we now have two certificates sharing the best-in-the-nation crown. The new contender is Credit Human, which is offering 5.80% APY for a take-your-pick term between 12-17 months. You can also secure that rate from The Federal Savings Bank on a 12-month option.

Looking instead for a long-term rate lock? We have good news there as well. For three months and counting, the longest nationwide CD paying at least 5.00% was a 3-year option. Today that's finally been extended, with a new 50-month CD from Chartway Credit Union offering 5.00% APY.

If you want to extend one of today's record rates further into the future, you can score 5.23% with the best 3-year CD. But for the first time since the Fed began raising rates in 2022, you can earn 5.00% on a CD in the 4-year term, with a new 50-month offer. Previously, the leading rate for 4- and 5-year CDs had only reached the upper 4% range.

Have a jumbo-sized deposit? You have the chance to earn even more. The top jumbo rate is currently 5.85% APY—available on a 170-day certificate requiring at least a $100,000 deposit.

How High Will CD Rates Go This Year?

The Fed has been aggressively combating decades-high inflation since March of last year, with fast-and-furious 2022 hikes to the federal funds rate, and easing to more moderate increases in 2023. On July 26, the Fed bumped rates for the 11th time in 12 meetings, taking the cumulative increase to 5.25%.

That raises the central bank's benchmark rate to its highest level since 2001. In turn, it's created record rate conditions for CD shoppers, as well as for anyone holding cash in a high-yield savings or money market account.

The Fed is convened today and will conclude its meeting with a rate announcement tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern. Traders have priced in a 99% probability that the Fed will hold rates stable, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

But the chance of the Fed hiking rates at its November or December meeting is notably higher, currently standing at 25-40% odds. That's due to inflation still remaining stubborn, as reported in the latest inflation data released last week. For a second month in a row, inflation rose month-over-month. And while the Fed's preferred measure of "core" inflation, which excludes volatile gas and food prices, did not rise as much, it was still slightly higher than economist forecasts. This could lead the Fed to implement a 12th rate hike in November or December.

In an Aug. 25 speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said further rate increases were on the table if inflation doesn't come down enough in the coming months. Other Fed Board members have since echoed the sentiment that future rate hikes are still a possibility.

Though this week's meeting will almost certainly not conclude with a new rate hike, it will involve a fresh release of projections on whether Fed board members believe another increase will be needed. It will also likely provide clues on how long Fed committee members expect they'll need to hold the benchmark rate at its 22-year high.

If the Fed does implement another increase later this year, it would certainly nudge CD rates a bit higher than their already record levels. But September's expected hold will leave markets—and CD shoppers—guessing if the pause is temporary or permanent. Once the end of the Fed's campaign is more confidently in sight, that will finally signal CD rates have reached a peak.

Rate Collection Methodology Disclosure

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the CD'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.