The full article continues below these offers from our partners.
Last week, the Federal Reserve lowered its federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, after reducing it a bolder half point in September. As a result, rates on many savings and CD accounts have been drifting lower.
Fortunately, rates surged so high in 2023 and 2024 that even the current softening leaves us with savings and CD rates that are still historically very attractive. Instead of top annual percentage yields (APYs) in the 0.50% to 1.50% range, as we saw in early 2022, you can now easily earn returns of 4.00% to 5.50% APY. Four easy ways to do that are:
As an added bonus, all four of these are essentially risk-free options for your money, with no need to worry if your investment will go up or down.
One of the easiest ways to earn a great return on your cash is to dump it into one of the country's best high-yield savings accounts. We rank the highest-paying options every business day, and the top rate is currently 5.50% APY. Not only that, but eight more options are paying 5.00% or better.
On the downside, savings account rates are variable, meaning they offer no rate guarantee for the future. And with more Fed rate cuts possible in December and 2025, it seems all but certain that savings account rates will move progressively lower for a while. But for now, high-yield savings accounts are riding a wave.
All of the institutions we feature for savings and CD accounts are federally insured by the FDIC for banks or the NCUA for credit unions. This means that your deposits of up to $250,000—per person and per institution—are federally protected.
For savers, one of the happiest byproducts of the Fed's aggressive 2022–2023 rate-hike campaign is that it pushed banks and credit unions to dramatically raise—and keep raising—the interest rates paid on CDs. Back in October of 2023, the highest nationwide CD rate reached above 6%—a level not seen in two decades.
Today, rates on the nation's best CDs are in the 5.00% to 5.50% range. But where CDs shine is that the rate you sign up for when you open a CD is yours to keep for its full term. So whether that's 3 months or 5 years—and no matter if the Fed keeps lowering interest rates—your CD's APY is fixed and guaranteed until the maturity date. This differs from a savings account rate, which can be reduced at any time.
If you like the idea of locking in one of today's high rates but don't feel you can commit your cash for too long, a short-term CD is a great bet. With terms up to 1 year, today's best-paying CDs can ensure you'll still earn 5.00% or better on your savings well into 2025.
If you can manage without some of your savings for a long while, you'll likely be even better off with a multi-year CD. Even though the top rates for terms of 18 months to 5 years are lower than for CDs lasting a year or less, these APYs in the 4.30% to 4.65% range will be guaranteed to last much longer.
That could prove very financially useful down the road since the Fed is expected to cut rates further this year and in 2025. The more rate cuts we see from the Fed, the less future savings and CD accounts will pay. So, locking in a mid-4% return now is likely to deliver dividends well into the future.
It's generally predicted that the Fed will cut rates one more time this year, and then multiple times in 2025. According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, about 60% of interest rate traders are forecasting another 0.25-point reduction on Dec. 18, and nearly that same proportion expect we'll see at least another half-point cut in 2025.
New this week is a promotional offer from Live Oak Bank, available on its Personal Savings Account. In addition to offering a reasonable—if not stellar—APY of 4.30%, Live Oak is also offering a cash bonus of $300 for anyone who opens this account, deposits at least $20,000, and keeps that balance (or more) on deposit for 60 days.
If you meet those requirements, the cash bonus added to the interest you'd earn over two months would equate to a 13.3% APY for that short period. Granted, your rate will go down to 4.30% (or whatever Live Oak's rate is at the time) after the two-month period. But you could always move your cash elsewhere after earning the bonus.
Of course, you're not limited to keeping just $20,000 in the Live Oak account. Even on a $50,000 deposit, your return would far surpass the alternative savings account options that pay 5% rates. But as the table below shows, you can earn the most bang for your buck with a $20,000 balance.
| $20,000 deposit | $30,000 deposit | $40,000 deposit | $50,000 deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 months of earnings at 4.30% APY* | $143 | $215 | $287 | $358 |
| Cash bonus | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 |
| Total earnings in 2 months | $443 | $515 | $587 | $658 |
| Resulting APY during cash bonus period | 13.3% | 10.3% | 8.8% | 7.9% |
We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:
Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
Best Money Market Accounts
Best 3-Month CD Rates
Best 6-Month CD Rates
Best 1-Year CD Rates
Best 18-Month CD Rates
Best 2-Year CD Rates
Best 3-Year CD Rates
Best 4-Year CD Rates
Best 5-Year 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. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that's below $5,000.
Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. 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.
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