How To Get 5% CD Rates

Emily BatdorfBanking Reviewer and Writer

With a background in education and a fascination with finance, Emily Batdorf writes approachable content for consumers who want to deepen their understanding of personal finance topics. She loves writing about financial foundations—like opening the right bank accounts, building an emergency fund and tackling debt. Her work has been featured on sites including USA Today, MarketWatch, Credible and LendEDU.

Emily Batdorf

Emily BatdorfBanking Reviewer and Writer

Banking Reviewer and Writer

Elizabeth AldrichDeputy Editor, Banking

With eight years of experience as a financial journalist and editor and a degree in economics, Elizabeth Aldrich has worked on thousands of articles within the realm of banking, economics, credit cards, investing, loans, personal finance and travel. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, The Motley Fool, Bankrate, Investopedia, LendingTree, Student Loan Hero, ValuePenguin, USA Today, Credit Karma, NASDAQ, Yahoo! Finance and more.

Fact Checked

Elizabeth Aldrich

Elizabeth AldrichDeputy Editor, Banking

Deputy Editor, Banking

Fact Checked

Updated: Apr 11, 2024, 10:53am

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

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Certificate of deposit (CD) rates have climbed quite a bit in the past couple of years. While they’ve stabilized in recent months, it’s not hard to find CDs offering 5.00% APY if you know where to look.

You can still get 5% CD rates at online banks, credit unions and even some traditional banks offering promotional CDs. Account details and annual percentage yields (APYs) are accurate as of April 11, 2024.

Can You Get 5% on a CD?

Plenty of banks and credit unions are offering CDs paying 5.00% APY or more. To earn an account’s advertised APY, you’ll often have to meet any account minimums. Some CDs have no minimum opening deposit requirement, but it’s not uncommon to see CD minimums of $500 to $2,500 or more.

Keep in mind that the highest advertised APY may only be available with certain CD terms. A bank may offer a 12-month CD that earns 5.00% APY, but its 24-month CD may only earn 4.00%. In this case, you’d have to sign up for a shorter term to earn a 5% CD rate.

If you’re looking at 5% CD rates offered by a credit union, you might have to jump through some extra hoops. While anyone can open a CD at a bank, you typically have to satisfy a credit union’s membership eligibility requirements and become a member before opening a CD with the institution.

Who Is Offering a 5% CD Rate?

Various banks and credit unions are currently offering 5% CDs. You may even find 6% CD rates now and then, although that’s where rates top out—7% CDs aren’t available anymore.

Below, you’ll find several financial institutions offering at least one CD term with an APY of 5.00% or above. This isn’t an exhaustive list of 5% CDs, so do your own research before opening an account.

Bread Savings 1-Year CD

APY: 5.25%
Minimum deposit to open: $1,500

Bread Savings’ one-year CD offers an attractive 5.25% APY, but you have to deposit at least $1,500 to take advantage of that rate.

The Bread Savings Certificate of Deposit has terms ranging from one to five years, but only the one-year CD earns an APY above the 5.00% mark. All terms are competitive, though: Bread CD APYs range from 4.15% to 5.25% APY. Bread also rewards you with an even higher rate when you renew certain CD terms.

Interest on your Bread CD compounds daily and is credited to your account monthly.

Quontic Bank 6-Month CD

APY: 5.05%
Minimum deposit to open: $500

Quontic Bank offers CDs with terms ranging from six months to 60 months (five years), and APYs range from 4.30% to 5.05%. While the six-months CD earns the highest APY at 5.05%, Quontic’s one-Year CD earns 4.50% APY.

To open a Quontic Bank Certificate of Deposit and earn the advertised APY, you have to deposit at least $500. You can open a Quontic CD online in just a few minutes.

Interest compounds daily and is credited to your account monthly.

Synchrony Bank 6-Month CD

APY: 4.80%
Minimum deposit to open: $0

Synchrony Bank’s highest-earning term—6 months—earns a competitive 4.80% APY. Even better, there are no minimum deposit requirements for any Synchrony CDs.

In addition to its regular CDs, Synchrony offers bump-up and no-penalty CDs. But these CDs don’t hit the 5% mark.

Interest on your Synchrony Bank Certificates of Deposit compounds daily and is credited to your account monthly.

CommunityWide Federal Credit Union 6-Month and 12-Month CDs

APY: 5.30%
Minimum deposit to open: $1,000

CommunityWide Federal Credit Union offers a generous 5.30% APY on the six-month term and 5.15% on the 12-month terms. Other terms are competitive, too. While the CommunityWide Federal Credit Union CW Certificate Account rates are already competitive, the credit union advertises that it will do its best to match better rates you find elsewhere. You’ll need an initial deposit of $1,000 to open a CD at CommunityWide Federal Credit Union.

Credit unions like CommunityWide refer to CDs as share certificates and interest as dividends. At CommunityWide, your dividends are compounded and credited to your account monthly.

Since CommunityWide is a credit union, you also need to qualify for membership. There are plenty of ways to do so, including having a qualifying family member or being an employee, retiree or donor member of certain organizations. But anyone can become eligible to join by making a $5 donation to one of the following organizations:

Michiana Goodwill Boosters
Marine Corps League of St. Joseph Valley
Habitat for Humanity Helpers
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana

Santander Bank 6-Month CD

APY: 4.75%
Minimum deposit to open: $500

Currently, Santander Bank advertises two CD terms on its website: a six-month CD and a 11-month CD. The six-month CD earns a higher rate of 4.75% APY, while the 11-month CD earns a competitive rate of 4.50% APY. You need a minimum deposit of $500 to open one of these CDs.

Keep in mind you can’t apply for a Santander Bank Standard Certificates of Deposit online. Instead, you have to visit a branch to do so. Most Santander branches are in the Northeast U.S. and Florida.

Interest on your Santander Bank CD compounds daily and is credited to your account monthly.

Is a 5% CD a Good Investment?

If you have money to save that you won’t need to touch for at least six months, a 5% CD may be worth considering. These CDs earn rates well above the national average CD and savings rates, according to the FDIC. However, you should consider more than just APY when deciding whether or not a 5% CD is a good investment.

Most CDs don’t allow penalty-free withdrawals before maturity, and those penalties can eat into your earnings. If you’re uncomfortable setting aside your money for at least six or 12 months—or you think you may need to access it for an emergency—a 5% CD isn’t a good investment. Given the early withdrawal penalties you may pay, a high-yield savings or money market account may help you earn more, even if the rate is slightly lower.

If you’re saving for the long term, you may want to target more aggressive investments. For example, you likely won’t meet your retirement savings goals by investing only in CDs. Instead, you may want to explore investments that have historically provided higher returns and are more likely to outpace inflation—as long as you understand the risks.

Alternatives to 5% CDs

Taking advantage of the best CD rates—especially those upward of 5%—can be a great way to save. But depending on your priorities, you may be better off with one of the following alternatives.

High-Yield Savings Accounts

While high-yield savings accounts don’t often earn as much as CDs, they offer more in terms of flexibility and access to your money. Typically, these accounts allow you to make withdrawals and deposits whenever you want, though some financial institutions may limit you to six free monthly withdrawals. It’s common for high-yield savings accounts to have low or no minimum opening deposit requirements. You’ll often find high-yield savings accounts at online banks.

Money Market Accounts

Money market accounts (MMAs) are more flexible than both CDs and high-yield savings accounts. These accounts combine features of both a savings and checking account. MMAs earn higher interest rates, like a savings account, and may also come with checks and a debit card, like a checking account. MMAs may offer lower interest rates than CDs, and they can come with monthly fees or higher minimum opening deposit and balance requirements than savings accounts.