Credit Union Certificate of Deposit Rates: Get the highest APY
Warning: The rates featured on this page are likely outdated. Visit our CD Rates Center for updated rates and special offers.
Update: See the top CD rates from credit unions in 2012.
If you’ve been in the market for a CD (certificate of deposit) lately, then you may have come to the conclusion that credit unions can offer the highest rates. Big banks, online banks and even regional ranks are pumping out some of the lowest APY’s on record lately and have left consumers scratching their heads in search for higher returns.
Traditionally online banks have been able to put up the best annual percentage yields for certificates of deposits, however, you may want to give your local credit union a second glance before jumping on that bandwagon. Credit Unions are not-for-profit financial institutions that are owned by their members. Therefor whatever profits they incur are generally passed back down to their members in the form of higher certificate of deposit rates. They are also federally insured by the NCUA (FDIC equivalent) and don’t have the same competitive dynamic in which most large banks do.
Large banks, both regional and national, compete for your savings dollars by regularly one-upping each other on certificate of deposit rates. However, because the Fed is currently loaning money to banks at near zero interest, banks no longer need to compete for private funds.
Credit Unions on the other hand can sometimes offer slightly higher rates on certificate of deposits even in a downturn market because they need only answer to their members (who function as their share holders).
Today’s Highest CD Rates (Credit Unions Only):
| Credit Union | Term | APY | MIin. Deposit | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patelco Credit Union | 1 year CD | 5.00% | $1,000 | *New Member CD Only. Minimum and maximum deposit set at $1,000. Visit patelco.org. |
| Navy Federal Credit Union | 1 year CD | 3.00% | $50 | This is their promotional "Easy Start Certificate." It has a $3,000 maximum deposit amount and you must also have a direct deposit set-up from a NFCU checking account and monthly automatic deposit of at least $15. Contact NFCU at navyfederal.org. |
| Digital Credit Union | 5 year CD | 2.72% | $500 | Not Available in IRA. Contact dcu.org. |
| Wings Financial Credit Union | 5 year CD | 2.50% | $500 | Contact wingsfinancial.com |
| Melrose Credit Union | 3 year CD | 1.91% | $5,000 | This is a share certificate. Contact melrosecu.org |
| Digital Credit Union | 36 - 47 months | 1.76% | $500 | Not Available in IRA. Contact dcu.org. |
| Digital Credit Union | 12-23 months | 1.25% | $500 | Add-on permitted for 12 months terms. Minimum add on $100. Contact DCU.org. |
| Lookheed Federal Credit Union | 1 year 'Bump' CD | 1.25% | $1,000 | *Must have combined loan + savings of at least $20k to earn advertised rate. Rate will be 0.50% lower if requirements aren't met. Visit lfcu.com. |
| Melrose Credit Union | 1 year CD | 1.15% | $5,000 | This is a share certificate. Contact melrosecu.org. |
| Connexus Credit Union | 1 year CD | 1.10% | $10,000 | Must have active checking account. "Xtraordinary Checking Account" providing promotional APY of 2.0%. Contact Connexuscu.org |
Highest Rate Offered on a Certificate of Deposit from a Credit Union:
Comb through out CD rate archives and tables to find today’s highest rates from credit unions and banks in order to lock in the top APY. Be sure to always look for promotional CD offers from credit unions as they’ll regularly offer CD’s with oddball maturities such as 7 months, 9 months, 15 months, etc with exceptionally high interest rates. Here are a few examples of noteworthy credit union deposit offers we’ve dug up from our archives…
- Elevations Federal Credit Union out of Colorado had a promotional CD going for 7% APY on a term of just 7 months!
- WYMAR Federal Credit Union had some phenomenal deposit rates as well if you had the ability to invest large sums of money. When we covered their CDs they had a fantastic rate being offered for deposit amounts of $75,000 or more.
- Piedmont Credit Union out of Virginia perhaps still has the highest CD rates offered from a credit union. We just covered their deposit offerings this month and found that their 6 month CD and 12 month CD both beat the current national average for those terms by nearly 90%.
If you’re local credit union is offering deposit rates with exceptionally high APY’s, please share by leaving a comment!
February 27th, 2011 at 2:23 am
7% in 7 months! Holy cow! Thanks for the awesome article and sharing these amazing resources with us all. Please keep up the awesome posts!
October 20th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
No prob Doc!
October 21st, 2011 at 8:13 am
Can we open up 4 of the easy start deposits from Navy Federal Credit Union under different names from people in our family and max them each out at 3k?
I know I am eligible to join this credit union but Im looking for a 10,000 dollar deposit.
April 9th, 2012 at 10:13 am
@ Ajay – Yea, you can open them for each of your kids as long as they are under 18. Just have their social security numbers and you should be good to go.