My MLM Dream Team

Locating high cd rates can be a daunting task.  A few well thought out searches can return some of the best CD interest rates in the country.  Just pick your favorite search engine and try a few of these.  However, be sure to verify the banks are FDIC insured and the credit unions are NCUA insured.

First decide the type of online certifcate of deposit you want.  Do you need the online CD rates for amounts less than $50,000?  Are you looking for high interest yields for your IRA CD?  Do you need rates for Jumbo CDs?  If you go to Google and type “CD Rates”, the top pages will give you access to high online CD rates available for amounts as low as $500.00  You will see a site for bankaholic and bankrate at number one and two.  You may see a site for jumbocdinvestments in number 6.  The top three positions are pretty stable; the remainder can change quite often.  Each of those pages gives you access to high interest rate CDs. 

If you are looking for the best IRA CD rates, try typing “best IRA CD Rates”.  This time bankrate and jumbocdinvestments have the top spots.   For Jumbo CDs (usually CDs that are greater than $100,000), you can enter “Jumbo CD Rates”.  Bankrate and jumbocdinvestments once again have the top positions.

Between those sites, you should find the best jumbo cd rates that you are looking for.  If you aren’t comfortable working with online banks and companies, you can always print out the offers you find and see if your local bank or credit union will match or come close to the online rates. 

As of 10/03/08, the FDIC increased the insurance limit to $250,000 at each bank you have deposits with.  This increase is through 12/31/13 if it isn’t extended or made permanent.  Your savings, checking, money market accounts, and CDs are added together and considered in total.  The increased limit is only temporary, however. IRA, Joint, and Revocable Trust accounts are considered separately for insurance coverage.  So it is possible to have quite a bit of money insured at one bank.  The $250,000 coverage for IRAs is permanent.  Those cd rates and searches can sure come in handy at that point.  Since the Congress hasn’t made the change permanent, however, be careful of your CD terms. 

These days it is also smart to do a little bit of checking on the soundness of the bank.  Bankrate[dot]com has a nice star-rating system that rates banks from the lowest 1-star to the highest 5-star.  With the FDIC closing a bank a week these days (they closed two last week), I would stay away from 1-star and if you can find a 3-star or higher rated bank with a similar rate, open your CD there.