Key Takeaways
- Earning the highest rates on savings accounts and CDs usually requires venturing out to smaller and medium-sized banks and credit unions.
- But if sticking to a big-name bank will help you sleep better at night, you can still earn a respectable APY at some large banks. The key is to shop around, as some of the biggest banks only pay pennies.
- Willing to consider a smaller institution? Our daily rankings of the best high-yield savings accounts and best CD rates provide dozens of options paying up to 5.50% on savings and 5.88% on CDs.
- When weighing banks and credit unions, remember that FDIC and NCUA insurance provides identical protection on your deposits, no matter the size of the institution.
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Whatever Size Bank You’re Looking for, Shop Around
The highest-paying savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) are typically offered by small to medium-sized banks and credit unions. These institutions with names you may not recognize have to work harder to attract customer deposits, and many of them do that by offering more appealing interest rates.
In contrast, some of the very biggest banks—like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—aren’t hungry for deposits in the same way smaller institutions are. As a result, some of them pay savings account rates that are very close to zero—and most of their CDs also pay a pittance. So moving your money to a savings account or CD at one of these banking giants without doing your homework could be a costly mistake.
Fortunately, we make it extremely easy to do your research. Every business day, we publish the top nationwide rates on high-yield savings accounts in addition to the best nationally available CD rates in every major term. Each list provides at least 15 top-paying options that anyone in the country can open.
Still, if you’d rather deposit your savings with a brand-name bank that feels more familiar, it’s not impossible to earn a respectable rate—if you choose carefully. While you won’t earn the highest rate in the country, you can still earn many times the national average if you take a little time to shop around.
Among the Biggest U.S. Banks, These Offer Some Competitive Rates
As you can see below, 11 of the roughly 30 largest banks (ranked by total domestic deposits) currently offer a competitive savings account rate or a reasonable CD rate in at least one major term. Note, however, that some of these banks offer different rates in different ZIP codes, so your mileage may vary. Also, rates can go up or down on any given day, so what you see here may or may not still be available when you’re shopping around.
| Best Rates at Big Banks | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size Rank | Bank | Savings Account | 6M CD | 1Y CD | 2Y CD | 3Y CD | 5Y CD |
| 2 | Bank of America | 5.50% | 5.00% | ||||
| 3 | Wells Fargo | 4.75% | 5.00% | ||||
| 4 | Citi | 4.45% | 4.30% | 5.25% | |||
| 8 | Capital One | 4.35% | 4.35% | 5.25% | 4.40% | 4.30% | 4.10% |
| 9 | Marcus by Goldman Sachs | 4.40% | 5.15% | 5.30% | 4.85% | 4.40% | 4.10% |
| 12 | BMO Alto | 5.10% | 5.50% | 5.65% | 5.25% | 5.00% | 4.90% |
| 20 | Ally | 4.25% | 5.05% | 5.10% | 4.25% | 4.10% | |
| 24 | American Express | 4.30% | 5.25% | 4.75% | |||
| 26 | HSBC | 4.50% | 5.00% | 4.50% | |||
| 27 | Discover | 4.35% | 5.30% | 5.20% | 4.40% | 4.30% | 4.00% |
| 31 | Synchrony | 4.75% | 5.50% | 5.30% | 4.40% | 4.30% | 4.00% |
| Top nationwide rate from smaller institutions | 5.50% | 5.88% | 5.77% | 5.50% | 5.50% | 5.25% | |
Want to Earn More? Smaller Institutions Pay the Nation-Leading Rates
If you instead want to earn one of the nation’s very top rates, you can do that by loosening your criteria on how big or recognizable the bank is. There are over 100 banks and credit unions that offer high-yield savings accounts to customers nationwide, and 200 that offer nationally available CDs. So the 30 largest banks are just the tip of the iceberg. By being willing to bank at a medium-sized or even small institution—after ensuring it is federally insured—you can earn the highest rates available.
Our daily ranking of the best high-yield savings account rates currently includes 20 options that pay 5.15% APY or better, including a new leader that just came on the scene yesterday, paying a record rate of 5.50% APY.
Our daily ranking of the best CD rates, meanwhile, includes six leading CDs that pay between 5.75% and 5.88%, with terms ranging from 6 months to 18 months. For terms of 2 to 5 years, the top nationwide rates range from 5.13% to 5.50% APY. But beyond those leaders, you have 15 or more choices in every term, all offering stellar returns.
If depositing your money in one of these smaller institutions feels riskier, rest assured that it isn’t. FDIC insurance applies equally to all member banks. So if the smaller bank you’re considering is an FDIC member, your deposits are just as safe at that bank as at an exceptionally large one. The same holds true for credit unions—if they’re a member of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), they too offer the same federal insurance protection on your deposits that FDIC coverage provides.
Why CDs Are So Easy to Hold at Another Bank
Where you do your everyday banking is important, and you may have a long history already with one particular institution. Making a change in where you hold your checking account could involve a significant disruption to your daily financial life.
But CDs are not like this. By definition, they are a place to stash your money and not touch it for months or years. Yes, there are monthly statements and interest payments. But these are not transactions that require your attention or action. If you’re like many CD buyers, you’ll interact with your CD account twice in its lifetime: once when you open it, and a second and final time when you cash out and close it.
For this reason, CDs are well suited to being held at an institution other than your primary bank. You may still prefer to keep all your funds at the bank you’re already used to. But if you decide to shop around so you can score a higher rate, know that a CD’s “park it and forget it” nature will make things very easy for you.
Rate Collection Methodology Disclosure
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.
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.
