Online Savings
No Minimum Deposit
Ally Bank, Member FDIC

1.20% APY

on all balance tiers

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11-Month No Penalty CD
$25,000 Minimum Deposit
Ally Bank, Member FDIC

1.50% APY

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Online CD Rates – 18 Month Certificates of Deposit for 2017

Eighteen-month Certificates of Deposit (CD) rates from online banks are often well above average if you are willing to open and manage your account using the Internet. Most online banks offer an online application and money can be transferred to fund the CD via an electronic transfer, check, wire, or credit card. To view rates for other CD terms, click the tabs above.

What to Look for in an Online CD Account:

FDIC and NCUA Insurance - In order to secure the viability of the US banking system, the Federal government provides insurance to a maximum amount of $250,000 per individual per institution (or $500,000 for joint account holders). This insurance is provided to banks through the FDIC and to credit unions through the NCUA. All banks listed on BestCashCow are FDIC insured; most, but not all, credit unions listed on BestCashCow are NCUA insured. Ordinarily, all deposits (CDs, Checking, Savings Accounts) held in the same type of ownership are added together and insured to $250,000, funds held in different types of ownership (Individual, Joint, Trust, Retirement) may fall under separate insurance provisions. In order to determine if your financial institution is insured and to ascertain your coverage limits, please visit - as appropriate - either FDIC.gov and use the BankFind functionality or NCUA.gov and use the Share Insurance Toolkit. We recommend that you deposit funds in only FDIC and NCUA insured institutions and that you do not exceed coverage limits.

Minimum Deposit - There is such competition for your money that the best CD rates are often available for sums as little as $500.

Term and CD Rates- Three month and six month certificates of deposit rates do not dramatically exceed those in online savings and money market accounts, and money market funds. Moreover, investors in states with higher state tax, such as New York and California, in an ordinary environment (not 2011) will perform equally well in a three-month US Treasury Bond or pre-refunded municipal bonds after they account for the fact that interest produced on those products are tax advantaged.

Generally, longer the CD term, the higher the CD rate. In general, the term you choose depends on how long you want to tie up your funds and also what you think will happen to interest rates.

Interest rates will fall. Then it is better to put money into longer-term CDs to maintain the high rate as long as possible.

Interest rates will rise. Put money into short term CDs. By keeping your cash more liquid, you can re-invest it as rates go up.

Interest rates will remain flat. In this case, going for longer-term CDs will help you maximize your interest income.

Learn more about getting the best CD rates.

Avoiding CD Pitfalls:

Early Withdrawal - Any certificate of deposit will bear substantial penalties for early withdrawal, if it is even allowed. Ordinarily, the penalty for early withdrawal will be a loss of all of your accrued interest, but there are certain circumstances where banks will also assess penalties that will result in a loss of some of your principal.