As CD rates slide, a California credit union is still offering 9.50% APY — for now
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- CD rates have been going down throughout 2024, but some local institutions still offer good rates.
- California Coast Credit Union offers a startling 9.50% APY on its 95th anniversary Celebration CD.
- If you live in certain parts of California, you can open this CD and earn over $100 in interest.
CD interest rates have been dropping steadily for the past few months, and it’s become difficult to find CDs offering 5% interest. As competitive CD rates become rarer, one local credit union is still offering one of 2024’s highest-interest CDs — but it might not for much longer.
If you live in certain parts of California, you might be interested in the California Coast Credit Union Celebration Certificate, which offers a startling 9.50% annual percentage yield. In comparison, even the best CDs available nationwide mostly offer CD rates in the high 4% to 5% APY range.
CD specials can end at any time, and this CD special has been available for the past several months. If you’re interested in opening a CD with this credit union, you’ll want to act fast since CD rates are likely to decline further in 2025. Here’s what you need to do to open the CD before it’s gone for good.
How to qualify for the 9.50% APY CD
The biggest limitation you’ll run into when trying to open a California Coast Credit Union Celebration Certificate lies in the credit union’s membership eligibility requirements. While there are credit unions that anyone can join, most limit who can join based on where you live or who you work for. To join California Coast Credit Union, you’ll need to live or work in San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Imperial, or San Bernardino counties in California.
You also won’t be able to put more than $3,000 in the account, and you can only open one Celebration Certificate per person. California Coast Credit Union uses your Social Security number to ensure you haven’t opened a Celebration Certificate before, which could be a problem if you don’t have one. The best banks for immigrants let you use an individual taxpayer identification number instead of a Social Security number to sign up for bank accounts.
In addition to these limitations, you’ll need at least $500 of new money, which is money not currently in an account with the credit union. You’ll also need to do one of the following within 30 days of opening the account to earn the certificate’s high annual percentage yield:
- Have an active checking account with eStatements. You need at least one transaction each month to have an active account
- Open a new money market account with a minimum balance of $5,000
- Open a new regular certificate with a minimum balance of $5,000
- Open a new IRA certificate with a minimum balance of $5,000
- Take out a new, funded consumer loan that isn’t one of the following: a share-secured loan, a credit card, or a certificate-secured loan
No matter what you choose, the account will need to stay open for the Celebration Certificate’s full term length, which is 5 months. If you don’t meet these conditions, you’ll only earn 0.10% APY, which is what the credit union’s 3-month CD offers for the amount you can put in a Celebration Certificate.
Options for high-yield CDs from nationwide financial institutions
If you can’t open a California Coast Credit Union Celebration Certificate but you still want to open a high-yield CD, you still have options. While you won’t be able to earn 9.50% APY, you can still earn up to 5.50% APY from the best banks and credit unions available nationwide.
We’ve collected a list of CDs offered by nationwide financial institutions below. Most of these are short-term CDs since short-term CD rates are currently outperforming long-term CD rates.
Other high-yield bank account options
You don’t need to open a CD to earn a high interest rate on your funds. If you don’t want to lose access to your money for months or years, there are still 5% interest savings accounts available across the U.S. High-yield checking accounts also offer high rates, but you generally need to meet very strict requirements to earn them.
And if you’re willing to take on a bit more risk, you might prefer opening a bond over opening a CD if you’re looking for long-term options. For example, Treasury bonds are low-risk, since you’re loaning money to the government, and they can last as long as 30 years.