California Coast Credit Union is currently offering a 5-month CD with a rate of 9.50% annual percentage yield (APY). However, it's a limited-time offer and only available to people living in certain Southern California counties. That said, there are still plenty of other high-yield CDs available that can actually earn you more money in the long run— read on to find out more.
California Coast Credit Union CDs
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
From 0.10% to 9.50% APY
Terms
From 3 months to 5 years
Minimum deposit
$500 or $1,000
Monthly fee
None
Early withdrawal penalty fee
Early withdrawal penalty applies. For terms 6 to 24 months, the early withdrawal penalty is equal to all dividends for 180 days on the amount withdrawn. For terms greater than 24 months, the penalty is equal to all dividends for 365 days on the amount withdrawn.
Terms apply.
Pros
- Above-average APYs
- Range of CD terms
- No monthly fee
Cons
- $500 or $1,000 minimum deposit
- You can't access your money before your CD term ends
- Early withdrawal penalty fees apply
- Only California physical branch locations
Compare CD rates
California Coast Credit Union CD offering
For a limited time, the California Coast Credit Union is offering 9.50% APY on its 5-month "Celebration Certificate" CD in honor of its 95th anniversary. Not only is this a rare high-interest offering compared to other CDs on the market, but it only requires a minimum deposit of $500.
While some credit unions offer membership to anyone in the nation, California Coast Credit Union isn't one of them. You'll need to be a resident (or work in) one of the following Southern California counties to qualify for membership:
- San Diego
- Riverside
- Orange
- Los Angeles
- Ventura
- Imperial
- San Bernardino
How to earn 9.50% APY
California Coast Credit Union members can earn the Celebration Certificate's 9.50% APY by funding the certificate with new money that hasn't been deposited with the credit union before (in other words, you can't transfer money from another account you have with the credit union).
You also can't have previously opened a Celebration Certificate CD, as it's limited to one per social security number.
Finally, you must either have an active checking account (one qualifying transaction per month) with eStatements or one of the following:
- New money market account with a minimum balance of $5,000
- New regular certificate (CD) with a minimum balance of $5,000
- New IRA Certificate with a minimum balance of $5,000
- New (funded) consumer loan excluding share secured loans and Mastercard credit card account (loans not eligible include: credit cards, Share Secured loans, Certificate Secured loans)
All of these qualifications must be met 30 days after opening your Celebration Certificate account. Otherwise, you may get a reduced APY for the remainder of the CD's term.
Rates and fees
Along with the one-time $5 membership fee, you'll also need to deposit at least $500 into the CD and a maximum of $3,000, but there are no monthly maintenance fee requirements.
You can't withdraw your money early or add any additional money to the CD after you've funded it.
Compare offers to find the best savings account
How you can earn more money with a lower-APY CD
While you may not qualify for this particular CD due to its restrictions, there are plenty of CDs with longer terms or no funding caps (or both) that can earn you more money — even if they have lower APYs than California Credit Union's Celebration Certificate.
Consider this: Maximizing California Credit Union's 9.5% APY Celebration Certificate means depositing $3,000 and, over the five-month CD term, earning about $116 in interest. But if you're willing to keep that $3,000 locked away for seven more months, you'd earn about $158 in interest alone by opening CIBC Bank USA's one-year CD which currently offers a 5.25% APY.
Another way a CD with a lower APY can earn you more than California Credit's Celebration Certificate is if it has a higher funding limit that allows you to put more money in the account. Marcus by Goldman Sachs®, for example, has a six-month CD (currently 5.10% APY) with a $1 million limit. Funding that CD with $6,000 offering 5.10% APY up to a $1 million cap will get you about $151 in interest earnings alone — and that only requires locking up your funds for one more month than what California Credit Union would require. Note that both CIBC Bank's and Marcus by Goldman Sachs' CDs are available nationwide.
CIBC Bank USA CDs
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
Up to 5.25% APY
Terms
From 9 months to 30 months
Minimum deposit
$1,000
Monthly fee
None
Early withdrawal penalty fee
CIBC Bank USA may charge a 30-day penalty if you withdraw your CD funds before maturity
Terms apply.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs® CDs
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
From 3.90% to 5.10% APY
Terms
From 6 months to 6 years
Minimum deposit
$500
Monthly fee
None
Early withdrawal penalty fee
If you withdraw the balance entire principal amount from your CD account prior to maturity, you'll be charged an early withdrawal penalty based on the term of your CD and the principal (except in the case of a No-Penalty CD). Here's how early withdrawal penalties are calculated:
Early Withdrawal Penalty = Interest Rate ÷ 365 (or 366) × Penalty Days × Original Principal Balance
Terms apply.
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Bottom line
The California Coast Credit Union 9.50% APY CD offering is great for anyone looking to earn big on their savings within a short amount of time. Whether you're looking to save up for vacation or make a down payment on a new car, you'll earn more than what traditional savings accounts offer within this timeframe.
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