The offer mentioned below for California Coast Credit Union is no longer available.
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 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.
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 lock away your funds in a CD with a longer term, you'll earn more money with a lower APY. For example, a one-year CD with a 4.56% APY would earn you $136.80 at the end of its term if you deposited the same $3,000. One of our recommended one-year CDs that consistently has a strong APY comes from CIBC Bank USA.
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.
If you're unwilling (or unable) to open a CD with a longer term than the California Credit Union's five-month CD, you can still earn more interest by making a larger initial deposit. Funding a five-month CD offering a 4.20% APY with $8,000, for example, would earn you about $138 in interest at the end of the term (vs. the $116 you'd get from the credit union).
There are plenty of short-term CDs with high funding limits to help you pursue this strategy. One of our favorites is the six-month CD from Marcus by Goldman Sachs®.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs® CDs
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
From 3.75% to 4.35% APY
Terms
From 6 months to 6 years
Minimum deposit
$500
Monthly fee
None
Early withdrawal penalty fee
For CD terms of less than 1 year, the penalty is 90 days' interest on the principal balance at the interest rate in effect for the CD. For terms between 1 year and 5 years, the penalty is 180 days' interest. For CDs with terms of more than 5 years, the penalty is 270 days' interest. No-penalty CDs are not subject to penalty after seven days.
Early withdrawal penalty = interest rate ÷ 365 (or 366) × penalty days × original principal balance
Terms apply.
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FAQs
What is a jumbo CD?
A jumbo CD is similar to a regular CD, except that it has a higher deposit requirement. Typically, a jumbo CD requires an initial deposit of at least $100,000.
How much will $10,000 make in a six-month CD?
How much $10,000 will make in a six-month CD depends on the specific type of CD, the CD's APY and other factors. If you put $10,000 in a traditional six-month CD earning 4% APY, for example, you'd make about $198 in interest when that CD matured.
Is a CD better than a 401(k)?
Whether a CD is better than a 401(k) depends on your savings goals. A 401(k) is a special type of tax-advantaged investment account designed to help you grow your retirement savings, and you can usually only open one through an employer. A CD is a deposit account that you can open yourself, but the amount of interest it earns is usually much less than a 401(k) over the long term, making it more suitable for shorter-term goals.
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