Best 18-Month CD Rates for May 2024 (Up to 5.40%)

Frequently Asked Questions

• What Are the Best CD Rates for 18 Months?

  The best CD rates for an 18-month term will be anything over 5.00%. The best 18-month CD will come with a high rate, low early withdrawal penalty, and low minimum deposit required. Most of the top 18-month CDs have an early withdrawal penalty of three to six months and a minimum deposit of $500 or more.
  

• How Long Should You Keep Money in a CD?

  You should aim to keep your money in a CD for as long as the CD term. Taking your money out before the term ends could result in paying an early withdrawal penalty, which means you'd lose out on some of the interest you earned. Since a CD is a fixed interest rate account, you know what you'll earn before you sign up and deposit money. You should calculate the early withdrawal penalty and what it would cost you if needed before you lock yourself into a CD. Additionally, after the CD term ends, you may want to roll the CD over into another CD, especially if rates are high and you don't need the money for something else.
  

• When Is an 18-Month CD a Good Choice?

  An 18-month CD is a suitable option for money you won't need in the coming year or longer. For those with a specific plan for the money, such as a down payment on a house or paying college tuition bills for a child, an 18-month CD might provide just the time frame you need to keep funds safe and reliably earning interest.

  Another appeal of 18-month CDs is to provide one rung of a shortened CD ladder. A CD ladder is a strategy for investing your funds in five CDs of differing terms rather than all at once. For a yearly ladder, you would own a 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year CD. But you can also create a shorter ladder, with six-month increments between the CDs (e.g., 6-month, 12-month, 18-month, etc.).

• Are Online Bank CDs Safe?

  Many of the highest deposit rates, whether for CDs, savings accounts, or money market accounts, are offered by online banks. Some of these are online-only banks, meaning they operate solely on the Internet, while others are brick-and-mortar banks with a separate online banking arm. Sometimes the online operations of physical banks even have an entirely different name and brand identity.

  Though you may feel nervous depositing your funds into an Internet bank instead of at a physical branch, online accounts and institutions are just as safe as their more traditional counterparts. That's because FDIC insurance doesn't discriminate—the $250,000 in deposit insurance it provides consumers in case of bank failure applies equally to online and brick-and-mortar banks.
  

• Why Do Shorter CDs Sometimes Pay More Than Longer CDs?

  Generally speaking, the shorter the CD term, the lower the interest rate paid by the bank, and vice versa. That's because the bank recognizes you need to be rewarded more substantially the longer you're being asked to leave the money on deposit.

  However, not all institutions use a perfectly linear scale of interest rates that increase with the CD terms. A common strategy is offering one or more promotional CDs that pay a significantly higher interest rate to entice customers to the institution. To limit how long the bank is paying the boosted rate, promotional CDs are often shorter in duration, such as less than two years.

  Another factor is that banks and credit unions decide their CD yields based on where they think the federal funds rate will be in the future. So when it's expected that future interest rates will be lower than today's rates, it's common to see short- or mid-term CDs paying the best rates.

• How Do You Build a CD Ladder?

  A CD ladder enables you to access the higher rates typically offered on 5-year CDs, but with the twist that a portion of your money becomes available every year, rather than every five years. Here's how to do it.

  1. Take the amount of money you want to invest in CDs and divide it by five.
  2. Put one-fifth of the funds into a top-earning 1-year CD, another fifth into a top 2-year CD, another into a 3-year CD, and so forth through a 5-year CD. Let’s say you have $25,000 available. That would give you five CDs of varying lengths, each with a value of $5,000.
  3. When the first CD matures in a year, you take the resulting funds and open a top-rate 5-year CD.
  4. One year later, your initial 2-year CD will mature, and you'll invest those funds into another 5-year CD.
  5. Continue doing this every year with whichever CD is maturing until you end up with a portfolio of five CDs all earning 5-year APYs, but with one of them maturing every 12 months, keeping your money a bit more accessible than if all of it were locked up for a full five years.
     

• Can You Lose Money in a CD?

  You can't lose your principal when you deposit it in a CD. But you can lose out on interest in the CD if you withdraw it early. Most CDs come with an early withdrawal penalty (but not all CDs have penalties) so if you take your money out of the account before the term is up, you may pay a price. CDs are federally insured though, so if you're worried about losing money in a CD due to a bank failure, you can rest assured that your money is backed by the FDIC or NCUA up to $250,000 per institution.

• Financial Institutions We Reviewed

  We researched and reviewed over 250 banks, credit unions, and financial institutions to find the best CD rates you see above on this list. While we write individual reviews for most, we do not always write reviews for those we would not recommend. Below are the banks, credit unions, and financial institutions we researched along with links to individual company reviews to help you learn more before making a decision:

  1st Source Bank, 5star Bank, ableBanking, Abound Credit Union, Achieva Credit Union, Affinity Federal Credit Union, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, Air Force Federal Credit Union, Alabama Credit Union, Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Alliant Credit Union, Ally Bank, Amerant Bank, American 1 Credit Union, American Express, American Heritage Credit Union, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Apple Federal Credit Union, Banco do Brasil Americas, Banesco USA, Bank of Baroda, Bank5 Connect, Bank7, Texas Capital Bank, bankESB (Easthampton Savings Bank), BankUnitedDirect, Barclays, BBVA Bank, Bellco Credit Union, Blue Federal Credit Union, BMO, BMO Alto, BrioDirect, Cadets Federal Credit Union, California Coast Credit Union, Capital One, Capitol Federal Savings Bank, CD Bank, CFG Bank, Chase Bank, Chevron Federal Credit Union, CIBC (Agility Banking), CIT Bank, Citibank, Citizens Access, Citizens Trust Bank, Colorado Federal Savings Bank, Bread Savings, Communitywide Federal Credit Union, ConnectOne Bank, Connexus Credit Union, Consumers Credit Union, Corporate America Federal Credit Union (CAFCU), Credit Union of Denver, Credit Union of the Rockies, Digital, Federal Credit Union, Discover Bank, DollarSavingsDirect, Dover Federal Credit Union, Dow Credit Union, Evergreen Bank Group, RocklandTrust Bank, Elements Financial, EmigrantDirect.com, Liberty Federal Credit Union, Fidelity Investments, Financial Partners Credit Union, Financial Resources Federal Credit Union, First Financial Credit Union, First Financial Northwest Bank, First Internet Bank, First National Bank of America, First Technology Federal Credit Union, Fort Bragg Federal Credit Union, Garden Savings Federal Credit Union, Georgia Banking Company, Georgia's Own Credit Union, GreenState Credit Union, Greenwood Credit Union, Grow Financial Federal Credit Union, GTE Financial, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company, Hanscom Federal Credit Union, Heritage Bank, Hiway Federal Credit Union, Home Loan Investment Bank, Home Savings Bank, Hope Credit Union, HSBC Direct, Hughes Federal Credit Union, Hyperion Bank, Ideal Credit Union, iGObanking, Interior Federal Credit Union, Justice Federal Credit Union, Kinecta Federal Credit Union, KS State Bank, La Capitol Federal Credit Union, Lafayette Federal Credit Union, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Langley Federal Credit Union, Latino Community Credit Union, Limelight Bank, Live Oak Bank, Luther Burbank Savings, MYSB Direct, MAC Federal Credit Union, Main Street Bank, MainStreet Bank, MapleMark Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Market USA Federal Credit Union, Matadors Community Credit Union, MECU Credit Union, Merrick Bank, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, Mills42 Federal Credit Union, Mountain America Credit Union, MTC Federal Credit Union, MutualOne Bank, My Banking Direct, My eBanc, My Savings Direct, NASA Federal Credit Union, Nationwide by Axos Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, nbkc, NexBank, North Country Savings Bank, Northern Bank Direct, Northfield Bank, Northpointe Bank, Nuvision Federal Credit Union, Oklahoma Central Credit Union, One American Bank, OneUnited Bank, Pacific National Bank, Paramount Bank, PARDA Federal Credit Union, Partner Colorado Credit Union, Patelco Credit Union, Pen Air Federal Credit Union, PenFed Credit Union, People's Credit Union, First Service Credit Union, Pinnacle Federal Credit Union, Popular Direct, Premier America Credit Union, Presidential Bank, FSB, Prime Alliance Bank, PSECU (Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union), Quontic Bank, Quorum Federal Credit Union, Rising Bank, Merrimack Valley Credit Union, Salal Credit Union, Sallie Mae Bank, Santa Clara County Federal Credit Union, Signature Federal Credit Union, Spectrum Credit Union, SRP Federal Credit Union, State Bank of India Chicago, State Bank of India New York, State Bank of Texas, State Department Federal Credit Union, Summit Credit Union, Sun East Federal Credit Union, Superior Choice Credit Union, Synchrony Bank, TAB Bank, Teachers Federal Credit Union, Technology Credit Union, The Federal Savings Bank, Third Federal Savings & Loan, EverBank, TotalDirectBank, Transportation Federal Credit Union, TruStone Financial Credit Union, UNIFY Financial Credit Union, Expedition Credit Union, United States Senate Federal Credit Union, United Texas Bank, University Federal Credit Union, US Bank, USAlliance Financial, USPS Federal Credit Union, Velocity Credit Union, VeraBank, Vio Bank, Virtual Bank, WebBank, Webster Bank, Wells Fargo, Western Vista Credit Union, Wings Financial Credit Union, XCEL Federal Credit Union, BankPurely, Umbrella Bank, giantbank.com, CapEd Credit Union, Zeal Credit Union, Finworth, Coastal1 Credit Union, Service Credit Union, National Cooperative Bank, Premier Members Credit Union, Bank of America, Flagstar Bank, 1st MidAmerica Credit Union, INOVA Federal Credit Union, Genisys Credit Union, Ivy Bank, Heartland Credit Union, Luana Savings Bank, Spectra Credit Union, Workers Credit Union, Credit Human, EFCU Financial, Poppy Bank, Credit One Bank, Vibrant Credit Union, CFBank, Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union, Seattle Bank, Crescent Bank, Pima Federal Credit Union, Cross River Bank, USAA, Great River Federal Credit Union, Brilliant Bank, Merchants Bank of Indiana, LendingClub, Chartway Credit Union, First Central Savings Bank, AgFed Credit Union, North American Savings Bank, Pelican State Credit Union, First Community Credit Union, Bask Bank, Skyla Credit Union, SkyOne Federal Credit Union, 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, Utah First Credit Union, Pasadena Federal Credit Union, Magnifi Financial, AloStar, Primis Bank, Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union, Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, Veridian Credit Union, Republic Bank, Salem Five Direct, All In Credit Union, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Self-Help Federal Credit Union, Forbright Bank, Jovia Financial Credit Union, Sun Canyon Bank, Fortera Credit Union, Partners 1st Federal Credit Union, SouthEast Bank, American Bank, Newtek Bank, CBC Federal Credit Union, Vanguard, All America Bank, Amalgamated Bank, Citizens State Bank, AmBoy Direct, Republic Bank of Chicago, Oklahoma Community Credit Union, BluPeak Credit Union, Valley Direct, Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union, First Harvest Credit Union, Orion Federal Credit Union, Wellby Financial, FedChoice Federal Credit Union, CoVantage Credit Union, Choice First Bank, Sandia Area Federal Credit Union, OMB Bank, Minnequa Works Credit Union, Securityplus Federal Credit Union, Bank of South Texas, T Bank.