Thinking about investing in a certificate of deposit but are unsure how to go about it? These days, finding the best CD rates from banks and credit unions can be easily done online. Before CD rate comparison shopping sites were available the average person just went to their local banks and credit unions and compared rates.

Nowadays you can compare bank CD rates and credit union CD rates from thousands of banks and credit unions across the county in minutes. . You can get the highest CD rates and CD yields by searching rates on websites that maintain their own lists or tables.

Whether you’re looking for regular CD rates, jumbo CD rates or Individual Retirement Account (IRA) CD rates you can find the best interest rates online. Websites that give you the ability to compare similar term CD rates and sort columns to find the highest rates are better sites out there.

Regular certificate of deposit accounts at banks and credit unions can be opened with as little as $1. Some banks and credit unions have higher opening balances. When you’re comparing regular CD rates pay attention to the minimum opening certificate of deposit account balance since it can affect the rate you receive on the deposit.

Jumbo CD rates pay a higher CD rate than regular CD deposit rates. Jumbo CD rates are higher because they require a higher minimum deposit to open a certificate of deposit account. Regular certificate of deposit accounts can be opened with a small opening deposit jumbo certificates of deposit account require a minimum opening deposit of $100,000.

Some financial institutions allow you to open a mini-jumbo certificate of deposit account with $50,000 or $75,000. These mini-jumbo certificates will probably have a lower CD rate than a jumbo certificate. You\’ll find credit unions advertising mini-jumbo CD rates more than banks.

When you are searching for the highest rates you can start your search at local banks and credit unions. Most local banks these days allow anyone in the U.S. to open a CD account regardless of whether or not you live in that state.

You can also search for the highest CD rates at national banks. Deposit accounts like CD accounts, savings accounts and money market accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for up to $250,000. This amount was permanently raised from $100,000 recently.

When you are searching for the highest credit union CD rates you can start also your search at local credit unions. Some credit unions allow you to open a certificate if you live anywhere in the country so don’t limit your search to local credit unions. Deposit accounts like CD accounts, savings accounts and some money market accounts at credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for up to $250,000.

Some credit unions and banks will give you a higher CD interest rate if you have an outstanding loan like a mortgage loan, auto loan or some other type of loan. Some will also give you a lower mortgage rate for having mortgage payments automatically deducted from a checking account or savings account.

You can also invest your retirement savings into a certificate of deposit account which is a lot safer than the stock market. This retirement accounts are called Individual Retirement Account (IRA) certificates of deposit.

The closer you are to retiring the safer your investments should be. Your principal is 100% guaranteed as long as you keep your CD investment under the FDIC and NCUA limit of $250,000 per depositor, per account.

Author Bio: Read bank reviews and find the highest CD rates at RatesORama.com. We also have lists of the best savings rates and refinance rates by state.

Category: Finances
Keywords: cd rates, best cd rates, savings rates, mortgage rates, highest, certificate of deposit