Best 1-Year CD Rates for September 2024 (2024)

We opened a nine-month CD with Synchrony Bank with $100 in February 2024 to provide first-hand research on the company. We felt Synchrony Bank was transparent about rates, and its interface was easy to use.

• Clearly communicates CD APYs and information about account balance tiers
• Seamlessly integrates accounts and allows you to set up recurring deposits
• Application considers those with hearing or speech disabilities, letting you indicate if you don’t have a phone number

Source: Synchrony.com via MarketWatch Guides user testing.

But we did find some shortfalls in Synchrony’s customer service and financial tools.

• Went through seven voice prompts on a call before we were connected to a customer service agent
• Couldn’t connect our budgeting software via Plaid, though we were able to do so manually.

We like that Synchrony Bank’s one-year CD doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit. It also allows you to open a standard CD or a tax-advantaged CD for retirement (a traditional individual retirement account or a Roth IRA). We also like the 15-day rate guarantee on standard CDs.

Although thisonline bankcharges up to 90 days of interest for early withdrawals of your deposit, interest-only withdrawals are penalty-free. Since Synchrony offers many other CD terms, you can also open your one-year CD as a part of a CD ladder, which combines CDs with different term lengths.

With Synchrony’s mobile app, you can check your CD balance and chat with customer service.The bank’s user interface offers a clean dashboard that makes it easy to link outside accounts and initiate transfers. However, we found it very difficult to get through to the telephone help offered during business hours.

Ally

We opened a three-month Ally CD with $300 to test the ins and outs of the process. Ally offered excellent communication throughout the application process, as well as loyalty perks.

• FAQ articles available within the application to answer any questions as we set our account up
• Home screen displays the customer service chat link and phone number with expected wait times
• Loyalty bonus gets you a higher APY when you renew a CD

However, there were some negative aspects of opening an Ally Bank CD:

• The only provider on our list that required us to upload our Social Security card instead of just providing the number
• Application takes five to seven business days to review after you provide all documents

We like Ally for its clear application process and its transparency. We also like its competitive CD rates and the fact that it doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement. Along with its standard high-yield and Raise Your Rate CDs, Ally offers IRA CDs with three plan options: self-employed, traditional and Roth.

The non-IRA CD has a 10-day rate guarantee when you open the accountand at renewal, and you can automatically earn a loyalty reward of an additional 0.05% APY when you renew your CD. If you get the IRA CD, Ally gives you 90 days to deposit money and get the best rate, and its 10-day rate guarantee applies for renewals. Plus, CDs oftwo years or lesshave an early withdrawal penalty of 60 days’ interest, which is on the lower end.

Ally’s website and mobile app are great for seeing your CD balance grow and making anychanges when the CD matures. The digital bank offers 24/7 phone and online chat support, too.

We opened a 14-month promotional Marcus CD with $500 so we could report on the application and customer service experience. We liked the bank’s user-friendly account setup.

• Unlike many CDs, allows you to make additional deposits up to 30 days after opening the account
• Tips and FAQs explaining instructions and terminology on each page of the application
• Gives you the option to open multiple CDs and savings accounts at once
• Lets you convert an individual account to a joint one within three business days of opening an account

However, some parts of applying for a Marcus CD and funding it were disappointing:

• Application repeatedly prompted us to link our external account via a third-party provider even as we were manually filling in our bank account information
• Promotional CD term we chose wasn’t advertised on the main product page

It was easy to apply for aMarcus by Goldman SachsCD, taking us just nine steps. We really like its competitive APYs on its one-year and no-penalty CDs. You’ll get the best available APY if you make your deposit within 10 days of opening your account.

We were able to add a second external account to make an additional deposit over the phone a few weeks after opening our account. The bank offers 24/7 live chat and phone support and a mobile app for monitoring your CD and tracking your financial goals.

You can withdraw interest from your CD, but if you withdraw principal, Marcus charges an early withdrawal penalty of 90 days’ interest for CD terms up to one year.

Quontic

Three MarketWatch Guides researchers tried to open a Quontic Bank CD with $500 in February 2024. Two of them had Quontic Bank reject their applications. In both cases, Quontic provided an email that stated the bank couldn’t verify each applicant’s device, address, phone number or public records.

A Quontic phone representative said this is a common problem because the company uses a third-party provider to verify accounts. Two common reasons for denials are recent moves (both researchers had moved recently) and issues related to virtual private network (VPN) use. If your application is rejected, you can call Quontic’s U.S.–based customer service representatives to ask them to release your application so you can apply again.

For our application that was accepted, we found the process to be short and smooth.

• Just nine seamless steps to apply for and fund a CD when setting up funding with a third-party provider
• Starts earning interest as soon as you initiate the transfer
• User-friendly dashboard provides your complete credit report

Knowledgeable U.S.-based customer service connects you directly to a person once you enter your phone number — no prompts required

Quontic, an online bank, impressed us with its accessible and knowledgeable customer support and how easy it was for our researcher who was approved to set up an account. The bank’s traditional one-year CD requires a $500 minimum deposit.

Like many of its competitors, Quontic allows you to make interest-only withdrawals. However, removing principal from the one-year CD comes with an early withdrawal penalty equal to one year of interest.

Quontic’s mobile app has tools for checking your credit and monitoring your CD, and you can view your Quontic accounts alongside your accounts at other banks.

BMO Alto

We opened a BMO Alto CD with $2,500 to bring you insight into the customer experience. We were impressed overall with BMO Alto’s application process, which only took nine steps to complete, and with its website.

• Option to save and retrieve your application later
• Simple, intuitive menus and interfaces to find statements and notices
• Gives you the higher APY on your CD if the rate increases after you open your account but before you fund it
• Website clearly shows the CD’s maturity date when we’re logged in, which isn’t the case with some other banks we opened accounts with
• Let us update account options online instead of requiring us to call

There were several parts of the technical experience that could use improvement.

• Account automatically logged us out twice even though we were actively using the site
• Site asked for our location during the application process
• Technical errors when we linked our bank accounts

We like how easy it was to open an account with BMO Alto. There’s no minimum deposit or balance required to get the CD or earn the competitive APY, but you must fund the CD within 10 days of account opening.

BMO Alto doesn’t allow you to withdraw money or close your account until 15 days after funding your one-year CD. For CD terms of one year or more, an early withdrawal penalty of 180 days of interest applies for taking principal out of the account.

One thing we don’t love about BMO Alto is that it doesn’t have a mobile app or online customer support. To manage your CD, you’ll need to use the bank’s website or call for customer service.

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