This 5.00% CD Vanishes Sunday—The Next-Best Rate Is Just 4.30%

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Certificates of deposit (CDs) can be an appealing savings tool because they let you lock in a guaranteed return for a fixed period of time. That means your APY can’t be lowered during the term, even if banks and credit unions later reduce the rates they’re offering on new CDs and savings accounts.

Right now, the nation-leading rate in almost every CD term sits somewhere in the lower-4% range. But Nuvision Credit Union is offering a standout 5-month certificate —a full 0.70 percentage points above the next-best nationwide CD rate we track.

The limited-time offer is currently advertised as ending Sunday, May 31, giving savers just a few more days to lock in the elevated return. Because the rate is fixed for the full 5-month term, anyone who opens the CD now can keep earning 5.00% APY until about Halloween regardless of where broader savings rates move next.

But there’s a reason this offer may not fit everyone.

Nuvision caps deposits in this promotional CD at $5,000 (and only allows one per person), making the CD attractive for savers with a smaller cash balance they’d like to put to work at an unusually high rate. But it’s less useful for anyone hoping to lock in a top return on a larger amount of money.

Credit union membership is required to open the CD, though joining Nuvision is relatively straightforward. Becoming a member is free, but you’ll have to keep $5 deposited in a savings account to keep your membership active.

For comparison, the next-highest nationally available CD currently pays 4.30% APY. So while the $5,000 cap limits the upside, no competing CD currently comes close to matching Nuvision’s 5.00% return.

This CD won’t work for everyone given its $5,000 deposit cap, but for savers able to park a smaller balance for a few months, it offers a chance to earn a return far above today’s typical CD rates.

Nuvision’s 5.00% offer deserves the headlines, but it’s not the only CD paying a strong return right now. In fact, today’s top nationwide CDs offer APYs above 4.00% in every major term, giving you plenty of attractive alternatives if the 5-month special doesn’t fit your needs.

That’s especially true if you want to deposit substantially more than $5,000. While Nuvision’s rate stands well above the market, the credit union’s deposit cap limits how much interest you can ultimately earn from the offer. Many of the institutions featured in our ranking of today’s best CDs allow far larger deposits while still paying highly competitive rates.

Longer-term savers also have good options. Right now, top 18-month and 2-year CDs are paying as much as 4.30% APY, while leading 4-year and 5-year certificates offer up to 4.25%. So if you’d rather lock in a strong return beyond this fall, a longer-term CD could make more sense than chasing the highest short-term APY available today.

While Nuvision’s 5.00% APY is unusually high, the rest of today’s top CDs are still offering stellar returns by historical standards. National average CD rates currently sit in the low- to mid-1% range depending on the term, making any rate above 4.00% especially attractive.1

Just a few months ago, markets expected the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates sometime in 2026. But stubborn inflation and rising global oil prices, triggered by the Iran conflict, have complicated that outlook. As a result, markets increasingly believe the Fed could keep rates elevated much longer than previously expected.

In fact, CME FedWatch probabilities currently show roughly even odds that the Fed will end the year with rates unchanged versus raising them at least a quarter percentage point by December. At the moment, CME projections through July 2027 show virtually no expectation of a Fed rate cut.2

That uncertainty makes today’s CD market especially interesting for savers.

On one hand, future CD yields could edge somewhat higher if the Fed ultimately raises rates again. But on the other hand, today’s best CDs are already offering returns well above inflation, which the latest CPI reading has pegged at 3.8%.3

That means savers don’t necessarily need to wait for a “perfect” rate environment to put their cash to work. Whether you choose a short-term CD, a longer certificate, or even one of today’s best high-yield savings accounts, earning 4.00% or more on idle cash remains a smart move in today’s economy.

Every business day, Investopedia tracks rate data from more than 200 banks and credit unions offering CDs and savings accounts nationwide to identify the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our rankings, institutions must be federally insured by the FDIC or NCUA, and accounts cannot require a minimum deposit above $25,000. We also exclude accounts with maximum deposit limits below $5,000.

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