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The rates listed on this post may be out of date.

Emigrant Direct ^[3] has an interesting little product they’ve debuted recently called their “My Way” CD which is a certificate of deposit with a 5% APY (I put an updated list of the best cd rates ^[4]). It’s “My Way” because you can specify the maturity date within an 18 month to 10 year window, thus making it a long or short term CD. There is a minimum deposit amount of a thousand dollars and you have to be a current Emigrant Direct account holder but it’s an interesting way of offering a CD.

Usually, the longer the terms, the higher the rate (in our current economic environment, with our economy going strong and the Fed consistently bumping rates up a quarter point). Comparably, Penfed ^[5]‘s (Pentagon Federal Credit Union, where the most competitive CD rates usually appear) rates don’t break 5% until you read the 3 year maturity mark. (2 year is 4.75% APY, 3 year is 5.5% APY) so if you can get a 18 month CD at 5% APY then you’re getting a pretty good deal.

Some terms and conditions worth noting:

1. The CD account will be automatically renewed but you will have ten calendar days to close the CD account after the renewal without penalty. Also, you’ll get written notice about the renewal 10-14 days beforehand, so there aren’t many reasons why the renewal would occur without your knowledge.
2. Early withdrawal penalty is 180 days worth of interest, whether earned or not (that last part just means if you open it and close it a day later, you still pay 180 days worth of interest even though you’ve only had the CD for 1 day).