California Coast Credit Union is offering a CD with 9.50% APY — the highest CD rate available

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• California Coast Credit Union gives 9.50% APY (annual percentage yield) on its 5-month CD special.
• You have to deposit between $500 and $3,000 to get that rate.
• Credit union membership is available to people who live in San Diego or Riverside counties.

California Coast Credit Union, a local credit union in San Diego and Riverside counties, is currently offering a 5-month Celebration Certificate with a 9.50% APY, or annual percentage yield. This interest rate is multiple percentage points higher than any of the other best CD rates for nationwide financial institutions, which currently tend to be between 5.00% APY and 5.50% APY.

However, you'll have to meet some pretty strict requirements and limitations in order to earn that rate.

How to get 9.50% APY on a California Coast Credit Union CD

California Coast Credit Union is a credit union, which means that you'll need to be eligible for membership before you can open any account with it. Since it's a local credit union, California Coast Credit Union's membership eligibility requirements are limited: You'll need to live or work in San Diego or Riverside counties to join. 

In order to open the certificate, you'll need to use new money, or money that hasn't been stored in California Coast Credit Union before. You'll need to put between $500 and $3,000 in the account; the credit union does not allow you to put more or less than that in the account. In addition, you can't have opened a Celebration Certificate before, as the credit union only allows one Celebration Certificate per social security number.

Lastly, in order to earn the 9.50% APY, you'll need to meet one of the following options:

• Have an active checking account with California Coast Credit Union that has eStatements on (In this case, "active" means that the account has at least one transaction a month, whether that transaction is from direct deposit, checks, ATM transactions, debit card use, bill pay, or other methods)
• Have a new money market account with a minimum balance of $5,000
• Have a new regular certificate with a minimum balance of $5,000
• Have a new IRA certificate with a minimum balance of $5,000
• Have a new, funded consumer loan that isn't a share secured loan, certificate secured loan, or credit card

As long as you have one of these within the first 30 days of opening the account, you'll earn the 9.50% APY. Otherwise, you'll earn 0.10% APY for the remainder of the term. You'll also have to keep the certificate account open for the entire 5-month term length to earn the high APY. You won't be able to add more money or take out any money from the certificate before the term length is up.

Other banks with high rates

While you won't be able to earn a rate as high as 9.50% APY at these banks and credit unions, they're still some of the best banks and credit unions for getting a high rate on deposit accounts. Here are some competitive rates currently offered on deposit accounts from nationwide financial institutions.

Featured Nationally Available CD and Savings Rates

All of these accounts are FDIC-insured or NCUA-insured. That means that the money you put in there is safe, up to $250,000 per depositor, per account type.

9% APY CD FAQs

Is California Coast Credit Union legit?

Yes, California Coast Credit Union is insured by the NCUA, so your money is safe up to $250,000 per depositor, per account.

What credit union has the best CD rate right now?

California Coast Credit Union currently offers the best CD rate of any bank or credit union, with a 9.50% APY on its Celebration Certificate.

Is California Coast Credit Union FDIC-insured?

No, California Coast Credit Union is not FDIC-insured because it is not a bank. Instead, it is NCUA-insured, which is just like FDIC insurance, but for credit unions. They both insure your money for $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership category.

Why do credit unions pay higher CD rates?

Credit unions tend to pay higher CD rates because, instead of being focused on making a profit, credit unions distribute their profits back to members through methods like higher CD rates, lower rates for loans, and other benefits.