To discover if USAA CDs offer one of the best rates.

This post will look at the certificate of deposit accounts available from USAA Bank to find the best rate they offer as well as the details of their accounts. Our mission is to find out if they offer one of the best cd account rates.

Can I even qualify for a CD account?

Have you ever found something you really wanted, only to be excluded. A film club that only admitted members with last names that start with the letter “B” and your last name is Adams? That is the situation you might be worried about with USAA bank. They are advertised as a bank for military members and their families. If you dig a little deeper, you will find  that many of their programs and services are available to all individuals. Fortunately, no matter what your background, you can open a high interest cd account at USAA Bank.

What types of CD accounts are available?

USAA Bank offers three different types of high yield cd accounts that can be applied for with their easy to use online banking services. They have the standard fixed rate accounts where your return is locked in at the time you open the account. USAA Bank also offers an adjustable rate cd and a variable rate cd. You have the most choices when it comes to terms from the fixed rate cd offerings. All CD accounts are FDIC –insured.

USAA Bank details for fixed rate certificates of deposit

The minimum deposit for a fixed rate cd is $1,000. The terms available for deposit amounts under$95,000, range from, 6 months to 7 years. You also can also opt for a 3 month or 91 day cd account. If you have $95,000 or more to deposit, you can qualify for terms as short as 30 days. The APY rate is also higher for the higher deposit amounts. When you have $95,000-$175,000 USAA bank terms this a Jumbo certificate of deposit. Any deposit amounts over $175,000 are Super Jumbo CDs. The best cd rate offered by USAA bank is 2.25% for a five or seven year term. A Super Jumbo cd will only give you a slightly higher APY of 2.64%. In comparison to other Banks, USAA is in the top 5( in the nation) for 90 day CDs when you look at APY rates. Finding a high rate cd may not be mission impossible after all. USAA Bank’s  7 year cd rate is actually the highest cd rate for long term CDs, as quoted by Bauer Financial.

Details for the variable rate and the adjustable rate CDs

You may be thinking that an adjustable rate cd is an oxymoron.  The distinctive characteristic of a cd  account is that you can lock in the rate when you open your account. That is why certificates of deposit are considered very low risk,  your rate of return is guaranteed. There is a down side to all of this and that is that rates of return might actually go up during the term of your cd and then you have to make the difficult decision of whether to close your account before maturity and pay the penalty or to continue earning interest at the lower rate. The adjustable rate cd allows you to “adjust “ the rate of return once during the term of the cd. There are fewer options as far as lengths of terms go if you are interested in this option. The shortest term for an adjustable rate cd is 3 years.

The variable rate cd allows you to open a cd with as little as $250, but only  6 month and l year terms are available. The APY rate is lower than the fixed rate cds but still has a decent return of 0.56%  APY for the 6 month cd and 0.86% APY for the 1 year high rate cd.

Summary of USAA CD accounts

The mission to find a high rate cd is possible through USAA Bank. The initial deposit amount is reasonable with even an option for those who are just starting out with investing. Whether you are a member of the military or not you can benefit from the investment products offered and cash in on some of the best cd rates available right now! USAA Bank has much higher cd rates than household name banks like Bank of America or Chase Bank. They are in the same league as Ally Bank and Discover Bank. If you would like to know more about USAA Bank please see our full review.