The Sallie Mae CD has one of the best cd rates available. Sallie Mae has three cd account options. Since Sallie Mae’s strong point is being competitive, you can lock in a great cd rate. Sallie Mae, up until recently, was solely a lending source for educational needs. While they still have a strong educational focus, they have now expanded their offerings to high yeild  CDs and high interest  savings accounts. If at this point you are not sure which banking product you need, please see Bank Truth’s articles about the pros and cons of  different types of savings vehicles using bank accounts.

Sallie Mae Certificates of Deposit come in three varieties: 12 month, 36 month, and 60 months. As in most cases, the longer the term the higher the interest rate. Sallie Mae makes the difference in rates clear on their website www.salliemae.com/bank.  Patience as usual is rewarded. The APY for the best Sallie Mae CD rate is a whopping 2.15% (decreased from 3.00% in 20 Jul 2010). The rate for the 12 month CD account is 1.00% ( decreased from 1.55% in 20 Jul 2010), which is still a super find. If you are looking at the 24 month Sallie Mae cd, the corresponding APY right now is 1.55% (decreased from 2.3% in 20 Jul 2010). No matter which term you choose, there are no minimum deposit requirements!

The other great detail about Sallie Mae’s high interest CDs, is that you do have the option of receiving interest payments monthly, quarterly, yearly, or at maturity.  To set up interest disbursements you simply need to call Sallie Mae’s customer care center and interest disbursements will be sent electronically to your linked checking account.  The number of options offered by Sallie Mae, who is fairly new to the online banking scene, help clients find a tailor made solution to their savings goals.

A Sallie Mae’s high rate CD can be set up online in about 10 minutes in a simple, four step process. With no minimums or monthly fees, these Sallie Mae CDs really live up to the worry free claim made by Sallie Mae. All certificates of deposit renew automatically for the same term you selected previously. Sallie Mae will remind you as the renewal date approaches by sending you an e-mail. Remember, it is your responsibility to keep your contact information updated and that this can be done online.  You do have a ten day grace period to let Sallie Mae know that you wish to withdraw funds from the cd. All accounts are FDIC insured which is a must for security.

As with most CD accounts, you will be zinged if you have to remove funds before the maturation date. The nice part here is that while the fee for the twelve month CD is equal to three months of interest, it is only charged on the amount withdrawn. The fee for the thirty-six or sixty month CD is a hefty 6 months of interest, but again it is only assessed on the amount withdrawn. I love this little detail because it gives you an incentive to leave as much of the funds in the account as you possibly can, rather than putting you in the “all or nothing” mind set.

While Sallie Mae remains a very focused bank, I think their high cd rates will draw more than just students to their new online bank. If you would like to see a brief overview of Sallie Mae Bank please take a look at our video post on Sallie Mae. We also have an in-depth bank review of Sallie Mae bank that explains more in detail who they are and what they offer. Don’t forget to check out our post review of Sallie Mae High Yield Savings Account