Most American Express Personal Savings CDs offer competitive interest rates. The terms 18-months or longer offer rates that are competitive with other online CDs. These rates are much higher than typical bank rates. The interest rates for American Express CDs are not tiered. Any amount in the account earns the most competitive interest rate.

American Express offers a variety of ways to receive the interest earned off their CDs. You can request a check mailed monthly, each quarter, or once a year. You can transfer the money into another American Express account or a linked account. You can also leave the money in the CD account. American Express gives options to withdraw interest, but it will reduce your earnings. Contact customer service to initiate these options.

There is no set amount required to open American Express CDs. You can open each of the different CD terms with any amount. There is no monthly fee or no required amount to keep in the account to earn interest.

American Express Personal Savings offers a good variety of CD terms. The terms range from 6-months to 60-months. There are seven total CD terms to choose from.

The shortest American Express CD terms have lower interest rates. These term rates are not competitive with other online CDs of the same length. The six-month and 12-month terms do not offer as competitive interest rates as the other American Express CDs.

American Express does not allow partial withdrawals from the CD before maturity. If you need to withdraw money before the maturity date, you must withdraw the entire CD balance. As with all CDs, if you withdraw money before maturity, there is a fee assessed.

The early withdrawal fees for American Express CDs are high. If your CD is less than 12 months, the fee is 90 days of interest. For terms from 12 months to less than 48 months, the fee is 270 days of interest. CD terms from 48 months to less than 60 months, the fee is 365 days of interest. The fee for 60-month terms or longer is 540 days of interest. If you have not earned enough interest to cover the fee, the rest is taken from the CD principal.

American Express Personal Savings does not guarantee to get customers the highest interest rate. The interest rate you receive for the CD term is the rate on the day you fund your account. The interest rate is fixed. It is locked in for the life of the term.

Read the full American Express review.

The interest rates for Colorado Federal Savings Bank CDs are competitive. Their interest rates are competitive with other online CD rates. CFSB interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. Each of the CD terms offers competitive interest rates.

The penalty for withdrawing money from your CFSB CD before the maturity date is low. Most CDs have a penalty for withdrawing money before the maturity date. Colorado Federal Savings Bank fees are much lower than other bank fees. For terms less than six months, the fee is one month of interest. Terms from six to twelve months require three months of interest. For terms longer than twelve months, the penalty is only six months of interest.

Colorado Federal Savings Bank offers a good variety of CD terms. The shortest terms available is a one-month CD. The longest term offered from CFSB is a five-year CD. They offer a total of nine different CD terms between these two CD lengths. These CDs are for consumer accounts.

Colorado Federal Savings Bank is an entirely online bank. There are no branch locations. You apply for an account online and access your accounts online. They offer consumer CDs as well as an online savings account. CFSB also offers some lending options. Each of these services is online. You must open accounts online. You cannot apply for an account through the mail or in person.

Because CFSB is an entirely online bank, to open an account, you must enroll in online banking. This is how you will access all CFSB accounts. With online banking, you can see your account balances and account history. You can transfer money between CFSB accounts and to external bank accounts. You must receive your statements online.

The amount required to open any of the Colorado Federal Savings Bank CDs is high. Each CD term requires $5,000 to open. You must keep at least $5,000 in the account to earn interest on the CDs. If your balance drops below the $5,000, CFSB may close your account.

You must link your Colorado Federal Savings Bank CD to an external bank account. When you decide to close your account, CFSB will not send you a check for the amount from the account. To receive your money from the closed CD, CFSB transfers the money back into your linked account.

The CDs with Colorado Federal Savings Bank does not offer an interest rate guarantee. They offer competitive interest rates, but the rates you receive when you open the CD is the rate for the CD term. If the interest rates increase shortly after you open the CD, you will not receive a higher rate.

Read the full Colorado Federal Savings Bank review.