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.

Home Savings Bank offers a good variety of CD terms. They offer online only terms for those who do not live by a branch location and in-branch terms for those who do. There are a total of seven different CD terms for each type. The terms range from six-months to 60-months.

The CDs with Home Savings Bank offer competitive interest rates. The rates are much higher than typical bank rates. They are competitive with other online CD rates. Even the short-term CDs offer rates competitive with other short-term online CDs.

Home Savings Bank CDs will automatically renew after the CD reaches maturity. If you wish to keep your money in your Home Savings Bank CD, you do not have to contact customer service. The CD will automatically renew to the same CD term length. The rate will be determined on the day the CD renews.

The early withdrawal fees are low compared to other online CD accounts. For terms from six-months to 15-months, the fee is three months of interest on the withdrawn amount. For terms longer than 15-months, the fee is six-months of interest on the withdrawn amount.

The opening required amounts for Home Savings Bank CDs are high. Each CD term requires $5,000 to open. You can open any of the CD terms online with this set required amount. You must keep $5,000 in the CD to earn interest.

You cannot close your Home Savings Bank CD during the grace period. You must specify you want to close the account before the CD reaches maturity. You can set up to close your CD 30 days prior to the CD maturity date up to the day before maturity. Upon maturity, the money transfers into the initial account the money transferred from. Set up CD closure through online banking.

Home Savings Bank has specific online accounts. All activity for those accounts must be through online banking. Those activities include opening and closing CDs and all inquiries about the accounts. There is a $10 fee per transaction if any of this activity is done in a branch location.

Home Savings Bank does not offer an interest rate guarantee. The interest rate on the day you open the account is the rate you receive for the CD term. If the rates increase shortly after you open the CD, your interest rate will not increase.

Read the full Home Savings Bank review.