The Comenity Direct CDs offer competitive interest rates on each of their CD terms. The interest rates are competitive with other online accounts. These rates are much higher than typical bank rates. The rates are not tiered. Any amount over $1,500 earns competitive rates.

Comenity Direct encourages CD laddering. CD laddering is when you open one five-year CD each year. Your money earns competitive interest rates offered by five-year CDs. By opening one each year, one renews each year. This allows you access to your money every year without an early withdrawal penalty.

The CDs with Comenity Direct have low opening required amounts. They each need only $1,500 to open. Once you fund the CD, your money starts earning interest immediately.

Each of the CDs offered through Comenity Direct can be opened online. This is an entirely online bank. You open your account online and take care of all your banking needs online. They offer a website as well as a mobile app to access your accounts.

The opening required amount to fund Comenity Direct CDs requires $1,500. This amount must be deposited in one transaction. You cannot make that deposit through multiple transactions.

Comenity Direct offers online CDs. There are limited CD terms available. They offer one, two, three, four, and five-year terms. Open each of the Comenity Direct CDs entirely online.

The Comenity Direct CDs do not offer an interest rate guarantee. The interest rates on each of the CDs are competitive. But, if the rates increase shortly after opening the CD, your interest rates will not increase.

Customer service hours for Comenity Direct are not 24/7. They do offer extended customer service hours. They are open on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can call customer service or send an email. There are no branch locations.

Read the full Comenity Direct review.

The opening amount required for Zions Bank CDs is low. Each of the standard CD terms requires $1,000 to open. The IRA CD accounts also require $1,000 to open. The jumbo CDs require $100,000 to open.

There are a good variety of CD terms available through Zions Bank. The CD terms range from one month to five years. They include standard, IRA, and jumbo CDs. The CD term lengths are the same for the different CD types.

The early withdrawal penalties for Zions Bank CDs are low. If you withdraw money from terms 31-days or less, the fee is all the interest earned. If the term is from 32-days to one-year, the fee is 90 days of interest. For all terms longer than one year, the fee is 180-days of interest.

You can set up your Zions Bank CDs to renew automatically. If you select this option, your CD will renew at maturity. The interest rate for the renewed CD are the interest rates offered at the time of renewal. Contact customer service to set up automatic renewal.

You cannot open Zions Bank CDs online; you must visit a branch location. Branch locations are listed on their website. Once you open a CD in a branch location, you can access your CD and other accounts online.

The interest rates for Zions Bank CDs are lower than other online CD rates. To earn the highest interest rates requires a balance of at least $100,000. The highest rates are just higher than the standard rate. Even the highest rate is lower than online CD rates.

The interest rates for Zions Bank CDs may change based on your location. To know the correct rates for your area, input your zip code on the Zions Bank website. You can also call customer service or visit a branch location.

The short-term CDs with Zions Bank offer low interest rates. These rates are not competitive with other online CDs of the same term length. These term lengths include a one, three, six, and nine-month CDs. The interest rates increase with terms 12-months or longer.

Read the full Zions Bank review.