The opening required amount for PenFed CDs is low. Each standard and IRA CD terms only require $1,000 to open. The education CDs only require $500 to open. You can open the CDs online or in a branch location.

There are a good variety of CDs available through PenFed. They offer nine standard CD terms from six months to seven years. Their IRA CDs and educational savings certificates terms range from one to seven years.

Each CD term with PenFed offers competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs. The standard, IRA, and education CDs interest rates are competitive. They are higher than the typical bank interest rates.

There is more than one way to choose how to receive interest payments earned from your PenFed CDs. You can have the money added to the CD or another account. You can choose to have the money sent to you in a check. You can receive the interest earned monthly or when the CD matures.

To open a CD with PenFed, you must first become a member of the credit union. If you have or are currently serving in the military, you can become a member. Living in certain areas or being a member of set organizations qualifies you. If you work for the U.S. government or other organizations, you are eligible as well. If you do not meet any of these requirements, you can pay a $5 fee. Once you are a member, you can apply for accounts.

PenFed offers standard CDs, IRA CDs, and educational CDs. Members can only open standard CDs online. To open the other types of CDs, you must visit a branch location or contact customer service. All the standard CD terms are available to open online.

The standard PenFed CDs do not offer an interest rate guarantee. If you open a CD and the interest rates increase shortly after, your interest rates will not increase. The PenFed standard CDs offer competitive interest rates.

The early withdrawal fees for PenFed CDs are high. If you withdraw money early from a six-month CD, you will lose all your interest. For CD terms longer than six-month the fee is all interest earned if withdrawn in the first year. After the first year, the fee is 30 percent of what would have been earned if the CD had reached maturity.

Read the full PenFed Credit Union review.

The regular CDs offered through Rising Bank have low opening required amounts. These CDs only require $1,000 to open. You must keep this amount in the CD to earn interest. If your account balance falls below $1,000, your CD will not earn interest.

The interest rates for Rising Bank CDs are competitive. Their rates are higher than typical bank CD rates. Rising Bank rates are competitive with other online CDs of the same term length. The CDs do not have tiered interest rates. Any amount over the required opening deposit earns competitive interest rates.

Rising Bank is a completely online bank. You can open any of their accounts online. The process of opening an account is entirely online. They offer a high yield savings account and CDs. The CD terms range from one-year to three-year terms. The CDs come in regular, jumbo, and Rising CDs.

Rising Bank offers a Rising CD. These CDs come in 18-month and 36-month terms. If the interest rates increase during the CDs term, you can increase your CDs interest rate. Once the rate increases, you can also add money to your CD. You can increase your rate once during the 18-month CD term and twice during the 36-month CD term.

Rising Bank offers different types of CDs, but they do not offer a wide variety of term lengths. In the regular CDs, they only offer a one-year, two-year, and three-year CD. The jumbo CDs are available in a two-year term. The Rising CDs are available in 18-month and 36-month terms.

Rising Bank CDs and jumbo CDs have high opening amounts. The Rising CDs require $25,000 to open. The jumbo CD requires $100,000 to open. You must keep these balances in the account to earn interest. If your balance falls below this amount, you will not earn interest.

The interest earned on Rising Bank CDs credits to your account every three months. When the interest is credited, the money is added to your CD amount. If you close your CD before interest credits to your account, you will not receive the interest earned.

Because Rising Bank is an online bank, there are no branch locations. You can only reach customer service through email or telephone. Their website says their customer service is personalized to each customer. The ways to reach customer service is just limited.

Read the full Rising Bank review.