Each Sallie Mae CD offers competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CD accounts. Sallie Mae rates are much higher than typical bank rates. The longer the CD term the higher the interest rates offered. Sallie Mae’s five-year CD offers very competitive interest rates.

Sallie Mae offers a good variety of CD terms. The terms range from 6-months to 60-months. There are 11 CD terms in total. Sallie Mae offers CD terms in more than just traditional terms. Those term lengths include an 11-month CD, a 13-month CD, a 15-month CD, and a 30-month CD. These options allow customers to find the best fit for their money.

The CD interest rates for Sallie Mae CDs are not tiered. You do not have to have a large account balance to earn the most competitive rates available. Any balance above the required opening amount earns competitive interest rates.

Most CDs have a fee if you withdraw the money before the CD reaches maturity. The penalty for Sallie Mae CDs is less compared to other banks CD fees. The penalty for withdrawing money from CD terms 12-months or less is 90 days of interest. The fee for CDs over 12-months is 180 days of interest.

There is a set amount required to open Sallie Mae CDs. Each of the CD terms requires $2,500 to open. Make deposits through an electronic transfer or an e-deposit on the mobile app. You can also mail a check.

To earn interest on the Sallie Mae CDs, you must keep an account balance of $2,500. If your balance drops below that amount, you will not earn any interest. Sallie Mae CDs offer competitive interest rates if you keep that set balance.

Sallie Mae CDs do not come with a guarantee to lock in the best rate. The interest rate at the time you open the CD is the interest rate you receive for the life of the term. The rate you lock in is fixed for the life of the CD term.

Sallie Mae CDs must be linked to an external account to make electronic transfers. Once you link an external account, you can transfer money electronically. Customers can withdraw earned interest from the CD. To withdraw the interest, transfer the money into the linked external account.

Read the full Sallie Mae review.

VirtualBank offers online CD accounts. Each term offers competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs. VirtualBank interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates.

Even the shorter-term CDs offer competitive interest rates. These rates are very competitive compared to other short-term CDs.

There are a good variety of CD terms offered through VirtualBank. They offer CD terms from one month to 60-months. There are a total of 11 CD terms. All the CD terms are online accounts. You can apply online or send your application through the mail.

VirtualBank encourages CD laddering. They have a CD laddering calculator on their website. With the calculator, you can see how much interest you would earn by CD laddering. CD laddering is opening different CD terms, so your CDs mature at a variety of times. This allows you to open longer-term CDs to earn higher interest rates, but still, have access to your money.

There are options for how to receive the interest you earn on VirtualBank CDs. When you open the account, you can choose to have the interest credited monthly or quarterly. Credited the money back to the CD or you can transfer the money into another VirtualBank account. You can also choose to have the interest mailed to you in a check.

VirtualBank has a high required amount to open their CDs. Each CD requires $10,000 to open. That amount is high compared to other online CDs. If you have the $10,000 required opening amount, you can open any of VirtualBank CDs.

The CDs offered through VirtualBank are only for personal deposit accounts. At this time, these CDs are not available for business accounts. There are no specific business accounts available through VirtualBank. Only personal deposit accounts are currently offered.

VirtualBank CDs do not offer an interest rate guarantee. The interest rate you earn for the life of your CD term is the rate on the day you open your account. They do not offer an interest rate guarantee. If the interest rates increase shortly after you open your CD, your rate will not increase. VirtualBank CDs offer fixed interest based on the day you open your CD.

Early withdrawal fees for VirtualBank CDs are high. The fees may affect your principal amount. For CDs under one year, the fee is 100 percent of the interest earned on the withdrawn amount. For terms from one year to two years, the fee is one percent of the principal amount withdrawn. For CDs longer than two years, the fee is two percent of the principal amount withdrawn.

Read the full VirtualBank review.