The interest rates for Synchrony CDs are competitive. Each of the CD terms offers competitive interest rates. They are competitive with other online CD accounts. Synchrony rates are much higher than typical bank rates. They are not tiered, so any balance over $2,000 earns the competitive rate.

There are a good variety of CD terms available through Synchrony Bank. The CDs range from 3-months to 60-month terms. There is a total of nine CD terms available. Synchrony Bank also offers a Special Rate 15-month CD term.

Synchrony encourages CD laddering to earn more interest. By laddering CDs, you earn competitive rates from investing in longer-term CDs. Laddering means one long term CD matures each year. This means you can access your money more often, without paying a fee. Your money earns the best rate, but one CD matures each year in case you need to access it.

When you open a CD with Synchrony, you receive the interest rate the day you open the account. If the rates increase during the time Synchrony receives and processes your deposit you will receive the higher rate. The window for the rate to increase is 15 days for regular CDs. IRA CDs have a 60-day window. Once Synchrony determines the rate, it is locked in for the life of the CD term.

If you open a Synchrony account and quickly change your mind, there is a fee for closing the account. Customers can close their CD within six calendar days after the CD funds. The fee for withdrawing money within the first six days is seven days of interest. If you close the account after one day, you are still charged seven days of interest.

The minimum required amount to open any of the Synchrony CDs is $2,000. The deposit must be from one single transaction. With the $2,000 you can open any of the CDs offered, including the 15-month CD. You cannot open a CD with Synchrony Bank without at least $2,000.

Synchrony offers a 15-day rate guarantee for regular CDs and a 60-day rate guarantee for IRA CDs. The rate guarantees do not apply when you renew a CD after it reaches maturity. The interest rate guarantee only takes effect when you open a new CD.

Synchrony offers perks to each of its customers. To earn the best perks, you must be a Diamond member and meet those set requirements. To be a Diamond member, you must have account deposits over $250,000 and be a customer for more than five years.

Read the full Synchrony Bank review.

Most giantbank.com CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates for some CDs are competitive with other online accounts. All of the CD rates are higher than typical bank rates. The CD terms that are 12-months and longer offer the most competitive interest rates.

There are a good variety of giantbank.com CD terms available. The terms range from 91-days to 60-month CDs. There are seven different terms offered through giantbank.com. You can apply for any of these CD terms online.

There are two options on how to open a CD with giantbank.com. You can apply for the CD online or fill out an application and send the application back through the mail. If you open the CD online there is a maximum opening amount of $50,000.

The opening required amount for giantbank.com CDs are low. Each of the CD terms requires $2,500 to open. You must keep a balance of at least $2,500 in the giantbank.com CDs to earn interest. Any amount over the required balance earns a competitive interest rate. The interest rates are not tiered.

The short-term CDs do not offer as competitive interest rates as the longer-term CDs. The 91-day, six-month, and nine-month CDs do not offer as competitive rates. These rates are still competitive. The rates are just not as competitive as the other giantbank.com terms.

giantbank.com limits the ways you can initially deposit money into CD accounts. Those ways include mailing in a check or a wire transfer. You can also transfer money from another giantbank.com account. The website does not say you can make the initial transfer from an external bank into a giantbank.com CD.

giantbank.com is an online bank. You can contact customer service through email, mail, phone, or fax. Customer service does have limited hours they are open. They are available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

Customers can transfer the interest earned on giantbank.com CDs to other accounts. But, the money can only be transferred to other giantbank.com accounts. Those accounts include giantbank.com checking or money market accounts.

Read the full Giantbank.com review.