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.

Citizens Access CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are much higher than typical bank rates. Each of the CD terms offers interest rates competitive with other online CDs. The interest rates are not tiered. Any balance above $5,000 earns the most competitive interest rate offered.

Each Citizens Access CD comes with the CD Pledge Rate guarantee. Once you fund your CD, Citizens Access watches interest rates for ten days. The Rate Pledge guarantees you lock in the highest interest rate during that time. Once you lock in the highest interest rate, the rate stays the same for the entire term.

Citizens Access offers a good variety of CD terms. Those terms range from a six-month term to a five-year term. In all, Citizens Access offers seven CD term lengths.

Citizens Access encourages CD laddering. This means dividing up your investment between different term CDs. Dividing up your money can earn more interest. You can invest your money into short-term or long-term CDs. The Citizens Access website offers tools to help you understand CD laddering better.

The Citizens Access CDs have high opening required amounts. Each of the CD terms require $5,000 to open. The savings account also requires $5,000 to open.

There are limited ways to open and fund Citizens Access CDs. You cannot deposit cash or make a wire transfer into the CD. You can link an external bank account or deposit a check to fund the account. Make changes to the account during the 10-day grace period or once the CD reaches maturity.

To set up a maturity plan for your Citizens Access CD you need to call customer service. They can help you figure out what happens to your CD once it reaches maturity. Customer service has set hours they are available. Find the hours listed below.

Citizens Access offers two ways for customers to receive the interest earned on their CDs. You can choose to have the money added to the CD principal or transfer the money to another account. Those are the only two options for how to receive the interest earned.

Read the full Citizens Access review.