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finder.com’s rating: 5 / 5
★★★★★
Synchrony Bank CD offer a wide range of terms, competitive rates and a fully online application. But like most CDs, you’ll face penalties for early withdrawal.4.75%
1-year APY
4.30%
3-year APY
4.00%
5-year APY
Star rate | 5 |
---|---|
3-month APY | 2.25% |
6-month APY | 5.00% |
9-month APY | 4.80% |
1-year APY | 4.75% |
18-month APY | 4.50% |
2-year APY | 4.30% |
3-year APY | 4.30% |
4-year APY | 4.00% |
5-year APY | 4.00% |
Early withdrawal penalty | 90 days interest for terms of 1 to 12 months 180 days interest for terms of 13 to 48 months 365 days interest for terms of 49 + months |
Minimum deposit to open | $0 |
Interest compounding | Daily |
Review by
Shannon Terrell is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in personal finance. Her writing and analysis on investing and banking has been featured in Bloomberg, Global News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates and Black Enterprise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English literature from the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Synchrony also offers a best rate guarantee, giving you the larger APY between the day you signed up and the day you funded your account. But you’ll need to act quick on this guarantee: it’s only good for 15 days from signup. And as an online bank, you’ll need to be comfortable with customer service delivered remotely. But if this isn’t a problem, Synchrony CDs are among the top picks on the market.
To complete your account application, indicate how you’d like to fund your account. Electronically transfer funds from an externally linked account or mail a check to Synchrony Bank.
After you’ve reviewed your information and Synchrony Bank‘s terms and conditions, you’re given the account number of your new Synchrony Bank CD.
Before you apply, make sure you meet Synchrony Bank‘s eligibility criteria:
Gather this information before you start the application process:
You have three options to fund your new Synchrony Bank CD:
After your CD matures, you have 10 days to add money, withdraw funds, change your CD term or take advantage of a promotional offer.
Along with up to $250,000 in FDIC protection and easy account access, take advantage of:
One potential drawback of the Synchrony Bank CD is:
Shop all your CD options to find a minimum deposit, term and rate that fit your savings goals.
Customer reviews of Synchrony Bank’s CDs are generally positive, with customers noting expected returns from promised APYs despite “mediocre” customer service. Synchrony Bank is rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau and has been accredited since 2006. On Trustpilot the bank scores a 1.2 out of 5 based on customer reviews, with complaints lodged over poor customer service and incorrect account management.
On the day after your CD matures, a 10-day grace period begins. Over this time, you can renew your CD term, add funds to your CD, roll your funds into a different term or withdraw your funds.
If you don’t instruct Synchrony Bank what to do with your matured CD, the CD automatically renews for the same term at the current rate Synchrony Bank offers at the time of renewal.
Get support in three ways:
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We rate CDs and share certificates on a scale ranging from one to five stars based on what matters most to you. We consider two factors equally when rating CDs: minimum deposits and annual percentage yields (APYs) relative to term length. If a bank requires a different minimum opening deposit depending on the chosen term, we rate the CD based on the average minimum deposit across all terms. And although some institutions offer CDs with terms ranging from one week to 20 years, we only consider term lengths the FDIC uses in its monthly updates on national rates.
Read the full methodology of how we rate CDs.
Synchrony Bank CD is not currently available on Finder
Have you considered Western Alliance Bank 12 months CDs through SaveBetter?
Get 5.01% APY on a 12 month CD, and earn an APY that’s 14.8x higher than the national average. Pay no fees and just a $1 minimum deposit. FDIC insured.