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Not Only Can You Earn a Tip-Top Savings Account Rate—You Can Also Lo♍ck It In

Stashing some of your extra cash in a high-yield savings account is always a good move. But right now, two nationwide banks are sweetening the deal considerably—with rate guarantees. Not only that, but these banks aren't offering mid-ranked rates—they're actually paying the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:two highest savings account rates in the country.

While their offers last, Popp🥂y Bank and Flagstar Bank have layered special rate guarantees onto their nation-leading returns. is paying the tip-top rate of 5.50% APY with a rate lock for 90 days. You can earn this return with just a $1,000 minimum balance, and there are no monthly maintenance fees on the accꦜount.

, on the other hand, is paying a sꦆlightly lower 5.35% APY, but with a longer rate guarantee of five months. However, this offer is only suited to those who can keep a large savings balance, as Flagstar requires you to maintain a balance of at least $25,000 to earn the 5.35% rate.

While not completely unheard of, rate guarantees on savings accounts are uncommon. By definition, savings accounts have a variable rate, meaning the bank or credit union can change the account's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:annual percentage yield (APY) at any time. They don't even have to warn you.

Why Today's Savings Accounts Are Paying Record Rates—But Could Soon Start Falling

With savings account rates reaching 5.50%, there's never been a better time in the last 20 years to hold money in a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:high-yield savings account. Today's nation-leading rate is especially remarkable when you consider that at the start of 2022, the highest available rate in the♊ country was a meager 0.70%.

The peak in savings account rates comes compliments of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Federal Reserve's rate-hike campaign, aimed at fighting post-pandemic 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:inflation that had surged to a 40-year high of 9.1%. With 11 increases to the federal funds rate between March 2022 and July 2023, the Fed raised its benchmark rate by a cumulative 5.25 percentage points, taking it to its highest level since 2001.

This is important for savers because the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:federal funds rate directly influences how much interest banks and credit unions are willing to pay for savings, money market, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:certificate of deposit (CD) accounts. When the fed funds rate is high, interest rates for bank customers are elevate✱d as well.

But now, inflation has cooled. While it's not yet down to the Fed's 2% target level, the latest reading 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:was just 2.5%, as measured by the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) released Sept. 11. This has moved the central bank to begin a phase of cutting rates.

When Will Savings Account Rates Start Dropping?

The Fed is all but certain to announce a rate cut next week, when its two-day rate-setting meeting concludes Sept. 18. The only question is how much it will lower rates. Interest rate traders are currently betting heavily on a cut of 0.25 percentage points, with nearly 70% predicting that outcome. According to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the remaining 30% are forecasting a cut of 0.50 percentage points.

But that likely won't be the end of it. By the close of 2024, investors are predicting the Fed will have made two more rate cuts—in November and December—for a total reduction of at least 1 percentage point from today's level.

Though the top savings account rate and the fed funds rate won't move in direct lockstep, each Fed rate cut will push the best savings account rate lower—and perhaps below the 5% bar by the end of the year.

This reinforces our recommendation that locking in an outstanding APY—either with one of the guaranteed savings account rates above or one of the nation's top-paying CDs below—is a smart financial move right now.

For a Longer Rate Lock, Consideꦗr a Top-Paying CD

If you can commit to not touching some of your money for longer than five months, it's an excellent time to open one of the nation's best CDs—before rates begin falling quickly. While rates for new CDs will drop along with the fed funds rate, a CD you open now will have a guaranteed return that's yours to keep until the CD matures.

With 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:our daily r🧸ank🐷ing of the best CD rates, you can lock in a rate of 5.15% to 5.25% with the best 6-month CDs, or 5.00% to 5.25% with a top 1-year CD. If you can commit some of your savings even longer, the longest CD term paying at least 5.00% is currently 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:15 months, which would guarantee your rate almost until Christmas of next year.

The top rates on CD terms of 2 to 5 years are meanwhile in the mid- to upper-4% range, and they can guarantee your rate until at least 2026, or as long as 2029.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for cr𒐪edit unions), and the account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:read our full methodology.