Savers who spent the last two years watching certificate of deposit rates climb into the 5% range are now staring at a different picture.
The best CD rates today are still worth a look, but they're not what they were a year ago.
Banks have been trimming yields on everything from six-month CDs to five-year terms, and the direction of travel is clear.
The Federal Reserve's rate cuts have finally filtered down to deposit accounts.
Online banks that once advertised 5.25% APYs on 12-month CDs are now listing closer to 4% to 4.5%.
It's not a dramatic collapse, but it's enough to change the math for anyone sitting on cash in a savings account earning 3% or less.
If you have money you won't need for six to twelve months, a CD still beats most regular savings accounts.
The trade-off is simple: you give up access to your cash in exchange for a fixed rate that won't move even if the Fed cuts again.
For money earmarked for a known expense, it can work.
Where the deals are hiding right now has less to do with big national brands and more to do with smaller online banks and credit unions.
Those institutions tend to offer the most competitive yields because they're hungry for deposits.
National brick-and-mortar banks are frequently paying a fraction of what you can find with a five-minute search.
One thing worth flagging: the gap between the top rates and the average rates is wide.
The difference between a 4.5% CD and a 0.5% CD on $10,000 over a year is roughly $400.
That's a grocery run or two, depending on your household.
It's not life-changing money, but it's free money for filling out an application.
A few ground rules before you lock anything in.
First, check the early withdrawal penalty, because it varies wildly and can wipe out months of interest if you need the cash back.
Second, confirm the bank is FDIC-insured, or NCUA-insured if it's a credit union.
Third, don't chase a rate so far above the pack that it smells wrong.
If an offer looks too good, it probably is.
Instead of dumping everything into one CD, split it across several terms, like six months, one year, and two years.
That way you're not stuck if rates move, and you're not guessing about the future either.
It's a boring strategy, which is usually the point.
The bigger question for most households is whether locking up cash makes sense at all when rent, groceries, and insurance premiums keep climbing.
If your budget is already tight, keeping money liquid matters more than squeezing out an extra half-point of interest.
A CD only works if you genuinely don't need the money.
The window on today's rates won't stay open forever.
Banks have been slow to cut, but they've been cutting.
Final Thoughts
If you've been meaning to move idle cash somewhere it earns more, the next few weeks are a reasonable time to act, not because of hype, but because the trend is pointing one direction.