Jumbo Bank CD Rates Only Slightly Better Than Regular CD Rates

Current jumbo 1 year bank CD rates are not much better than regular 1 year CD rates. In years past, jumbo CDs commanded a premium rate over regular CDs. In fact many banks offer the same rate for jumbo and regular certificates of deposit.

The FDIC's national average 1 year rate for non-jumbo deposits is 0.29 percent and the average 1 year rate for jumbo deposits is 0.30 percent, 1 basis point higher.

The best CD rate for 1 year jumbo CDs on our rate list is from Doral Bank. The bank is offering 1 year jumbo CD interest rates at 1.14 percent with an APY of 1.15 percent (min deposit $100,000). Doral Bank is also offering regular CD rates at 1.14 percent with an APY of 1.15 percent (min deposit $1,000).

USAA is offering 1 year jumbo CD rates slight higher than their regular CD rates. Current 1 year jumbo rates at USAA are at 0.90 percent with an APY of 0.90 percent. Regular 1 year CD rates at USAA are currently at 0.86 percent with an APY of 0.86 percent, only 4 basis points lower.

The list goes on and on but you see the pattern here, no big difference in rates between regular and jumbo rates. It seems the only benefit to opening a jumbo CD is dealing with one account or fewer accounts if you have more than the FDIC insured max of $250,000.

Jumbo rates on the CDARS network aren't much better than regular rates either. In case you haven't heard of CDARS is stands for Certificate Deposit Account Registry Service. The service allows you to have FDIC deposit insurance protection on up to $50 million in CD deposits.

The way the service works is you deal with only one bank but your money is spread out between many banks to stay within the FDIC $250,000 limit. The bad news is the rate you earn will usually be lower with CDARS CDs.