6 CDs With a 4.00% APY and No Minimum Deposit

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KEY POINTS

  • CDs often require deposits of $500, $1,000, or even more.
  • CDs with no minimum deposits let you lock in a high APY without committing more money than you want to.
  • Some of these CDs are offered by banks that also have excellent high-yield savings accounts.

It seems high CD rates are not long for this world. The Federal Reserve expects to cut interest rates twice in the second half of 2025 -- and perhaps more in 2026.

That makes now a good time to lock in a high annual percentage yield (APY). But CDs can have high barriers to entry. Most have minimum deposits of at least $500, and some demand $5,000 or more.

Luckily, you can lock in a high APY now without committing a lot of money. The six CDs below have APYs of 4.00% and no minimum deposits. Learn more about them and see which one might be the best for you.

The top CDs with no minimum deposit

Here they are, sorted by term (longest to shortest):

Issuing bank Term APY
American Express National Bank (Member FDIC) 22 months, 14 months 4.00%
Barclays 12 months 4.00%
Discover® Bank 12 months, 9 months 4.00%
Ally 6 months 4.00%
Data source: Issuing banks. Rates are accurate as of 5/16/25 and could change at any time.

Which one should you choose?

There are two things that really set these CDs apart from each other:

  1. The term
  2. The other products and perks offered by these banks

Here are some factors worth considering as you shop around.

Which term is best?

This depends partly on how long you're willing to lock up your cash. All of these CDs come with early-withdrawal penalties, so you don't want to commit to a long term if you may need your money back before the maturity date.

That said, given that interest rates are expected to drop over the next year or longer, the Amex 22-month CD looks like a great choice right now. If rates plummet, you'll be glad you locked in a 4.00% APY for nearly two years.

Which bank is best?

You may want to open a CD at the same bank that provides your savings account, checking account, credit card, etc. That way you can manage your money in one place and build a relationship with a bank you trust.

All of the banks above offer high-yield savings accounts with APYs of 3.60% or more, no monthly fees, and no minimum balances. Any of them would be a great place to store your savings.

That said, here are a couple of my favorites and why I like them.

American Express National Bank (Member FDIC)

The American Express® High Yield Savings Account (Member FDIC) pays a 3.60% APY (as of May 19, 2025), and the American Express Rewards Checking (Member FDIC) account (available only to Amex cardholders) pays 1.00% APY (as of May 19, 2025) -- well above average.

Eligible debit card purchases earn Membership Rewards points. If you have an Amex card, you can redeem all your Membership Rewards points through your online portal. If you don't, any points you earn through debit card purchases can be redeemed for cash deposits to your checking account.

Click here to open an American Express® High Yield Savings Account now.

Barclays

The Barclays Tiered Savings account pays a 4.00% APY -- the highest rate of any bank here -- on balances under $250,000. I don't know of another bank that pays that rate on a 12-month CD and a no-fee, no-minimum savings account.

The only downside is that Barclays does not offer a checking account. So it's best for long-term, high-yield savings -- not for daily spending. Barclays partly makes up for this by allowing an unlimited number of withdrawals and transfers.

Click here to open a Barclays Tiered Savings account now.

You really can't go wrong with any of these banks, though. They're big, trusted, and FDIC insured, and they all offer some of the best rates on CDs and savings accounts.

If you've been on the fence about opening a CD, now looks like a good time to get off it and lock in high APYs while they last. With these no-minimum CDs, you don't have to commit any more money than you're comfortable with.

Our Research Expert