Product Selection
What are Synchrony Bank's CD rates and terms?
Synchrony Bank offers CDs with no minimum opening deposit across a range of terms (it currently features special member rates on 14-month and 16-month terms), FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per depositor, and a tiered early-withdrawal penalty — 90 days of simple interest on terms of 12 months or less, 180 days on terms between 12 and 48 months, and 365 days on terms of 48 months or more. Because APY moves with the Fed's rate environment, check Synchrony's own rate page or a live comparison tool for the current number before opening.
The full picture
Synchrony Bank is an online-only bank that's a regular presence on best-CD-rate lists because it carries no minimum opening deposit on its CDs and typically prices competitively against the FDIC's published national average. The specific APY on any given term changes with the interest-rate environment — the Federal Reserve's rate path drives online-bank CD pricing more directly than it drives brick-and-mortar bank rates — so the number worth memorizing here is the fee/penalty structure, which is stable, not the APY, which isn't.
How Synchrony's early-withdrawal penalty works
Synchrony ties its early-withdrawal penalty to the CD's term length, not a flat fee: pull money out of a CD with a term of 12 months or less before maturity, and the penalty is 90 days of simple interest at the CD's rate. Terms longer than 12 months but under 48 months carry a 180-day penalty. Terms of 48 months or longer carry a 365-day penalty. That's a meaningfully steeper penalty on longer-term CDs — a reason to only lock a 4- or 5-year term if you're confident the cash won't be needed early, or to use a shorter-term CD or a No-Penalty CD product instead if there's any chance you'll need the funds sooner.
Sourced
- Synchrony Bank CDs have no minimum opening deposit. — Synchrony Bank — Certificate of Deposit product page
- Synchrony's early-withdrawal penalty is tiered by term: 90 days of simple interest for terms of 12 months or less; 180 days for terms over 12 months but under 48 months; 365 days for terms of 48 months or more. — Synchrony Bank — CD FAQs
- Synchrony Bank is FDIC-insured; deposit accounts are covered up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. — Synchrony Bank — FDIC insurance disclosure
- The FDIC publishes monthly national average CD rates by term (3-month, 6-month, 12-month, 24-month, 60-month), letting depositors benchmark any bank's offer against the national average before opening. — FDIC — National Rates and Rate Caps
- Regulation DD (Truth in Savings Act) requires banks to disclose APY — not just a nominal interest rate — on deposit account advertisements and statements, so consumers can compare CD offers on an equal basis. — CFPB — Regulation DD
- Synchrony Bank also offers a High Yield Savings Account and a Money Market Account alongside its CD lineup, both with no minimum balance requirement. — Synchrony Bank — Banking product pages
- ClearValue Banking's account comparison tool pulls current posted CD and savings APYs from multiple institutions side by side, rather than a single article's static snapshot. — ClearValue Banking — account comparison tool
Key takeaways
- No minimum deposit to open a Synchrony CD — the account is accessible regardless of balance size.
- Early-withdrawal penalty scales with term: 90 days' interest (≤12mo), 180 days' (12–48mo), 365 days' (48mo+).
- Deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category.
- APY is a moving target — verify the live rate at Synchrony directly (or a rate-comparison tool) before opening, rather than relying on any single article's number.
To line up Synchrony's current posted APY against other online banks side by side, ClearValue Banking's account comparison tool pulls current rates rather than a snapshot that goes stale.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a minimum balance to earn Synchrony's advertised CD rate?
Synchrony Bank CDs have no minimum opening deposit, so the advertised APY applies from the first dollar deposited — you don't need to hit a balance threshold to earn the posted rate.
Can I add money to a Synchrony CD after opening it?
No — Synchrony CDs don't accept additional deposits during the term. You can add funds during the 10-day grace period immediately after the CD matures, or open a new CD as part of a CD-ladder strategy.
Related guides
Published 2026-08-17 · Updated 2026-08-17 · https://clearvaluelending.com/answers/synchrony-bank-cd-rates