MyMoneyBlog.com

Here’s my monthly survey of the best interest rates on cash as of April 2026, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Banks and brokerages love taking advantage of idle cash, and you can often earn more interest while keeping the same level of safety by moving to another FDIC-insured bank or NCUA-insured credit union. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 4/6/26.

TL;DR: Savings account interest rates were mostly stable. You can still get 4.6% APY if you accept certain hoops/restrictions, but most are under 4% now. Short-term T-Bill rates ~3.7%. Top 5-year CD rates are ~4.10% APY, while the 5-year Treasury rate is ~4.0%.

High-yield savings accounts*
Since the huge megabanks still pay essentially zero interest, everyone should at least have a separate, no-fee online savings account to piggy-back onto your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates and solid user experience. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

• The top saving rate at the moment: Pibank at 4.60% APY (no min), but they have some weird restrictions; like you can only use wire/Plaid to deposit and wire transfers to withdraw funds?! CineFi (no min) dropped a bit to 4.25% APY, a division of First Entertainment Credit Union. OnPath FCU also dropped to 4.25% APY with $25,000 minimum balance. CIT Platinum Savings held at 3.75% APY with $5,000+ balance, with a new 4.10% APY Boost promotion that was recently extended to 5/31. There are many banks in between.
• SoFi Bank is at 3.30% APY (new customers can get up to 4.00% APY for 6 months + increased $425 bonus with qualifying direct deposit. You must maintain a direct deposit of any amount (even $1) each month for the higher ongoing APY. SoFi has historically competitive rates and full banking features.
• Here is a limited survey of high-yield savings accounts. They aren’t the top rates, but a group that have historically kept it relatively competitive such that I like to track their history. This month they start at 3.20% APY on up.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (plan to buy a house soon, just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

• No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Marcus has a 13-month No Penalty CD at 3.95% APY ($500 minimum deposit). Farmer’s Insurance FCU has a 9-month No Penalty CD at 4.00% APY ($1,000 minimum deposit). USALLIANCE Financial CU has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 3.90% APY ($500 minimum deposit). CIT Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 3.75% APY ($1,000 minimum deposit).
• E-Trade Bank has a 12-month CD at 4.10% APY (no minimum deposit). Early withdrawal penalty is 90 days of interest.
• Farmer’s Insurance FCU has a 12-month CD at 4.00% APY with new money required. $1,000 minimum to open. Early withdrawal penalty is 90 days of interest.

Money market mutual funds
Many brokerage firms that pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). Note: Money market mutual funds are highly-regulated, but ultimately not FDIC-insured, so I would still stick with highly reputable firms.

• Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX) is the default sweep option for Vanguard brokerage accounts, which has a 7-day SEC yield of 3.58% (changes daily, but also works out to a compound yield of 3.64%, which is better for comparing against APY). Odds are this is much higher than your own broker’s default cash sweep interest rate.
• Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) is an alternative money market fund which you must manually purchase, but the interest will be mostly (100% for 2025 tax year) exempt from state and local income taxes because it comes from qualifying US government obligations. Current 7-day SEC yield of 3.63% (compound yield of 3.69%).

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks and are fully backed by the US government. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes, which can make a significant difference in your effective yield.

• You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 3/6/26, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 3.69% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 3.70% annualized interest.
• The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) has a 3.55% 30-day SEC yield (0.09% expense ratio) and effective duration of 0.10 years. The Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL) has a 3.57% 30-day SEC yield (0.06% expense ratio) and effective duration of 0.10 years.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest. The annual purchase limit for electronic I bonds is $10,000 per Social Security Number, available online at TreasuryDirect.gov.

• “I Bonds” bought between November 2025 and April 2026 will earn a 4.03% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More on Savings Bonds here.
• In mid-April 2026, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will post another update at that time.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops which usually involve 10+ debit card purchases each cycle, a certain number of ACH/direct deposits, and/or a certain number of logins per month. If you make a mistake (or they judge that you did) you risk earning zero interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others would rather not bother. Rates can also drop suddenly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling.

• La Capitol Federal Credit Union pays 6.50% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases of at least $5 each per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization, Louisiana Association for Personal Financial Achievement ($20).
• OnPath Federal Credit Union (my review) pays 6.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and login to online or mobile banking once per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization. You can also get a $150 Visa Reward card when you open a new account and make qualifying transactions.
• Genisys Credit Union pays 6.75% APY on up to $7,500 if you make 10 debit card purchases of $5+ each per statement cycle, and opt into online statements. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
• Oklahoma Central Credit Union pays 6.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases (non-ATM) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union if they are “affiliated with another credit union”.
• First Southern Bank pays 5.50% APY on up to $25,000 if you make at least 15 debit card purchases, 1 ACH credit or payment transaction, and enroll in online statements.
• Credit Union of New Jersey pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 12 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
• Andrews Federal Credit Union pays 5.25% APY (decreased) on up to $25,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit or ACH transaction per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
• Capitol Credit Union pays 6.00% APY on up to $15,000 if you make 12 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit or ACH transaction per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization ($5 to Wild Basin Wilderness).
• Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

• United Fidelity Bank has a 5-year certificate at 4.15% APY ($1,000 minimum), 4-year at 4.10% APY, 3-year at 4.10% APY, 2-year at 4.10% APY, and 1.5-year at 4.05% APY. Early withdrawal penalties are not disclosed clearly online.
• Advancial Federal Credit Union has has a 5-year certificates at 4.14%/4.24%/4.34% APY APY based on either a $1,000/$25,000/$50,000 opening balance. Early withdrawal penalty for the 5-year is 365 days of interest. Anyone nationwide should be able to join via membership with partner organization US Dog Agility Association, but I would call to verify first.
• Mountain America Credit Union (MACU) has a 5-year certificate at 4.00% APY ($500 minimum), 4-year at 4.00% APY, 3-year at 4.05% APY, 2-year at 4.20% APY, and 1-year at 3.80% APY. Early withdrawal penalty for the 4-year and 5-year is 365 days of interest. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization American Consumer Council (use promo code “consumer” when joining).
• You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Right now, I see a 5-year non-callable brokered CD at 4.05% APY (callable: no, call protection: yes). Be warned that both Vanguard and Fidelity will list higher rates from callable CDs, which importantly means they can (and will!) call back your CD if rates drop significantly later.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk (tbh, I don’t use them at all), but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

• Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. You might find something that pays more than your other brokerage cash and Treasury options. Right now, I see a 10-year CDs at 4.20% APY (non-callable) vs. 4.33% for a 10-year Treasury. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs where they can call your CD back if interest rates drop.

All rates were checked as of 4/6/26.

* I no longer recommend fintech companies due to the possibility of significant loss due to poor recordkeeping and the lack of government protection in such scenarios. The point of cash is absolute safety of principal.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Back again, new expiration date 7/15/2026. Here’s another megabank bonus to pick up if you haven’t already. Chase Bank has a Total Checking + Savings account promotion offering up to $900 total for new customers that open both a checking and savings account with them along with additional specific requirements. This offer comes around regularly, but right now the bonus amount is higher than the standard amount. I recommend the e-mail option where you get an e-mail along with a unique 16-character coupon code. Otherwise, make sure you click on the correct online link on the $900 page to apply the proper code to your application. Current shown expiration is 7/16/2026, but it may end earlier.

Be sure to read all the requirements, including what is required to avoid the monthly fees for each account. Notably, you need direct deposit to the checking and you’ll need a $15,000 deposit for 90 days in the savings. You enter your e-mail address, and you will get a unique code for your online application. Some of the language suggests you should reside near a physical Chase branch, but the link lets you apply online and it should work from anywhere (you will know via instant approval). If you already have a Chase credit card, the application can be pre-filled.

Chase Total Checking $300 bonus details. Checking offer is not available to existing Chase checking customers, those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance. You must:

1. Open a new Chase Total Checking account, which is subject to approval;
2. Have your direct deposit made to this account within 90 days of coupon enrollment. Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government.
3. After you have completed all the above checking requirements, [Chase will] deposit the bonus in your new account within 15 days.

Avoid monthly service fees on Total Checking when you do at least one of the following each statement period. Otherwise a $12 Monthly Service Fee will apply.

• Have monthly direct deposits totaling $500 or more made to this account; OR
• Keep a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more in your checking account; OR,
• Keep an average daily balance of $5,000 or more in any combination of qualifying Chase checking, savings and other balances.

Chase Savings $200 bonus details. You must:

1. Open a new Chase Savings account, which is subject to approval.
2. Deposit a total of $15,000 or more in new money into the new savings account within 30 days of coupon enrollment;
3. Maintain at least a $15,000 balance for 90 days from the date of coupon enrollment. The new money cannot be funds held by Chase or its affiliates.
4. After you have completed all the above savings requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 15 days.
5. 0.01% effective APY in the zip codes I checked.

Avoid monthly service fees on Chase Savings when you do at least one of the following each statement period. Otherwise a $5 Monthly Service Fee will apply.

• Keep a minimum daily balance of $300 or more in your savings account; OR,
• Have at least one repeating automatic transfer from your Chase checking account of $25 or more. One-time transfers do not qualify; OR,
• Chase College CheckingSM account linked to this account for Overdraft Protection, OR,
• Account owner who is an individual younger than 18, OR
• Have a linked Chase Premier Plus Checking, Chase Premier Platinum Checking, or Chase Private Client Checking account.

To receive the $400 extra bonus: You must open the checking and savings account at the same time and complete all requirements above for BOTH the checking bonus and savings bonus. After you have completed all requirements, [Chase] will deposit the remaining bonus due in your new account within 15 days.

I have read no reports of a “hard” credit check, and did not experience one myself on a previous offer years ago. Note that that to receive any of the above bonuses, the enrolled account must not be closed or restricted at the time of payout.

This is the highest bonus I’ve seen for this Chase combo. Earning $900 on $15,000 in 90 days is the equivalent of a 24% annualized return. The bonuses are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.

Bottom line. This is one of those bonuses that if you haven’t picked it up yet, it’s a pretty solid one. It’s a convenient megabank account with a large branch footprint, but also one that notably pays nearly zero interest. With a total opening deposit of $15,000 in new money, you can open both accounts and avoid both monthly fees. You’ll also need to change your direct deposit (any amount). Earning $900 on $15,000 in 90 days is the equivalent of a 24% annualized return.

A new Morningstar article points out that between December 2016 and December 2025, Vanguard investors contributed about $2 trillion in net investment flows, while also gaining $5 trillion in market appreciation (income and gains). They listed two major reasons for this result.

• Stock returns averaged 12.6% a year annualized. On an asset-weighted basis, Vanguard’s equity funds returned 12.6% per year over the decade ending 12/31/2025.
• Vanguard investors mostly bought and held during this time, allowing them to capture the vast majority of the overall gains, more so than other fund families. Morningstar tracks something called the “timing gap”, which measures how the timing and size of investor trading affects their actual return vs. the overall fund returns. Vanguard investors don’t time the market very much.

I would also add a reminder about a third reason:

• Vanguard continues to not only offer low costs but encourage them across their platform, allowing investors to keep more of the market’s return. There are many new products out there (sometimes called “Boomer Candy” but really just “candy” for everyone) that dangle appealing features: Aggressive covered-call ETFs for high-income, buffer ETFs for downside protection, leveraged ETFs for boosted returns. These all have a common feature: much higher fees and lower expected long-term returns! Vanguard offers none of these products. That’s not an accident!

Here are historical average expense ratios, as of December 31, 2025 (source: Vanguard):

Vanguard isn’t perfect, but they are “staying the course” with enough of their core values that I am still keeping the majority of my assets with them.

Side note: In the M* article was a disclosure that back in February 2026, Morningstar bought the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) from the University of Chicago. CRSP created many super low-cost indexes so that Vanguard could offer index funds at rock-bottom prices, not having to pay higher fee to track similar things like the S&P 500 index. CRSP indexes are why the Vanguard Total US Stock fund and similar are so cheap. Morningstar is a for-profit company, so that is a possible concern.

Here is my 2026 1st Quarter portfolio update that includes all our combined 401k/403b/IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts but excludes our house and small side portfolio of self-directed investments. Following the concept of skin in the game, the following is not a recommendation, but a sharing of our real-world, imperfect DIY portfolio.

“Never ask anyone for their opinion, forecast, or recommendation. Just ask them what they have in their portfolio.” – Nassim Taleb

How I Track My Portfolio
Here’s how I track my portfolio across multiple brokers and account types:

• The Empower Personal Dashboard real-time portfolio tracking tools (free) automatically logs into my multiple accounts, adds up my various balances, tracks my performance, and figures out my overall asset allocation across the entire portfolio. Formerly known as Personal Capital.
• Once a quarter, I also update my manual Google Spreadsheet (free to copy, instructions) because it helps me calculate how much I need in each asset class to rebalance back towards my target asset allocation. I also create a new sheet each quarter, so I have a personal archive of my portfolio dating back many years.

2026 1st Quarter Asset Allocation and YTD Performance
Here are updated performance and asset allocation charts, per the “Holdings” and “Allocation” tabs of my Empower Personal Dashboard.

The major components of my portfolio are broad index ETFs. I do mix it up a bit around the edges, but not very much. Here is a model version of my target asset allocation with sample ETF holdings for each asset class.

• 35% US Total Market (VTI)
• 5% US Small-Cap Value (AVUV)
• 20% International Total Market (VXUS)
• 5% International Small-Cap Value (AVDV)
• 5% US Real Estate (REIT) (VNQ)
• 20% US “Regular” Treasury Bonds and/or FDIC-insured deposits (VGSH)
• 10% US Treasury Inflation-Protected Bonds (SCHP)

Big picture, it is 70% businesses and 30% very safe short-term bonds/cash:

By paying minimal costs including management fees, transaction spreads, and tax drag, I am trying to essentially guarantee myself above-average net performance over time.

I do not spend a lot of time backtesting various model portfolios. You’ll usually find that whatever model portfolio is popular at the moment just happens to hold the asset class that has been the hottest recently.

The portfolio that you can hold onto through the tough times is the best one for you. I’ve been pretty much holding this same portfolio for 20 years. Check out these ancient posts from 2004 and 2005. Every asset class will eventually have a low period, and you must have strong faith during these periods to earn those historically high returns. You have to keep owning and buying more stocks through the stock market crashes. You have to maintain and even buy more rental properties during a housing crunch, etc. A good sign is that if prices drop, you should feel the urge to buy more of that asset instead of less. I don’t have strong faith in the long-term results of commodities, gold, or bitcoin – so I don’t own them.

Performance details. Here’s an updated YTD Growth of $10,000 chart courtesy of Testfolio for some of the major index ETFs (total US stock, total international stock, total US bond) that shows the difference in performance in the broad indexes:

Nearly everything went up in 2025. So far in 2026, if you had a good dose of international stock diversification, you were pretty much flat. I read that the S&P 500 went down about 5%, and the Magnificent 7 went down about 13% in the first quarter. I’ll share about more about the income aspect in a separate post.