CIT Bank Review: Savings and CD Rates

CIT Bank originally started as a business banking system. That’s where the acronym CIT—Commercial Investment Trust—came from. But lest that lead you to believe they aren’t for the average person, take heart: they’ve broadened their services to include several personal banking products.

Still, this is an online-only bank. That’s good news if you’re an internet-savvy consumer looking for great rates, since online-only banks typically don’t have a lot of overhead and can pass the savings along to you in the form of higher rates.

But, how good are these rates, really? And are the terms that CIT bank offers any good?  With one of the highest interest rates currently on the market and zero fees, which we highlight in our review,  it’s certainly a great option for savers looking for low-fee, high-yield accounts.

We’ll look at their two main personal banking products — CDs and savings accounts — in this article to help you make an informed decision about whether CIT Bank is right for you.

Note: All rates are current as of February 2, 2018.

CIT Bank’s CD Rates

How CIT Bank’s CDs compare

CIT Bank’s Savings Account

How CIT Bank’s Savings Account compares

CIT Bank Term CDs provide decent returns for your investment and flexibility in determining how interest payments are handled.

[Chart-CITBankCdRates] Term

APY

6 months

0.72%

1 year

1.32%

13 months

1.70%

18 months

1.75%

2 years

1.40%

3 years

1.30%

4 years

1.50%

5 years

1.70%

One neat thing about CIT Bank’s Term CDs (and all of their CDs, actually) is how they let you manage the interest you’ve earned on your CDs.

You can choose from three options:

CIT Bank will give you a heads-up 30 days before your CD matures. Once it does mature, it’ll automatically roll over into another CD with the exact same term length. However, you have a 10-day grace period to withdraw your money, add more cash, or transfer it to a different type of CD.

It’s an easy process to open up a CIT Bank Term CD online. You’ll need to apply for an account by providing personal information such as your name, Social Security Number, and a valid form of government-issued ID.

Once you have an account set up, you can fund it by sending in a check or setting up an electronic transfer from another bank.

A high-earning option for folks who might need their money before the CD matures — but it’s only available in one-term length.

[Chart-CITBankNoPenaltyCds] Term

APY

11 months

1.55%

If you think you might need to withdraw your CD before the term is up, CIT Bank’s No-Penalty CD might be right for you. You’re allowed to withdraw everything — principal and interest — once per term without paying an early withdrawal penalty.

The only catch is that you can only do so after a week or so has passed from the time you open your account—meaning your money is locked away for the first six days. Still, a six-day period under lock and key is way better than an 11-month period. Even better, you don’t really sacrifice any potential earnings for choosing this option — currently, the APY on this 11-month No-Penalty CD is even higher than CIT Bank’s 1-year Term CD.

You also get the option to have interest payments deposited right back into your CD account, another CIT Bank savings account, or an external account. CD maturity for this No-Penalty CD works the same as with a regular Term CD. Your 11-month No-Penalty CD will automatically roll over into another 11-month No-Penalty CD once matured, with a 10-day grace period to withdraw the cash or make any changes to the CD itself.

It’s an easy process to open up a CIT Bank No-Penalty CD online. You’ll need to apply for an account by providing personal information such as your name, Social Security Number, and a valid form of government-issued ID.

Once you have an account set up, you can fund it by sending in a check or setting up an electronic transfer from another bank.

This CD gives you the option to raise your interest rate and/or add more money — but only once per term.

[Chart-CITBankRampUpPlusCD] Term

APY

1 year

1.26%

2 years

1.27%

One of the downsides of being locked into CDs is that if interest rates go up or you come across a sudden windfall of cash, you’re out of luck. You can’t take advantage of those fortuitous events unless you open a new CD (assuming you have enough cash on hand to meet the CD’s minimum deposit requirement, if there is one).

CIT Bank’s RampUp™ Plus CD changes that. You’ll have the option to adjust your rate once if our rates go up, plus you can add to your deposit once during the term of your CD.

There are some limits, however; you can’t deposit more than $250,000 into your CD account (a wise decision, since this is the limit of FDIC insurance anyway), and the maximum interest rate rise they’ll honor is twice your current APY minus 0.05%. The original length of your term also stays the same — i.e., adding more money or boosting the APY does not increase the length of your term.

Your CD is handled similarly to other CIT Bank CDs once matured. It will roll over into another CD of the same type and term, but you’ll get a 10-day grace period to withdraw the cash, add more money, or change the CD to a different term or type.

It’s an easy process to open up a CIT RampUp™ Plus CD online. You’ll need to apply for an account by providing personal information such as your name, Social Security Number, and a valid form of government-issued ID.

Once you have an account set up, you can fund it by sending in a check or setting up an electronic transfer from another bank.

This CD account is similar to the RampUp™ Plus, however you aren’t able to add more money during the CD’s term.

[Chart-CITBankRampUpCD] Term

APY

3 years

1.20%

4 years

1.38%

If you like the idea of being able to raise your rates upward, but want to invest on a slightly longer term, consider a RampUp™ CD. These CDs are offered in three- and four-year terms instead, and also allow you to boost your rates once during each term (again, with a cap of twice your current rate, minus 0.05%).

There are two important differences between these RampUp™ CDs and the shorter-term RampUp™ Plus CDs. The four-year RampUp™ CD has a much higher minimum deposit size — $50,000, versus $25,000 if you’re investing a smaller amount. Additionally, you cannot add more money into these CDs. You only have the option to raise your rates, and that’s it.

Once mature, these CDs will also automatically roll over into another RampUp™ CD of the same type. You’ll have a 10-day grace period to withdraw the money, make any changes to the CD term or type, or add more money.

It’s an easy process to open up a CIT RampUp™ CD online. You’ll need to apply for an account by providing personal information such as your name, Social Security Number, and a valid form of government-issued ID.

Once you have an account set up, you can fund it by sending in a check or setting up an electronic transfer from another bank.

CIT Bank’s Jumbo CDs allow you to earn a slightly higher interest rate for a much larger deposit size.

[Chart-CITBankJumboCDs] Term

APY

2 years

1.45%

3 years

1.40%

4 years

1.60%

5 years

1.75%

If you can come to the table with deep pockets — at least $100,000 to be exact — you can open one of CIT Bank’s Jumbo CDs. These big accounts work exactly like the normal term CDs, with one exception: You can earn a slightly higher interest rate.

As with the other CDs, you can also choose to withdraw your interest payments at any time penalty-free to a CIT Bank savings accounts, an external bank account, or just let the interest payments pile up in your CD account so you earn even more.

Once your Jumbo CD matures, it’ll automatically roll over into another Jumbo CD with the same term length. Again, you’ll have a 10-day grace period if you want to withdraw the money, add more funds, or change the CD to a different type or term length.

It’s an easy process to open up a CIT Jumbo CD online. You’ll need to apply for an account by providing personal information such as your name, Social Security Number, and a valid form of government-issued ID.

Once you have an account set up, you can fund it by sending in a check or setting up an electronic transfer from another bank.

This high-yield savings account offers one of the highest interest rates available in the U.S.

[Chart-CITBankHighYieldSavingsAccount] APY

Minimum Balance Amount

1.55%

$100

CIT Bank currently holds one of the top spots for highest interest rate in the nation. While they technically have two interest rate tiers, the interest rate is currently the same for both tiers. However, it is possible that CIT Bank may change it in the future so there are higher interest rates for different deposit sizes.

This bank account is very accessible for anyone who wants to bank online. With a minimum deposit size of $100, nearly anyone can meet the minimum deposit requirements for this account.

The only downside of this account is that it doesn’t come with ATM access. The only way to get money in and out of your account is by electronic transfer, by requesting or sending in a physical check, or by wire transfer.

It’s an easy process to open up a CIT high-yield savings account online. You’ll need to apply for an account by providing personal information such as your name, Social Security Number, and a valid form of government-issued ID.

Once you have an account set up, you can fund it by sending in a check or setting up an electronic transfer from another bank.

We really love CIT Bank’s savings account for three reasons. This account has:

Still, if the lack of an ATM card and having your savings in an external (and very high-earning) savings account don’t bother you, then you really can’t go wrong with this account.