By Sabrina Karl

To fight inflation, the Federal Reserve has been making dramatic interest rate moves that are benefiting savers. Indeed, the rates you can earn on a savings account or CD have surged over the last three months.

Looking at the FDIC’s national averages, the change might seem minimal. That’s because the vast majority of banks pay a pittance in interest on savings accounts. Still, the national average rate held around 0.06% for most of 2020 and 2021, but has now risen 33% to 0.08%.

More telling is what you can earn from the top-paying banks, many of which are online-only institutions that offer ultra-competitive rates to attract depositors. Throughout 2021, the top savings account rate hovered around 0.50%, according to Investopedia.com. This week, they list almost 20 savings accounts paying 1.25% or better, with the leader paying 1.80%. In other words, you can earn 2.5 to 3.5 times more today than in January.

The story is similar for certificates of deposit, or CDs. Their FDIC national averages also remained relatively flat during 2020 and 2021, but have climbed by a factor of 1.5 or even double since January, with most of the gains occurring in May and June.

Again, however, smart consumers can earn much more from CDs than the national average by simply shopping around for the top-paying rates, and those have surged even more dramatically than the national averages. For instance, Investopedia’s top listed rate from a nationally available 6-month CD hovered around 0.70% in 2021, while today you can earn 2.32%. Similarly, the best 1-year CD rate has leaped from about 0.80% to 2.50%.

Rates that are roughly triple their best level from last year are also available for 2-, 3-, and 5-year CDs, the top rates for which are currently 3.00%, 3.25%, and 3.50%, respectively.