Discover Bank is offering $50 for opening a new CD account online. Between now and February 28, 2009, open a new CD account at DiscoverBank.com with a minimum of $10,000 and Discover Bank will credit your account with $50.

You must enter Offer Code D100739 on the online form in order to qualify (the above link will automatically fill it in for you). You are welcome to share this code with friends but they’ll need to either come to this site and click the link or enter the offer code on the application form in order to get the free $50.

The offer is good through February 28, 2009. To earn the cash offer, a minimum deposit of $10,000 in new funds must be received by March 15, 2009 and those funds must remain on deposit for at least 90 days. The cash offer will be credited to your Discover Bank account 4 to 6 weeks after the 90-day period. Offer limited to one per customer and not applicable for accounts opened via phone or mail.

Discover currently has the second best rate on online 24-month (two-year) CDs and 36-month (three-year) CDs, and is competitive across all other terms

iGObanking is offering a competitive 60 Month IRA CD that pays 4% APY. This is one of the highest IRA CD rates I could find for that term and it is comeptitive with the best 60 month non-IRA CD rates. The account can be opened as either a traditional IRA or as a Roth IRA. On the IGObanking website is an application which can be filled in and mailed back to the company. With the application you would include a check with the amount you would like to deposit along with two forms of identification. You're also required to include a utility bill telephone bill as proof of residence. This differs from the all-electronic process for opening traditional accounts.

IRA Certificates of Deposit (CD)

For those unfamiliar with IRAs, the abbreviation stands for Individual Retirement Account. IRAs are a retirement vehicle that provide a more tax efficient way to save for retirement. In general, traditional IRAs are tax deferred, meaning you do not pay taxes on the money you put into the IRA until you withdraw it. The idea is that by the time you are ready to retire, you will be in a lower tax bracket, and thus pay lower taxes.

With a Roth IRA, any money you put in is post-taxes, meaning you have already paid taxes on it but the money can grow within the Roth IRA tax free. When you remove the money, you will not have to pay any additional taxes.

With both traditional and Roth IRAs you will pay a penalty if you withdraw the money before retirement.

A CD IRA is simply a Certificate of Deposit that exists within this IRA vehicle.

iGObanking

iGObanking.com is a division of Flushing Savings Bank, FSB and has a 4 out of 5 star (Good) Bauer rating for safety and soundness.

Compare the best IRA CD rates here.

In general, the big banks do not have as competitive savings rates, certificate of deposit rates, or money market rates as the Internet banks or the regional banks that frequently top the BestCashCow rate tables. They have a different model. Instead of top rates, they offer the convenience of a branch on every corner with human interaction and an extensive ATM network. The cost to maintain these branch and ATM networks is significant and comes out of the yield you could earn on your accounts.

But some people prefer the convenience of walking into a branch and like having an ATM at every corner. For those that do, we cover three of the big banks and look at how their rates differ. Obviously, not everyone will have access to these banks but a comparison provides some idea of how the big three - Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo compare across various CD terms.

First, how much yield are you giving up depositing money at one of these banks? If we compare 12 month (1 year) Certificate of deposit rates we see the amount can be substantial. Below shows you the difference:

• Current BestCashCow 12 month CD rate leader: GMAC 3.75% APY
• Bank of America 12 Month CD Rate: 2.10% APY
• Chase 12 Month CD Rate 2.25% APY
• Wells Fargo 12 Month CD Rate 1.30% APY

The difference ranges from 1.50% APY to as high as 2.45% APY.

As the big bank rate CD rate chart shows, in general Chase has the most competitive CD rates. I's 48 month (4 year CD) rate is tied for third place on the BestCashCow Top CD Rate Table.

Chase rates have also dropped the least of the big banks. There 1 year 2.25% APY rate hasn't moved at all and while the 60 month (5 year) CD dropped by 1 percentage point, it is dropped from the leading rate down to the third leading rate.

Chase is considered the most financially sound of the big banks, having largely avoided the mortgage problems that brought down many of its peers. It used its financial strength to purchase WaMu in September '08. It now appears to be using that financial muscle to grow its deposit base and take market share from its weakened big bank competitors.