We Asked ChatGPT Where to Stash Our Cash. Here’s What It Got Wrong, and What Our Expert Thinks

1. High-Yield Savings Account

High-yield savings accounts (HYSAs) offer better rates than your typical bank savings account, which has an average annual percentage yield (APY) of just 0.38%. ChatGPT correctly noted that HYSAs currently have rates as high as 5.00%, but savings account APYs can change at any time. 

Right now you’ll find three options at 5.00% and over a dozen more above 4.00% on our ranking of the best high-yield savings accounts. ChatGPT suggested putting the largest chunk of our savings, $2,000, into an HYSA.

ChatGPT’s Advice on High-Yield Savings Accounts

Best for: Emergency funds or short-term savings

Interest rate (per ChatGPT): ~4.00%–5.00% APY (as of mid-2025)

Actual interest rate: Up to 5.00% APY with the top nationwide savings accounts

2. Certificate of Deposit

Certificates of deposit (CDs), unlike savings accounts, allow you to lock in a specific interest rate for a specific amount of time. They come in a range of terms, from a few months to several years. 

CDs give you an expected return regardless of market fluctuations, and can be a particularly wise move if you expect rates to go down. But, as ChatGPT notes, they’re good for money you won’t need for a set period—if you withdraw money from a CD before the term is up, you’ll typically be charged an early withdrawal penalty.

ChatGPT mentioned interest rates as high as 5.25% for CDs, but our research into the best CD rates only found national rates as high as 4.60% today. It recommended a 1-year CD; the best national 1-year CD rates are currently 4.50%. Our rankings list nationally available CDs, but it’s possible that ChatGPT found higher-rate CDs that are only available in certain regions

ChatGPT also suggested considering a CD ladder to maintain liquidity. This involves opening up several CDs with different terms, giving you periodic access to your savings. Whenever one particular CD matures, you can decide to reinvest in a new CD or do something else with the money.

ChatGPT’s Advice on Certificates of Deposit

Best for: Money you won’t need for a set period (e.g., 1 year+)

👉 Tip: Consider a CD ladder to maintain some liquidity.

Interest rate (per ChatGPT): ~4.50%–5.25% APY (varies by term: 6–24 months)

Actual interest rate: Up to 4.50% APY for the top nationwide 1-year CDs and 2-year CDs

Bank and Credit Union Rates

The rates below represent the top nationally available annual percentage yields (APYs) from federally insured banks and credit unions, based on our daily analysis of more than 200 institutions offering products nationwide.

3. Money Market Account

Money market accounts (MMAs) are similar to savings accounts, but they allow you to write paper checks. If you don’t need paper checks and you’re just looking for a place to grow your money, browse the best MMAs and the best HYSAs and pick the best rate.

ChatGPT mentioned MMAs as an option but didn’t advise allocating any money to MMAs because it found savings accounts with higher APYs. ChatGPT said MMAs have rates up to 4.75%, which is close to the top national rate for MMAs we found for our ranking: 4.37%.

ChatGPT’s Advice on MMAs

Best for: Earning interest while keeping some liquidity and spending access

Interest rate (per ChatGPT): ~3.50%–4.75% APY

Actual interest rate: Up to 5.00% APY for the top nationwide money market accounts

4. T-Bills via TreasuryDirect

The U.S. government offers savings bonds through the U.S. Treasury. ChatGPT recommended Treasury bills, known as T-bills, which are the bonds that have the shortest term lengths. They range from 4 weeks to 52 weeks. Like CDs, T-bills pay a fixed interest rate for the duration of the term.

You can buy and redeem T-bills and other Treasury bonds at TreasuryDirect for no fee, or you can buy and sell them through certain brokerages and banks (which charge a fee).

ChatGPT recommended we allocate $1,000 to T-bills, taking advantage of state and local tax exemptions on earned interest. ChatGPT stated an overly high annualized return of about 5.00%, which may have influenced the recommendation. Data on secondary market rates for one-year T-Bills shows an annualized return of under 4.00% for most of 2025.

ChatGPT’s Advice on T-Bills

Best for: Very conservative investors wanting better-than-savings returns

Interest rate (per ChatGPT): ~5.00% annualized (varies)

Actual interest rate: ~3.90% annualized (1-year T-Bills on secondary market, per FRED)

5. Cash Management Account From a Brokerage

Cash management accounts (CMAs) can hold uninvested funds at brokerages, earning interest similar to savings accounts. Brokerages can adjust the APY on cash management accounts whenever they’d like.

ChatGPT recommended some of the top providers of CMAs by interest rate, but it said they paid a much higher APY than is currently available—5%, rather than the best current rate of 4%.

ChatGPT’s Advice on Cash Management Accounts

Best for: People who may want to invest later or want a one-stop account

👉 Top providers: Fidelity CMA, Wealthfront, Betterment, Robinhood Gold

Interest rate (per ChatGPT): ~4.00%–5.00% APY

Actual interest rate: Up to 4.00% APY from top brokerages

Brokerage and Robo-Advisor Cash Rates

The yield on money market funds fluctuates daily, while rates on cash management accounts are more fixed but can be adjusted at any time.

Where Should You Put Your Money?

ChatGPT gave an example “conservative split” for the $5,000 across those accounts:

• High-yield savings account: $2,000 (for liquidity/emergencies)
• 1-year certificate of deposit: $1,000 (for a fixed return)
• Money market account: $0 (rates aren’t as good as HYSAs)
• Treasury bill (T-bill): $1,000 (short-term safe investment)
• Cash management account: $1,000 (hybrid use or staging for investment)

These allocations might work fine in certain situations, depending on interest rates. But if you’re talking to ChatGPT or any other LLM for financial advice, it makes sense to be skeptical. Provide a bit of information about your current financial situation, your goals, and whether you think you’ll need to dip into savings to help it make suggestions that fit your life. You can also look up current rates yourself, provide them to a chatbot, and then ask for suggestions based on real information.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.