Short-term CD yields worth looking at
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"Usually the spread between the prime rate and CDs is much higher than what it is currently," Mattia says. "When the prime rate was at 8 percent, there was a much bigger gap. If you look at our 3.9 percent versus prime at 5 percent, that's only about a 1 percent difference. It used to be 2 or 3 percent."

Fuschino notes that CDs are important to banks because they provide stable, relatively long-term funding because most customers let their CDs mature. Unfortunately, yields fluctuate widely from bank to bank and even within one institution. CD buyers are showing less tolerance for sticking around when a CD with a good yield matures and the rollover yield is significantly less.

"From what I've seen, most CD shoppers are not very loyal customers," Flurry says. "They bump around wherever they can get the rate. I have clients in the banking industry and they create these gimmick CDs because they know they can steal their competitors' customers. Once they get them they tend to be stickier if they can get their loans and mortgages, but if they're just coming in for a CD, as soon as that CD matures, they're back shopping."

Far and away today, your best bet is to buy CDs online. Here's a look at Washington Mutual's online CDs versus their traditional CDs.

WaMu online CDs Terms (months) APY 6 2.00% 8 4.25% 12 5.00% 13 5.00% 18 4.00% 24 4.00% 36 4.00% 48 4.15% 60 4.50%

WaMu traditional CDs Terms (months) APY 1 to 5 1.00% 6 to 7 1.25% 8 1.25% 9 1.25% 10 1.25% 11 to 12 1.25% 13 to 17 3.51% 18 to 23 3.51% 24 to 35 1.50% 36 to 47 1.50% 48 to 59 5.00%

There's really no comparison between the online yields and the traditional. If for some reason you're averse to buying CDs online, try to select the "sweet spot" maturities which, in the WaMu example, are 13 to 17 months, 18 to 23 months, and 48 to 59 months. Most banks will have certain maturities that stand out at any given time. That's where they want to steer you. If you can lock up your money for that period of time, you can benefit from the higher yield.

Why put your money in a six-month Treasury yielding 1.6 percent when you can get 2 percent online at WaMu, or 4.25 percent if you can go eight months? How about 3.7 percent on a six-month at Crestmark, or 4 percent on a seven-month CD at Wachovia? Check Bankrate's high-yield database and you'll find plenty of short-term CDs paying 4 percent or better.

*All yields are as of the date the article was written.