Top Offers of April 25, 2024
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Why You Can Trust the MarketWatch Guides Team
Here’s a breakdown of how we reviewed and rated top banks and credit unions
130
Institutions MonitoredOur team reviewed more than 100 of the country’s largest and most prominent financial institutions, from big banks like Chase and Bank of America to credit unions like Navy Federal Credit Union and PenFed Credit Union.
688
Products StudiedTotal number of checking, saving, CDs, and money-market accounts that inform our review ratings.
719
Rates TrackedThe accounts with an annual percentage yield (APY) several times the national average rate receive the highest scores. Accounts with the lowest APY offering (under 1%) earn the least points.
10
Professionals ConsultedBefore we began our research process, we consulted with financial advisors and industry experts to ensure our evaluations covered the banking product aspects that matter most to potential customers.
Our Bank of America Ratings
As the second largest bank in the country by assets, Bank of America serves roughly 69 million customers and has thousands of branches and ATMs across 38 states and Washington, D.C.
Along with its extensive branch network, the bank provides a solid mobile app and online platform, giving customers access to some of the best online and in-person banking features. In this review, we look at Bank of America’s checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and overall customer experience. We also examine how it compares to some of the other big banks in the U.S.
Based on our research on more than 100 traditional and online banks and credit unions, we give Bank of America 4 out of 5 stars overall. The bank largely stands out because of its long-standing reputation and the accessibility of its branch locations and ATMs in much of the country.
However, Bank of America receives lower ratings for its savings accounts and CDs because most options have low annual percentage yields (APYs). Its savings account earns as little as 0.01% APY, which is among the lowest rates in the industry. And its CD rates for longer terms, while typical of many large financial institutions, are often lower than what competitors such as Synchrony Bank, Ally Bank and USAA Bank offer.
Flip Card Bank of America
Bank of America Rating 4.0 / out of 5 stars
Rating breakdown
Banking Experience and Access Bank of America received an A- rating from the BBB and has over 15,000 ATMs nationwide. 4.5 / 5
Checking Bank of America offers Advantage SafeBalance Banking, Advantage Plus Banking and Advantage Relationship Banking for checking accounts. 4.4 / 5
Savings Bank of America savings accounts have a relatively low minimum deposit of $100. 3.5 / 5
Certificate of Deposits (CDs) A Bank of America CD will have an early withdrawal penalty, but the bank offers competitive rates on short-term options. 3.8 / 5
Overview of Bank of America: Pros and Cons
Bank of America is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., and has banking history that dates back 240 years. It operates across much of the U.S. and its territories and offers financial services in more than 35 countries. As with most major banks, all deposits in Bank of America CD, checking and savings accounts are insured up to $250,000 per depositor through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).
Pros
In 38 states and Washington, D.C., with more than 3,900 branches and 15,000 ATMs
Range of products includes checking and savings accounts, CDs, loans and investments
Free checking account for customers under 25, plus checking options for all ages with fees that can be waived
Low overdraft fees ($10 per item) compared to banks such as Chase ($34 per item) and Wells Fargo ($35 per item)
Lets you apply for an account online or in person
Cons
APYs below national averages for savings, interest checking and most CDs
Doesn’t offer money market accounts
Minimum average daily balance of $20,000 required for Preferred Rewards benefits
Bank of America Products
Bank of America offers checking and savings accounts and CDs, but not money market accounts. It also offers these financial products:
- Home loans
- Auto loans
- Retirement accounts
- Brokerage accounts
- Credit cards
| Bank of America Account | APY1 | Minimum Opening Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking | N/A | $25 |
| Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking | N/A | $100 |
| Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking | 0.01% to 0.02% | $100 |
| Bank of America Advantage Savings | 0.01% to 0.04% | $100 |
| Bank of America featured CD | 0.05% to 4.75% | $1,000 |
| Bank of America fixed-term CD | 0.03% to 4.00% | $1,000 |
| Bank of America flexible CD | 4.00% | $1,000 |
Bank of America Checking Accounts
4.4
*Waived for ages 0-25 or with a $500 minimum balance, or for Preferred Rewards members
**Waived for $1,500 minimum balance, $250 or more direct deposit made, or for Preferred Rewards members
***Waived for $20,000 minimum balance, for Preferred Rewards members, or linking to other eligible Bank of America account
^Offers optional overdraft protection
Bank of America Checking Account Overview
Bank of America offers threechecking accounts: Advantage SafeBalance Banking, Advantage Plus Banking and Advantage Relationship Banking. Based on account features, fees and access to ATMs, we give Bank of America’s checking options a rating of 4.4 stars.
Pros and Cons
Pros Low $25 to $100 minimum deposit One interest-bearing checking account, though it has a low APY No overdraft option for Advantage SafeBalance Banking, which can help account owners avoid fees Cons Possible $10 overdraft fee on Advantage Plus Banking and Advantage Plus Relationship Banking accounts
Bank of America Checking Account Options
Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking
Advantage SafeBalance Banking is a basic checking account option and doesn’t offer interest orpaper checks. You can use your debit card, digital wallet or Zelle to pay others. It has a minimum opening deposit of $25 and a monthly maintenance fee of $4.95. The fee is waived if you meet one of the following requirements:
- A Preferred Rewards program member
- Under 25 years old
- Maintain a minimum daily balance of $500
To become a Preferred Rewards member, you must:
- Open or have an existing Bank of America checking account
- Have a three-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 or more in your Bank of America deposit and/or Merrill investment accounts
Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking
Advantage Plus Banking has the same payment methods as the SafeBalance account, plus the option to buy paper checks. This type of checking account requires a minimum opening deposit of $100 and doesn’t earn interest. There’s a monthly service fee of $12, but that can be waived if you meet one of these requirements:
- Be a Preferred Rewards member
- Have a minimum daily balance of $1,500
- Have at least one qualifying direct deposit of at least $250 per month
A perk of this type of checking account is that you can link it to another Bank of America account and opt into overdraft protection. You can also set your account to decline transactions if there aren’t sufficient funds. If you don’t choose either of these settings, you’ll pay a $10 overdraft fee each time your account is overdrawn by more than $1. Bank of America charges up to two overdraft fees per day.
Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking
This account has the same payment methods and optional overdraft protection as the Advantage Plus Banking account, and it’s Bank of America’s only interest-bearing checking account. It has a 0.01% APY when your checking balance is under $50,000 and 0.02% APY when your balance is over $50,000.
The minimum opening deposit The minimum opening deposit is $100. There’s also a monthly service fee of $25. Like the other checking accounts, this option has a few ways to get the fee waived:$100. There is also a monthly service fee of $25. Like the other checking accounts, this option has a few ways to get the fee waived:
- Be a Preferred Rewards member
- Keep a minimum daily balance of $20,000
*Waived for $500 minimum balance, for ages 0-25, accounts linked to a Bank of America checking account, or for Preferred Rewards members
Bank of America Savings Account Overview
Advantage Savings is Bank of America’s only savings account, and we rate it 3.5 stars. It’s best for customers who want easy access to their money and aren’t looking for ahigh-yield savings account.
While the standard APY is 0.01%, it can reach 0.02% to 0.04% based on your Preferred Rewards Membership status. These rates are low compared to thenational average savings rateof 0.47% as of Jan. 16, but they’re fairly typical for a large bank.
Pros and Cons
Pros Low $100 minimum deposit Mobile app tools for tracking savings goals Optional Keep the Change feature for automating savings Cons Only offers one savings account option APYs below the national average interest rate for savings accounts
Bank of America Savings Account Options
Bank of America Advantage Savings
The Advantage Savings account requires an opening deposit of $100. It also has an $8 monthly maintenance fee that’s waived for the first six months. You can continue to get this fee waived if you meet one of these requirements:
- Preferred Rewards member
- Under the age of 25
- Link your account to an Advantage Relationship Banking, Advantage with Tiered Interest Checking or Advantage Regular Checking account
- Maintain a minimum daily balance of $500
Bank of America Keep the Change
Noteworthy features include the optional Keep the Change feature, which rounds your Bank of America debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits the change in your savings. And the Life Plan tools on the mobile app help you set and track savings goals.
Bank of America CDs
3.8
Bank of America CD Overview
Bank of America offers three types of CDs: featured, fixed term and flexible. Based on the bank’s offerings, rates and terms, we give its CDs a rating of 3.8 stars. This skews higher than our CD ratings for other large banks, mainly due to the competitive APYs offered for select term lengths with Bank of America’s featured CDs.
While some of the bank’s featured CD rates beat national averages for similar term lengths, there are higher rates available with other financial institutions.
AllBank of America CD accountshave early withdrawal penalties:
- Featured and fixed-term CDs: Penalties apply to any withdrawal outside of the grace period. The grace period begins on the maturity date and is one calendar day for CD terms of up to 27 days and seven calendar days for CD terms of 28 days or more. The penalty is deducted from the accrued interest first, and if there’s not enough interest to cover it, the rest comes from the principal.
- Flexible CDs: The early withdrawal penalty only applies in the first six days after the term begins or the first six days after a partial withdrawal.
Pros and Cons
Pros Offers CD terms ranging from 28 days to 10 years Competitive yields on some short-term CDs Cons Early withdrawal penalties Competitive yields on some short-term CDs
Bank of America CD Options
Bank of America Featured CD
The bank’s featured CD account has a fixed interest rate and a minimum deposit of $1,000. There are no annual fees or transfer fees.
Bank of America Fixed-Term CD
The fixed-term CD from Bank of America offers terms in one-month increments from one month to 10 years. This account is best for short-term savings, as the CDs with the highest rates are the three-, four- and five-month terms at 4.00% for deposits under $10,000. Otherwise, most terms have APYs of 0.03%.
Like the featured CD, this account requires a $1,000 minimum deposit and doesn’t have transfer or annual fees.
Bank of America Flexible CD
With this account, you can withdraw money without a penalty as long as it has been seven days since you opened the CD or made a withdrawal. If you make a withdrawal within the first six days of the account term (or within six days after making a partial withdrawal or term renewal), you’ll pay a penalty equal to seven days of interest.
The flexible CD comes with a one-year term and an APY of 4.00%. Its minimum deposit is $1,000, and it doesn’t have transfer or annual fees.
Bank of America Fees
In addition to monthly service fees on checking and savings accounts, Bank of America charges fees for some services. Select fees are waived for Preferred Rewards members in certain tiers and Advantage Relationship Banking account holders. Other banks may charge additional fees if you use a non-Bank of America ATM, or send or receive a wire transfer.
| Bank of America Fee | Cost |
| Non-Bank of America ATM | Domestic: $2.50 International: $5 |
| Overdraft | $10 per item (max two fees per day) |
| CD early withdrawal fee | Up to 365 days’ worth of interest on the amount you withdraw |
| Stop payment | Cashier’s checks |
| Cashier’s checks | $15 |
| Incoming wire transfers | Domestic: $15 International: $15 |
| Outgoing wire transfers | Domestic: $30 International: $45 if sent in U.S. dollars, free if sent in foreign currency |
Bank of America Reputation and Customer Satisfaction
Bank of America does well when it comes to reputation and customer satisfaction. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gives the company an A- rating and accreditation. BauerFinancial gives Bank of America 4 out of 5 stars, which is an Excellent rating.
However, the average customer rating on the BBB is low at nearly 1.1 out of 5.0 stars. It’s important to note that this is from just over 1,000 reviews, which is a small fraction of Bank of America’s customers.
Our review team reached out to Bank of America for comment on its BBB customer rating and MarketWatch Guides’ review scores for its savings and CD accounts but did not receive a response.
Bank of America App Ratings
Bank of America also gets great ratings for its banking app. The app has 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play from over 1 million reviews and 4.8 out of 5 stars on the App Store from over 4.4 million ratings. Reviews of the app say it’s efficient but can be slow at times. Bank of America developers have responded to reviews that mention struggles and complaints, which is a sign the company is paying attention.
Bank of America vs. Other Top Banks
Bank of America has a good reputation and may be the right choice for your banking needs. However, it’s important to compare several banks before making a decision so you know all of your options. Here’s how Bank of America compares to some of the top banks in the country based on deposit account offerings, minimum deposit requirements and fees:
Filters
Rating
At Least
Rating 4.0 Number of Branch Locations3,900 Number of ATM Locations15,000 Available deposit productsChecking, savings, CDs |
Rating 3.8 Number of Branch Locations4,600 Number of ATM Locations11,000 Available deposit productsChecking, savings, CDs |
Rating 4.2 Number of Branch Locations650 Number of ATM LocationsAccess to over 65,000 Available deposit productsChecking, savings, CDs |
Rating 4.0 Number of Branch Locations4,700 Number of ATM Locations16,000 Available deposit productsChecking, savings, CDs |
| Bank | Rating | Number of Branch Locations | Number of ATM Locations | Available deposit products | See More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.0 | 3,900 | 15,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates | |
3.8 | 4,600 | 11,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates | |
4.2 | 650 | Access to over 65,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates | |
4.0 | 4,700 | 16,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates |
| Bank | Rating | Number of Branch Locations | Number of ATM Locations | Available deposit products | See More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.0 | 3,900 | 15,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates | |
3.8 | 4,600 | 11,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates | |
4.2 | 650 | Access to over 65,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates | |
4.0 | 4,700 | 16,000 | Checking, savings, CDs | Compare Rates |
No results were found.
*The bank offers a low fee that is waivable if at least one requirement is met, such as a recurring direct deposit, a minimum monthly balance or a linked savings account. Requirements vary by bank.
The Bottom Line: Is Bank of America Right for You?
Bank of America is one of the nation’s largest banks, giving customers plenty of access to physical branches and ATMs. It can be good for customers looking for different options for checking accounts and CDs. However, it only has one option for savings accounts. But if you value online or mobile banking, then it could be a solid option for you.
FAQ: Bank of America Reviews
Bank of America could be good for personal banking if you want to manage accounts such as checking, savings, CDs and investments in one place. It could also be a good choice for you if you value online and mobile banking, as its mobile app has high reviews.
Yes, Bank of America is a trusted financial institution. It’s a member of the FDIC, so deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor.
Bank of America’s online and mobile banking features include:
- Mobile check deposit
- Bill pay
- Money transfers with Zelle
- Customizable alerts
- Budgeting and goal-setting tools
- Investment data and news from Merrill
Our Methodology
Our team researched more than 100 of the country’s largest and most prominent financial institutions, collecting information on each provider’s account options, fees, rates, terms and customer experience. We then scored each firm based on the data points and metrics that matter most to potential customers. Read our full methodology.
1APY accurate as of Apr. 17, 2024. Rates may vary by location. The rates in this review are based on Bank of America’s headquarters city, Charlotte, N.C.
2The bank offers a low fee that is waivable if at least one requirement is met, such as a recurring direct deposit, a minimum monthly balance or a linked savings account. Requirements vary by bank.
3Data accurate at time of publication
Cheri ReadWriter
Cheri Read is a former accountant turned professional personal finance writer. As someone who struggled as a single mom for many years, she’s passionate about helping others tame their finances and enjoy their lives. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications over the last decade, including Money Saving Mom and She Owns It. Cheri lives in West Texas and spends most of her free time reading books dedicated to financial freedom or checking out the latest new side hustle.
Rashawn MitchnerManaging Editor
Rashawn Mitchner is a MarketWatch Guides team editor with over 10 years of experience covering personal finance and insurance topics.
