Best and Worst Monthly Maintenance Fees at 12 Top Banks
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Karen Doyle
Updated
Nobody likes to pay bank fees, but some banks charge more than others. If you’re looking to save money on your checking account fees, savings account fees and other bank charges, check out the following chart to see a list of bank fees at a glance. Then, dive in and get the details about the best and worst monthly maintenance fees at top banks.
Best and Worst Monthly Maintenance Fees at 12 Top Banks
Bank
Savings Account
Fee
Checking Account
Fee
Capital One
Capital One Bank
360 Savings
$0
360 Checking
$0
fnbo direct logo
FNBO Direct
FNBO Direct Online Savings
$0
Online Checking
$0
Nationwide Bank
Nationwide Online Savings
$0
Nationwide Member Checking
$0
TD Bank
TD Simple Savings
$5
TD Simple Checking
$5.99
SunTrust Bank
Essential Savings
$0
Essential Checking
$7
PNC Bank
Standard Savings
$5
Standard Checking
$7
Bank of America
Bank of America
Rewards Saving Account
$8
Bank of America Core Checking
$12
Chase
Chase Bank
Chase Savings
$5
Chase Total Checking
$12
Citibank
Citi Savings
$4.50
Simple Checking
$12
BB&T
eSavings
$0
Fundamentals
$12
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo Bank
Way2Save Savings
$5
Everyday Checking
$10
U.S. Bank
Standard Savings
$4
Easy Checking
$8.95
Best Maintenance Fees
Here are the banks at which you’ll pay the least the least in fees. If there even are fees, there’s typically a way you can avoid them.
Capital One Bank
Capital One’s 360 Savings account charges no monthly fee, has no minimum balance and pays 1.00% APY. It’s an online-only account, and, like most savings accounts, you’re limited to six withdrawals per statement period. The 360 Checking Account also has no fees and no minimum balance, and it pays 0.20% APY on balances of less $50,000.
FNBO’s Online Savings account has no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance requirements, and it pays a whopping 1.60% APY. Its Online Checking account also has no monthly maintenance fee, and it pays 0.65% APY. In addition, you get lots of freebies: online banking, bill pay, debit card and ATM withdrawals.
Nationwide
Nationwide’s Online Saving Account charges a $3 monthly maintenance fee unless you maintain a $300 minimum daily balance or schedule a monthly direct deposit of at least $25. You can make a total of six transactions per month — and you’ll get two, free non-Nationwide Bank ATM visits each month. Nationwide Member Checking has no monthly maintenance fee and you get up to eight free ATM withdrawals at non-Nationwide ATMs per statement period. Keep in mind that other banks’ ATM fees might apply.
TD Bank
TD Bank’s Simple Savings account has a $5 monthly maintenance fee, which drops to $4 if you opt for online statements. If you have a $300 minimum daily balance, or you’re under 18 or over 62, you won’t have to pay the fee. The Simple Checking account has a monthly maintenance fee of $5.99, and unfortunately, there’s no way to get it waived.
SunTrust’s Essential Savings account has no monthly fee if you opt for online statements; otherwise, you’ll pay $3 a month for paper statements. Its Essential Checking account has a $7 monthly maintenance fee, which you can avoid by making 10 transactions per month, scheduling $500 in direct deposits each month or maintaining a $500 minimum daily balance. Students get that monthly fee waived for five years.
PNC Bank
PNC Bank’s Standard Savings account comes with a $5 monthly service charge, which you can avoid if you maintain a $300 average monthly balance or schedule at least one automatic transfer from your checking account.
Get the Standard Checking account maintenance fee of $7 per month waived by maintaining a $500 average monthly balance, scheduling $500 each month in direct deposits, or being at least 62 years old.
Worst Maintenance Fees
Although some of these maintenance fees aren’t terrible, they’re definitely not free, unless in some cases, you can avoid them. Here are the banks with the worst maintenance fees:
Bank of America
Bank of America’s Rewards Savings Account has a monthly maintenance fee of $8, which you can avoid if you maintain at least a $500 balance or link your account to a BofA checking account. The Core Checking account carries a monthly fee of $12. Set up a qualifying direct deposit of $250 or keep a minimum daily balance of $1,500 and you won’t pay this fee.
The Chase Savings account has a $5 monthly service fee. But if you have a minimum daily balance of $300 or a repeating, automatic transfer of $25 or more from your Chase checking account, you won’t pay the fee. The Chase Total Checking account comes with a $12 monthly service fee, which you can avoid in any of three ways:
Set up direct deposits of at least $500.
Keep a $1,500 minimum daily balance.
Maintain an average daily balance of $5,000 or more in any combination of this account and linked qualifying deposits.
The Citi Savings account has a monthly fee of $4.50, but if you maintain an average monthly balance of$500 you’ll get it waived. Citi’s Simple Checking account has a $12 monthly fee, which you can avoid several ways:
Make one bill payment and have one direct deposit each statement period.
Keep an average balance of at least $1,500 in linked accounts.
Maintain an average daily balance of $5,000 or more in any combination of your account and linked qualifying deposits.
BB&T’s eSavings account has no monthly fee and no minimum balance. With BB&T’s Bright Banking checking account has a $12 per month maintenance fee, which you can avoid paying by scheduling direct deposits of $500 or more or keeping a $1,500 average balance.
Wells Fargo
The Way2Save savings account at Wells Fargo Bank has a monthly maintenance fee of $5, which you can avoid if you maintain a $300 minimum daily balance, set up one or more recurring savings options or are under 18. You can avoid the $10 monthly maintenance fee for the Everyday Checking account several ways:
Make 10 or more debit card purchases or payments per month.
Schedule total direct deposits of at least $500.
Maintain a$1,500 minimum daily balance.
Keep a $1,000 monthly collected balance
US Bank
U.S. Bank’s Standard Savings account has a monthly maintenance fee of $4, which you can get waived if you keep a $300 minimum daily balance or a $1,000 monthly collected balance. The Easy Checking account has a monthly maintenance fee of $8.95, which drops to $6.95 if you opt for electronic statements. If you schedule combined monthly direct deposits of at least $1,000 or maintain an average balance of $1,500, you’ll pay no fee at all.
Find the Lowest Bank Fees
You put money in a bank to earn money, not pay it. Why throw your money away on bank fees? Instead, pay attention to the fees your bank charges, learn how to avoid them, and shop around for the best checking and savings accounts for your personal situation.
