Learn how you can avoid the monthly fees on Bank of America checking accounts either direct deposit or minimum balances.
On your hunt for a checking account, you might come across Bank of America, which isn't surprising when it is one of the biggest banks in the nation. More than likely, you're considering a Bank of America checking account because of the bank's presence and accessibility in your area. However, even their most basic accounts have monthly maintenance fees. Here are a few points to note on how you can avoid monthly fees on Bank of America checking accounts.
Here are some of the more common Bank of America accounts, the monthly maintenance fees and how to get those fees waived.
The Advantage Relationship Bank account has a $25 monthly fee. Here’s what you can do to avoid paying this fee:
This account comes with a monthly fee of $4.95, but you don’t have to pay it if you meet one or more qualifications:
Here’s what you need to know about the qualifications for the fee waivers:
For accounts that require a qualifying deposit, you should know how BOA defines these deposits.
According to their site, qualifying direct deposits may consist of regular monthly income (such as a salary, pension, or Social Security benefits) that are made by your employer or other payer using your BOA account and routing numbers. These deposits qualify for the Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking monthly maintenance fee waiver.
These are the type of transactions that do not qualify you for the monthly fee waiver:
Note, sometimes, a bank may consider incoming funds transfer from another bank as a direct deposit.
You can test this out by setting an alert for a direct deposit and then initiating an incoming transfer from another one of your bank accounts (not an account held with Bank of America).
With an Advantage Relationship account, you should understand exactly how to meet the $10,000 balance requirement in one or more combined accounts to qualify for the monthly fee waiver. Combined balances include:
The Advantage Plus checking requires you to maintain a minimum daily balance of $1,500 each statement cycle for the monthly fee waiver.
For all of the accounts above, there’s also one other thing you can do to opt-out of fees for all three of the accounts listed above.
If you become a member of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, you’ll get your monthly maintenance fees waived and receive other perks and benefits such as boosted credit card rewards and discounts on other BOA financial products.
In order to qualify, you must have an active, eligible personal checking account with Bank of America and maintain the balance required for one of the balance tiers in your combined qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts:
You can satisfy the combined balance requirement for enrollment with either:
If you qualify, your qualifying account balance will determine the tier you fall into:
If you cannot meet fee waiver requirements, your checking account will end up being quite expensive.
Of the different ways that you can avoid the monthly fee, the direct deposit requirement has the most leeway.
Here’s how some Bank of America customers can cut the costs of maintaining a basic checking account:
According to many Bank of America checking account holders, an ACH credit triggered a direct deposit account alert.
Because BofA doesn’t require a minimum amount on the direct deposit, customers can transfer a small amount of money from an online savings account, such as one from Ally Bank or a PayPal account. It would qualify as a fee-waiving transaction.
You can test this with your other external bank accounts by setting up an account alert for direct deposits and initiating a transfer.
Note: This step is possible only because Bank of America’s computer system recognizes ACH credits as direct deposits—a tweak in the system would nullify this method at any time (without notice).
Over the course of a year, you can lose a decent chunk of change to monthly checking account fees. If you're paying monthly fees on a regular basis, it is time to look for a free alternative.
More than likely, you can find free checking accounts with online banks.
There are plenty of checking accounts without the monthly fees and minimum balance requirements—most often with online banks.
They tend to provide banking services with no-to-low fees because of lower overhead. They don’t have brick-and-mortar locations to maintain or tons of staff to pay, so they can pass the savings on to their customers.
With online checking accounts, you're likely to benefit from:
So, if you find yourself paying monthly maintenance charges, just know that there are plenty of cheaper (or free) options available.
Aja is a writer and blogger based in Chicago who covers topics on personal finance and entrepreneurship. She writes from her experiences with money management and paying off $120,000 in debt. Aja has been quoted and/or featured on sites such as Time Money, Kiplinger's, U.S. News & World Report, Market Watch, and more. Education: B.A. in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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