Bank of America Advantage Banking Review [2024]: Is the Convenience Worth It?

Bank of America Advantage Banking accounts

Bank of America Advantage checking accounts

All Bank of America Advantage checking accounts share some features:

Any bank you’re considering should, at a minimum, offer a liability guarantee and FDIC insurance. A liability guarantee means that if an unauthorized person gains access to your debit card and uses it, you won’t be held responsible for their purchases. You do have to report the fraud promptly, though. Wells Fargo and Chase offer the same guarantee.

If you have a Bank of America debit card, you also qualify for BankAmeriDeals. This is a discount program you access online or through the mobile app. There’s typically a variety of offers from brands like Hello Fresh, SimpliSafe, and Fabletics. You have to click on the deal to activate it. While I wouldn’t open an account just for this benefit, discounts never hurt.

Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking®

Advantage SafeBalance Banking is a basic account that doesn’t provide many benefits, such as checks.⁶ That’s not the point of this account, though. It’s designed to be inexpensive and to keep you from overdrafting your account, and that’s pretty much it. That arguably makes it the best account option out of the three checking accounts Bank of America offers.

It has the lowest monthly fee out of Bank of America’s three checking accounts — $4.95. The monthly service charge can be waived by meeting one of the following requirements:

• Be under the age of 25
• Maintain a minimum daily balance of $500 or more in your account
• Be a member of the Preferred Rewards program

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a direct deposit option to avoid the monthly service charge. Chase’s Secure Banking, its version of this account, allows you to waive the fee with qualifying deposits totaling $250 per month. Something similar would make this a stronger account.

And Preferred Rewards eligibility starts with a 3-month combined average daily balance of $20,000. If you qualify for Preferred Rewards, you’d be better off with the Advantage Relationship Banking account, not this one.

Overall, this is a strong account option for someone who’s new to banking, who might have erratic income, or who is concerned about overdraft fees in general. Personally, an account like this would have saved me hundreds of dollars when I was first starting out and had trouble making ends meet.

Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking®

When you think of a standard checking account, an account like this comes to mind. You can order paper checks if you need them, and you can use other Bank of America accounts as overdraft protection if needed (you do need to enroll in this service, called Balance Connect).⁷

This account has its downsides. The minimum opening deposit requirement is relatively high at $100. Wells Fargo only has a $25 minimum opening deposit for its comparable account, and Chase has no minimum opening deposit.

And it has a $12 monthly fee. You can waive the monthly service fee if you meet one of the following requirements each statement cycle.

• Have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more
• Maintain a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more in your account
• Be a member of the Preferred Rewards program

Considering the requirements to waive the monthly fee, this account might make the most sense for people who have a steady, reliable income. It could also make sense if you have other types of accounts with Bank of America and want to keep your financial life under one roof.

Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®

The main difference between this and the other Bank of America Advantage Banking accounts is that you can earn interest on your stored funds, but the rate isn’t competitive. It's a bit better if you’re a Preferred Rewards member, as you get a boost of 5% to 20% on your interest rate depending on your tier, but with interest rates this low, that isn’t much help.

That said, if you qualify for Preferred Rewards, you might as well go with this checking account, because any interest is better than no interest. And you can link other Bank of America checking and savings accounts to this one and get the monthly fees waived. And you get free standard checks.

This account has a $25 monthly maintenance fee that can be waived if you meet one of the following requirements each statement cycle.

• Maintain a minimum daily balance of $20,000 or more in your account
• Be a member of the Preferred Rewards program

You really shouldn’t be keeping $20,000 in a checking account unless you’re planning a large purchase — it should be in an account that pays more interest than this one.

Overall, this is a relatively weak offering compared to other banks. Wells Fargo’s Prime Checking offers ATM fee waivers and interest rate discounts on new loans. Chase’s Premier Plus checking offers four ATM fee waivers each statement period.

Bank of America Advantage Savings

This is the only personal savings account option from Bank of America. It’s best for accessing savings at a branch or ATM or for working in conjunction with a Bank of America checking account.

You can link the account to a Bank of America checking account for overdraft protection (you do need to enroll). Or you can enroll in Keep the Change with your Bank of America debit card. Then, when you make purchases Bank of America will round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and deposit into your savings account.

The Bank of America Advantage Savings account has an $8 monthly maintenance fee, which can be waived if you meet one of the following criteria each statement cycle.

• Be an account owner under the age of 25
• Maintain a minimum daily balance of $500 or more in your account
• Be a member of the Preferred Rewards program and qualify for Gold, Platinum, or Platinum Honors, or Diamond or Diamond Honors tier
• Link your account to a checking account (not SafeBalance)

Obviously, this account isn’t the best for earning interest. And that’s normal for this type of account at national banks. If earning interest is your priority, an online, high-yield savings account is a better option. For example, SoFi® offers up to a 4.60% APY on its savings account with direct deposit. ⁸

Additional Bank of America products

In addition to its checking and savings accounts, Bank of America also offers these products and services.

• Credit cards: Bank of America credit cards range from cash back cards to travel rewards cards and more.
• Certificates of deposit (CDs): You can choose from multiple FDIC-insured CD options according to your term and APY preferences.
• Individual retirement accounts (IRAs): You can open FDIC-insured savings IRAs from Bank of America. Alternatively, you can opt for investment IRAs that are offered through Merrill Edge®, a Bank of America company.
• Loans: Bank of America offers both home and auto loans, whether you’re looking to purchase or refinance.
• Investment accounts: You can use Merrill to open different types of investment accounts, such as self-directed investing or guided investing.

Bank of America customer service

Another advantage of banking with such a large bank is that it’s easier to reach customer service.

To reach them by phone, call 800-432-1000 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. Spanish speakers can call 800-688-6086. You can also request interpreters by phone or in person.

Bank of America also has a highly-rated mobile app that includes Erica, a virtual financial assistant. Erica can answer some questions and connect you to a live chat with a human if needed. Erica offers some useful features like letting you know when bills are due or when recurring charges change.

Erica would be especially helpful to someone new to banking and budgeting.

Advantage banking alternatives

Chase

I’ve compared Chase and Bank of America a lot in this review, and for good reason — they’re two of the biggest banks in the country, and the offerings between them are very similar.

The main difference? Which bank is more convenient for you. If Chase has more branches or ATMs in your area, it’s worth a look. The Chase Total Checking account is its primary checking account. It offers Zelle payments and online bill pay.

It also has a waivable $12 monthly fee and Zero Liability Protection to help protect against unauthorized debit card transactions. And the monthly fee waiver is relatively attainable — you need eligible deposits totaling $500 or more, a beginning balance of $1,500 or more each day, or an average beginning day balance of $5,000 or more across linked Chase deposit accounts.

With Chase, you get access to over 4,700 in-person branches and more than 15,000 ATMs.

Visit Chase | Read our full Chase Total Checking review.

SoFi®

SoFi® is essentially the polar opposite of Bank of America. It’s an online-only bank with no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum deposit to open the account.⁹

SoFi’s checking offers a 0.50% (as of 07/22/24) APY with direct deposit, and its savings provide up to 4.60% APY with direct deposit.⁸ SoFi® also offers other financial services, including investing, personal loans, and private student loans.

You can also receive up to $2 million in FDIC insurance. ¹⁰

Visit SoFi® | Read our full SoFi Checking and Savings review.

FAQ

Bottom line

Bank of America Advantage Banking accounts make sense if you have in-person branches nearby and/or use other Bank of America products such as its credit cards or a Merrill investment account.

We especially recommend Advantage SafeBalance Banking for students or young adults under 25 because the monthly maintenance fees are waived, and it has protection against overdraft fees built in.

If you prefer to earn interest on your stored checking account or savings account funds, there are better banking options available.

Learn More

Thousands of ATMs and financial centers

Highly-rated mobile apps

Full-service bank with checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, and investment products