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

Bank of America Advantage Banking accounts

Checking account	Description	Minimum to open3 <p>Minimum opening deposit: $25 for Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking®, $100 for Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking ® and Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®.&nbsp;</p>	Monthly maintenance fee
Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking®	Simple checking with no overdraft fees or paper checks	$25	$4.95 (can be waived)4 <p>Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking® Monthly Maintenance Fee: $4.95 or $0 —&nbsp;No monthly maintenance fee when you meet one of the following: • an owner of this account is under the age of 25 or • maintain a minimum daily balance of $500 in your account or • are a member of Bank of America Preferred Rewards®;&nbsp;Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking®&nbsp;Monthly Maintenance Fee: $12 or $0 –&nbsp;No monthly maintenance fee when you meet one of the following: • have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more or •maintain a minimum daily balance of $1,500 in your account or • are a member of Bank of America Preferred Rewards®;&nbsp;Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®&nbsp;Monthly Maintenance Fee: $25 or $0 – No monthly maintenance fee when you meet one of the following: • maintain a minimum daily balance of $20,000 in your account or • are a member of Bank of America Preferred Rewards®.</p>
Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking®	Flexible checking with more features, including paper checks	$100	$12 (can be waived)
Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®	Interest-bearing checking with the most features	$100	$25 (can be waived)
Bank of America Advantage Savings	Simple savings with low requirements	$100	$8 (can be waived)

Bank of America Advantage checking accounts

All Bank of America Advantage checking accounts share some features:

$0 Liability Guarantee5 <p>The $0 Liability Guarantee covers fraudulent transactions made by others using your Bank of America consumer debit cards. To be covered, report transactions made by others promptly, and don't share personal or account information with anyone. Access to funds next business day in most cases, pending resolution of claim. Consult customer and account agreements for full details.</p> Mobile check deposits Spending and Budgeting tool BankAmeriDeals

Custom alerts by text or email FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor

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®

Annual percentage yield (APY)	None
Minimum deposit requirement	$25
Monthly maintenance fees	$4.95 (can be waived)
Best for	Students Young adults Anyone concerned about potential overdrafts

Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking® is a basic account that doesn’t provide many benefits, such as checks.⁶ <p class="">No paper check writing with this account. Pay options include a debit card, Mobile, or Online banking.<br></p> 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 maintenance fee can be waived each statement cycle 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 Bank of America Preferred Rewards®

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 is a Member FDIC.

Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking®

Annual percentage yield (APY)	None
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Monthly maintenance fees	$12 (can be waived)
Best for	Someone who needs paper checks Someone who has multiple accounts with Bank of America that they want to use for overdraft protection

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 <p>Balance Connect® for overdraft protection is an optional service which allows you to link up to five eligible backup accounts and can help you avoid overdrafts and declined or returned items. When you do not have enough funds in your checking account to pay for an item, available funds are automatically transferred from the linked backup account(s) to cover your transactions. There are no transfer fees when you use Balance Connect®. It’s important to note that transfers from a linked credit card or HELOC may result in interest charges. Please see the <a href="https://www.bankofamerica.com/salesservices/deposits/resources/deposit-agreements/?request_locale=en_US">Deposit Agreement and Disclosures</a> for more information about eligibility and how Balance Connect® transfers work.<br></p>

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 maintenance fee. You can waive the monthly maintenance 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 Bank of America Preferred Rewards®

Considering the requirements to waive the monthly maintenance 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 is a Member FDIC.

Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0.01%-0.02% (as of 11/1/24) APYs and account details are accurate as of November 1, 2024. See www.bankofamerica.com/depositsrates for today’s rates.
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Monthly maintenance fees	$25 (can be waived)
Best for	Preferred Rewards members Someone with multiple Bank of America accounts

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 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 Bank of America Preferred Rewards®

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 is a Member FDIC.

Bank of America Advantage Savings

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0.01% (as of 10/28/24)
Minimum deposit requirement	$100
Monthly maintenance fees	$8 (can be waived)
Best for	Overdraft protection for a Bank of America checking account Savings you can access at a branch Participating in the Keep the Change program with your checking account

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 4.00% APY on its savings account with direct deposit. ⁸ <p>New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period) <b>OR</b> $300 (with at least $5,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period). Cash bonus will be based on the total amount of Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 12/7/2023 and will be available through 1/31/2026. Full terms at <a href="http://sofi.com/banking">sofi.com/banking</a>. SoFi Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.</p> <p>SoFi members with Direct Deposit can earn 4.00% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the 4.00% APY for savings (including Vaults). Members without Direct Deposit will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of Dec. 3, 2024. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at <a href="http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet">http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet</a></p>

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 <p>We do not charge any account, service or maintenance fees for SoFi Checking and Savings. We do charge a transaction fee to process each outgoing wire transfer. SoFi does not charge a fee for incoming wire transfers, however the sending bank may charge a fee. Our fee policy is subject to change at any time. See the SoFi Checking & Savings Fee Sheet for details at <a href="http://sofi.com/legal/banking-fees/">sofi.com/legal/banking-fees/</a></p>

SoFi’s checking offers a 0.50% (as of 12/3/24) APY with direct deposit, and its savings provide up to 4.00% APY with direct deposit.⁸ <p>New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period) <b>OR</b> $300 (with at least $5,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period). Cash bonus will be based on the total amount of Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 12/7/2023 and will be available through 1/31/2026. Full terms at <a href="http://sofi.com/banking">sofi.com/banking</a>. SoFi Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.</p> <p>SoFi members with Direct Deposit can earn 4.00% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the 4.00% APY for savings (including Vaults). Members without Direct Deposit will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of Dec. 3, 2024. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at <a href="http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet">http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet</a></p> 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. SoFi is a Member, FDIC.¹⁰ <p><b>SoFi Bank is a member FDIC and does not provide more than $250,000 of FDIC insurance per legal category of account ownership, as described in the FDIC’s regulations. Any additional FDIC insurance is provided by the SoFi Insured Deposit Program. Deposits may be insured up to $2M through participation in the program. See full terms at <a href="http://sofi.com/banking/fdic/terms">SoFi.com/banking/fdic/terms</a> See list of participating banks at <a href="http://sofi.com/banking/fdic/receivingbanks">SoFi.com/banking/fdic/receivingbanks</a></b></p>

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 the Bank of America 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.