Chase Bank Review 2023: Checking and Savings Accounts
- New-user bonus
- In-person banking
- Lots of services under one roof
When you think of major banking chains, Chase Bank is probably high up on your list.
Not only is JPMorgan Chase one of the “Big Four” banks in America, it’s ranked by S&P Global as the largest bank in the United States. (The other three are Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.)
But how does it stack up overall for you, the consumer?
Chase offers customers a variety of financial services, from bank accounts to mortgages to small business loans. The bank’s generous with new-user sign-up bonuses, too. And, there are many, many physical branches and ATMs you can access nationwide.*
But we won’t lie: Sometimes it feels like a game of Operation and you have to watch every move to avoid the shock of extra fees. This Chase Bank Review will help you make your own decision.
Chase Bank at a Glance
JPMorgan Chase Bank (commonly referred to as Chase Bank or just Chase) serves nearly half of American households.
Chase Manhattan Bank merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000. Today, there are more than 4,700 Chase branches and more than 15,000 Chase ATMs* around the country (see terms). The popular financial institution boasts numerous client offerings, and customers can bank in person, online or through a mobile app.
Chase got bad press in 2014 after a security breach exposed the information of 76 million customers. Since then, the bank has made big strides to tighten security and curb fraud across accounts.
Our Chase Bank review focuses on checking and savings features for individuals and small businesses, as well as its overall convenience and mobile banking features.
Chase Checking Accounts
The following is a closer look at three Chase Bank checking accounts.
Chase Total Checking
- $200 welcome bonus
- Online bill pay
- 15,000 fee-free ATMs
The account comes with a $12 monthly service fee, but you can get that fee waived by having one of the following each statement period:
- Direct deposit totaling $500 or more.
- Maintain a balance at the beginning of each day of $1,500 or more.
- Maintain an average beginning day balance of $5,000 or more in any combination of this account and linked qualifying deposits.
New customers enjoy a $200 welcome bonus when opening a Chase Total Checking® account with direct deposit. And you get automatic transfers to a Chase savings account, along with access to 15,000 Chase ATMs and more than 4,700 branches.*
Another plus is this account offers Chase Overdraft AssistSM to protect you from overdrafts.* if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day or if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day.
Chase Secure Banking
- No checking writing services
- Free money orders and cashier’s checks
- New customer bonus
New Chase checking customers enjoy a $100 checking account bonus when opening a Chase Secure BankingSM account with qualifying transactions.*
Chase Secure Banking offers overdraft services in that it will decline a transaction if you don’t have the money in your account (versus Chase fronting you the money and charging you a fee later). If you’re a compulsive spender who needs a virtual hand slap every time you want to spend money you don’t have, this could be a useful service for you.
This account comes with Chase Credit Journey, which allows customers to monitor their credit score. And you can bank from anywhere with access to more than 15,000 Chase ATMs*, more than 4,700 Chase branches, the Chase Mobile® app and Chase OnlineSM. You may even get your money up to two business days early.
Chase Premier Plus Checking
- Four free non-Chase ATM transactions per month
- Linked accounts
- Chase First Banking, a parent-child account
This account comes with a $25 or $0 monthly fee. To waive it, you need:
- An average daily balance of $15,000 or more in this account or other linked, qualifying Chase accounts.
- Or, a linked Chase first mortgage enrolled in automatic payments from your Chase account.
You’ll qualify for overdraft services, waived check fees and no fee for Chase design checks when ordered through Chase. You can also have up to two Chase Premier Plus checking accounts linked with no monthly service fees, and non-Chase ATM surcharge fees are waived four times per statement cycle.
A general note for all account holders: If you use ATMs a lot, be careful. Chase will ding you $2.50 for any transaction in the U.S. that you do at a non-Chase ATM (outside of the four reimbursements you get with the Chase Premier Plus account). The good news is there are tens of thousands of Chase ATMs out there, so you should be able to find one when you need it.
Chase Bank Premium Checking Accounts
Cash is king. And if you have a lot of it, it’s worth looking into Chase’s premium checking accounts: Chase Sapphire and Chase Private Client. Customers are entitled to benefits such as:
- No ATM fees — at Chase-branded ATMs or not — worldwide.*
- Designed checks.
- Dedicated 24/7 banking service line.
- Fewer or no fees compared to other accounts and more.
Here’s how they each break down.
Chase Sapphire Banking
The fee for this account is $35 a month — unless you have an average beginning day balance of $150,000 or more and linked qualifying investments/deposits or a linked Chase Platinum Business Checking account.
Chase Private Client Checking
The fee for this account is $35 a month — unless you have an average beginning day balance of $150,000 or more and linked qualifying investments/deposits, or a linked Chase Platinum Business checking account.
Chase Checking at a Glance
| Account | Monthly Fees | Fee Details | Other Features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chase Total Checking |
$12 |
$1.5K balance to waive |
Non-Chase ATM fees |
|
Chase Secure Banking |
$4.95 |
Can’t be waived |
Free money orders |
|
Chase Premier Plus Checking |
$25 (can be waived) |
Daily balance of $1.5K to waive fee |
No fee for Chase design checks |
|
Chase Sapphire Banking |
$25 (can be waived) |
$75K at Chase to waive |
Free ATM use |
|
Chase Private Client Checking |
$35 (can be waived) |
$150K balance to waive |
Personal banking perks |
Chase Savings Accounts
The following is a closer look at two Chase Bank savings programs.
Chase Savings
- Auto-save tool
- Text account alerts
- Online and mobile banking
The Chase Savings account has a $5 monthly service fee that’s waived if:
- You maintain a balance at the beginning of each day of $300 or more in this account.
- You have $25 or more in total Autosave or other repeating automatic transfers from your personal Chase checking account (available only through Chase.com or Chase Mobile).
- You have a Chase College Checking account linked to this account for overdraft protection.
- The account owner is younger than 18.
- You link the savings account to one of several other eligible accounts.
Chase Premier Savings
- Auto-save tool
- Access to 4,700 branches
- $25 opening deposit required
You can get slightly better interest rates with the Chase Premier Savings account than the basic checking account. You’ll earn anywhere from 0.02% to 0.05%* when you link your account to another select Chase account, depending on how much money you have saved. The more you have in there, the better your interest rate. (But remember, you’ll get hit with a $25 monthly service fee unless you can keep a $15,000 minimum balance or you link to another Chase account.)
Also, for both savings accounts, you’re limited to six withdrawals and transfers per monthly statement period. Otherwise, you’ll be hit with a $5 charge.
Chase Savings Accounts at a Glance
| Account | Monthly Fees | Fee Details | Other Features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chase Savings |
$5 |
$300 balance to waive |
$25 to open account |
|
Chase Premier Savings |
$25 |
$15K balance to waive |
Or link to accounts |
Chase Small, Medium and Large Business Banking
If you need a checking account for your small business, Chase has options to serve you here, too.
Chase Business Complete Banking
The Chase Business Complete Banking (correct link https://www.chase.com/business/banking/checking/business-complete-banking) account is a good starter account for your small business. It comes with unlimited debit card purchases and Chase ATM transactions and $5,000 of free cash deposits per statement cycle.
This account has a $15 monthly maintenance fee that’s nixed completely if:
- You keep a $2,000 minimum balance,
- Make $2,000 worth of purchases with your Chase Ink business card,
- Receive $2,000 worth of eligible transactions,
- Link to a Chase Private Client checking account or
- Provide qualifying proof of military status
Chase has two other business savings accounts:
Chase Performance Business Checking
Chase Performance Business Checking is good for mid-sized businesses. It comes with 250 no-fee transactions and $20,000 of free cash deposits per statement cycle.
There’s a $30 monthly fee, but that’s waived when you have $35,000 or more in qualifying Chase accounts.
Chase Platinum Business Checking
This account is best for larger businesses. You get 500 fee-free transactions and $25,000 monthly cash deposits per statement cycle with Chase Platinum Business Checking.
There’s a $95 per-month fee that’s waived if you have $100,000 or more in qualifying business deposit and investment balances.
Chase Business Accounts
| Account | Monthly Fees | Fee Details | Other Features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chase Business Complete Banking |
$15 |
$2K min. bal. to waive |
Cash deposit limit |
|
Chase Performance Business Checking |
$30 |
Waived with $35K balance |
250 monthly free trans. |
|
Chase Platinum Business Checking |
$95 |
$100K balance to waive |
$25K monthly cash dep. |
Other Key Chase Features
Here are some other Chase Bank features that will help you decide if this is the right bank for you.
Chase Bank Offers
This bank regularly has sign-up bonuses for new users. Here are current Chase offers:
- Get up to $500 a year — $50 per friend — when you refer others to sign up for a qualifying Chase bank account.
- New Chase customers can earn $100 with a Chase College checking account when they complete qualifying activities. Offer expires April 17, 2024.
- New Chase checking customers enjoy a $300 bonus when they open a Chase Total Checking® account and make direct deposits totaling $500 or more within 90 days of coupon enrollment.
Read the fine print and follow the guidelines to redeem these offers. Again, Chase offers promotions a fair amount throughout the calendar year, so keep an eye out.
Chase Certificate of Deposit (CD)
If you’re looking for a CD, you can get one for as short as one month or up to 10 years with Chase. You’ll need at least $1,000 to open one.
You’ll get locked into an interest rate based on the length of your term and the amount of your CD. These rates vary from 0.02% to 0.05%*, and depend on both how much money you save and the length of your CD term. Right now, an amount between $10K and $24,999.99 will earn 3.25% on a 12-month term.
Chase CD rates can vary by region.
Convenience
As you might expect from a Big Four bank, Chase ranks high on the convenience meter. With 15,000 ATMs and more than 4,700 branches, they’re everywhere.*
They also have a dedicated 24/7 customer service line, but you need to be in one of the higher level accounts to have access to that perk.
You’ll find that they have online banking, a mobile app and many options for financial products, such as mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.
Mobile Banking
The Chase Mobile app gets a 4.8 out of 5-star rating from iPhone users and 4.4 out of 5 stars at the Google Play Store.
People comment on the app’s ease of use as well as some extra features like daily snapshots of your spending that make monitoring your accounts easy.
Some nice security features of the app include fingerprint and facial recognition, as well as the ability to lock and unlock your cards right from your phone. You can also monitor your credit score right from their app.
Who Is Chase Bank Best For?
Chase is a good option for you if:
- You like having access to physical branches across the U.S., as well as online banking.
- You want to bank with a recognized financial entity.
- You prefer to satisfy all your banking needs at one institution.
- You want to have access to a variety of accounts for a wide range of clientele — There are Chase bank accounts available for college students, small business owners and mega-savers, to name a few.
- Chase regularly offers new-member bonuses.
If you don’t mind monthly fees (or are diligent about avoiding them) and like the idea of banking with a well-known name in the industry, Chase Bank could be right for you.
Pros and Cons About Chase Bank
Overall, here’s a quick-hit list of what’s good and not so good with Chase.
Pros
- Chase is pretty much everywhere, which makes finding a branch or ATM easy.
- Chase is pretty much everywhere, which makes finding a branch or ATM easy.
- Low opening deposit requirement for most accounts.
- For lower-tier accounts, the requirements to avoid the monthly maintenance fee are straightforward.
Cons
- There’s no interest on checking accounts.
- Interest rates for basic savings accounts are a pittance.
- There are monthly maintenance fees, though they can (sometimes) be waived.
- You could get hit with a fee if you overdraft your account.
- There’s a $2.50 fee for using non-Chase ATMs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Chase Bank
We’ve rounded up the answers to the most commonly asked questions about Chase so that you can decide if this mega-bank is right for you.
Yes, Chase has both. Chase offers mortgages and auto and business loans. Per credit cards, Chase offers ones for business and personal use.
Per its website, Chase implements secure technology to protect your information. Whether you’re banking in person, online or via mobile app, Chase goes to great lengths to keep your banking information safe.
Yes. All Chase bank accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor.
Chase Bank checking accounts don’t require a minimum balance but maintaining a certain balance may help you avoid a fee. For example, the $25 monthly fee for Premium Plus Checking is waived if you keep a $15,000 balance at the beginning of each day.
Contributor Kathleen Garvin (@itskgarvin) is a personal finance writer based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and former editor and marketer at The Penny Hoarder. She owns a content-writing business and her work has appeared in U.S. News, Clark.com and Well Kept Wallet. Reporting from Tyler Omoth and Lauren Richardson is included in this report.
*With Chase Overdraft Assist: Chase won’t charge an Insufficient Funds Fee if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day OR if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and you bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day (you have until 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) to make a deposit or transfer). Chase Overdraft Assist does not require enrollment and comes with eligible Chase checking accounts.
*Chase Secure Banking: Qualifying transactions include debit card purchases, Zelle, ACH credits, Chase QuickDeposit or online bill payments. Your bonus will appear in your account within 15 days after completing the qualifying transactions.
*Non-Chase ATM fees: $3 fee per withdrawal at a non-Chase ATM in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Surcharge Fees from the ATM owner/network still apply. $5 fee per withdrawal at a non-Chase ATM outside of the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Surcharge Fees from the ATM owner/network still apply.
