- In-person branches nationwide.
- Large ATM network.
- Comprehensive financial services for one-stop banking.
- Lots of potential fees across various accounts.
- Low interest rates on savings accounts.
Bank of America basics
- Checking accounts: Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking®, Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking® and Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®.
- Savings accounts: Bank of America Advantage Savings.
- Money market: Bank of America Rewards Money Market Savings.
- Certificate of deposit (CD): Bank of America Fixed Term certificates of deposit, Bank of America Featured CDs and Bank of America Flexible CD.
- Other accounts: Credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, refinancing, home equity loans, investment and retirement accounts.
- Bank branches or online only: Nearly 4,000 branches nationwide.
Account details and annual percentage yields (APYs) are accurate as of January 16, 2024 and reflect the zip code 33966.
Bank of America checking accounts
Bank of America offers three checking accounts.
The most basic option is called Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking®. It’s digital-only, with no paper checks available and is designed for those just starting out. There’s a monthly fee of $4.95, which can be waived by maintaining a minimum daily balance of $500 in the account, being under 25 years old or by being a member in the Preferred Rewards Program.
The next checking account is Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking®. You get check writing ability with this account and can enroll in overdraft protection. Plus, there are more options to waive the $12 monthly maintenance fee (waived if you have at least $250 in direct deposit payments each month, keep a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more or if you’re a Preferred Rewards member).
The third option is Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®, which earns interest. There is a monthly fee of $25 monthly maintenance fee, which can be waived with a minimum daily balance of $20,000 in the account or by being a member in the Preferred Rewards program.
Bank of America savings accounts
The Bank of America Advantage Savings account is a low-interest bearing savings option that increases incrementally based on your relationship banking.
Standard accounts only earn 0.01% APY, regardless of the balance. You can qualify for higher tiers by opening an eligible Bank of America® personal checking account and keeping a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $20,000 in qualifying Bank of America and/or Merrill accounts.
But depositing these larger amounts doesn’t lead to impressive earnings. Here are the rates based on each available tier:
- Gold Tier: 0.02% APY.
- Platinum Tier: 0.03% APY.
- Platinum Honors Tier and higher: 0.04% APY.
Regardless of tier, the required opening deposit is $100. There is a monthly maintenance fee of $8 monthly maintenance fee, which can be waived by maintaining a minimum daily balance of $500 in the account, linking this account to a Bank of America checking account, being enrolled in the Preferred Rewards program and qualifying for the Gold Tier or higher, or by being under 25 years old.
Bank of America CDs
Bank of America offers three different categories of CDs: Fixed, featured and flexible.
Bank of America Fixed Term certificates of deposit range from one month to 10 years, but offer a low yield of 0.03% on all terms, except for three-, four- and five-month maturities. Those terms earn a 4.00% APY, which is more competitive.
Bank of America Featured CDs, on the other hand, offer longer terms and, on the whole, higher yields.
There is one Bank of America Flexible CD option, which has a 12-month term. This product will, confusingly, automatically renew into a 9-month CD, but doesn’t charge a fee if you access your cash early, effectively making it a no-penalty CD. (You will owe seven days’ interest if you take out cash within the first six days of the account term, or six days after a partial withdrawal or a renewal.)
The minimum opening deposit for each CD category is $1,000.
Like most CDs, there are early withdrawal penalties:
- For CDs with terms of less than 90 days, the penalty is seven days of interest.
- For CDs with terms of 90 days up to 12 months, the penalty is 90 days of interest.
- For CDs with terms of 12 months up to 60 months, the penalty is 180 days of interest.
- For CDs with terms of 60 months or longer, the penalty is 365 days of interest.
If the amount of accrued interest is less than the penalty amount, the penalty will be all interest accrued. You will never lose any of your principal to the penalty.
Other products
- Credit cards. Bank of America offers several credit cards with varying degrees of eligibility requirements and rewards. Depending on the card you qualify for, you could earn cash back or travel rewards.
- Auto loans. Auto financing options include both purchases and refinancing. You can also get an auto loan to buy out your lease.
- Mortgages. Bank of America offers purchase mortgages, refinancing and a home equity line of credit (HELOC).
- Investing. Investment services are provided through Merrill Lynch. There are options for both self-directed investing and guided investing through an advisory program.
How Bank of America stacks up
Bank of America vs. Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is the third nation’s largest bank, right behind Bank of America. Both offer similar services, including banking, lending and investing.
Even though neither one offers a particularly competitive savings account, the Wells Fargo Platinum Savings account has a slightly higher rate of: 0.25% APY on balances between $0 to $99,999.99, 1.01% APY on balances between $100,000 to $499,999.99, 2.00% APY on balances between $500,000 to $999,999.99 and 2.50% APY on balances of $100,000 or more.
Bank of America vs. Citi®
Citibank is another national bank that competes with Bank of America, but its reach is much smaller. It has all the same banking, lending and loan services but it only has 2,300 ATMs and 600 branches compared to Bank of America’s 15,000 ATMs and over 3,900 branches.
If location isn’t important to you, it’s worth comparing products. Both banks have competitive CD rates, depending on the terms you choose. Citi has slightly more credit cards to choose from than Bank of America, including Costco-branded cards. Compare terms, fees and eligibility to choose the best one.
Bank of America vs. Chase
Chase is the only bank in the U.S. that is larger than Bank of America, so it’s worth comparing these giants side by side. With Chase you’ll find many of the same services, including checking, savings, CDs, loans and investing.
Both have similarly paltry savings rates but approach CD rates very differently.
With Bank of America, any deposit amount gets you access to the same rates. The highest CD rates are reserved for its seven-month Featured CD (with a 4.75% APY) and its 13-month Featured CD (with a 4.30% APY).
Chase certificates of deposit, on the other hand, reserves its best rates for customers with a linked Chase personal checking account. For example, both the two- and nine-month terms offer a relationship rate of 4.25% to 4.75% APY, depending on the CD balance.
About Bank of America
Bank of America was founded in San Francisco in the early 1900s in the wake of the city’s catastrophic earthquake. Founder Amadeo Peter Giannini started the financial institution as a small neighborhood bank, called “Bank of Italy,” which he later renamed to Bank of America. Today, it is the second largest bank in the U.S. based on asset size. It’s headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and has over 3,700 domestic branches and 23 international ones.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
To access Zelle with Bank of America, use the Bank of America mobile app and hit “Pay & Transfer.” From there, you can tap on Zelle to send or receive money.
You can also access Zelle on the Bank of America website. Log in to your account and select the “Pay & Transfer” tab. Then select Zelle from the next screen.
Yes, Bank of America is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 per depositor for each account category.
Bank of America has somewhat competitive interest rates for some of its CDs, but its savings accounts do not come with competitive rates.
You can send a check online using Bank of America by submitting a payment through Online Bill Pay. Access this feature through your online account or the mobile app.
Yes, Bank of America provides auto loans, home loans and credit cards.
