Best Bank Account at U.S. Bank: A Checking Account With Perks and Waivable Monthly Fees

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Checking and savings accounts are usually the best ways to manage the cash you use every day and money you want to put aside for the not-too-distant future. But if you’re a U.S. Bank customer, choosing the right one can be daunting because of the number of accounts available to you. GOBankingRates took a close look at the bank’s offerings and found one standout in terms of fees and the ability to waive them, account perks, rewards and bonuses. That account is U.S. Bank Smartly Checking.

Fees

The U.S. Bank Smartly Checking account has a low $6.95 monthly maintenance fee that’s easy to waive when you meet any of the following requirements:

• Average account balance of $1,500 or more
• An open U.S. Bank consumer credit card
• Total monthly direct deposits of at least $1,000
• Age 65 or older or 24 or younger
• Veteran or active-duty military

Other fees to watch for include:

• ATM: After two free non-network ATM transactions each statement period, $2.50 per transaction or $1 or $1.50 per statement request
• Paper statements: $2 each
• Check printing: Prices vary
• Counter checks: $2 each
• Paid overdrafts: $36 per item
• Overdraft protection transfer fee from credit account: $12.50
• Cashier’s check: $10
• Wire transfer: $20 domestic incoming, $30 domestic outgoing; $25 international incoming, $50 international outgoing

Account Perks and Rewards

Bank Smartly Checking has a surprising number of perks for a fairly basic checking account.

Overdraft Protection

The best protection U.S. Bank offers with Bank Smartly Checking is overdraft fee forgiveness. If your overdraft is $50 or less at the end of the business day, you won’t incur an overdraft fee. If you’re overdrawn by $50.01 or more and you were charged an overdraft fee, U.S. Bank will give you until 11 p.m. on the day the fee was charged to make up the difference. It then will waive the fee.

You can prevent an overdraft entirely with U.S. Bank’s overdraft protection. To protect your Bank Smartly Checking account, link to as many as three eligible U.S. Bank accounts. Eligible accounts include savings, money market and checking accounts, credit cards, personal lines of credit, reserve lines of credit or home equity lines of credit. If you overdraw your account by $50.01 or more, U.S. Bank will transfer money from the overdraft protection accounts in increments of $50.

Smart Rewards

Smart Rewards is a free program that offers four tiers of rewards based on the combined balances of your U.S. Bank checking, savings and money market accounts, CDs and individual retirement accounts and U.S. Bancorp Investments and personal trust accounts.

Even the Core Benefits tier, which you qualify for with a combined balance of less than $20,000, provides you with 100 free U.S. Bancorp Investments trades per year and discounts on a first mortgage. The next tier up is Primary, for combined balances of $20,000 to $49,999.99, which offers all the benefits of Core Benefits plus a savings account interest rate lift, more free non-network ATM use, merchant deals when you use your U.S. Bank personal credit card, additional loan discounts and a free virtual consultation with a wealth management advisor. Three additional tiers provide even more valuable benefits.

Mobile App

U.S. Bank Mobile Banking is a highly regarded app with 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google Play and 4.8 out of 5 stars on the App Store. It’s easy to see why.

The app comes with a smart assistant you can use to pay bills, set notifications or contact customer service — using your voice. Just log in, tap the mic and begin speaking. The app also has a money and spending tracker, credit score monitoring and a security feature that rates your account safety level and helps you find ways to improve your score.

Promotions and Bonuses

As a large bank, U.S. Bank often runs promotions offering bonuses for opening a new account. Right now, you can receive up to $1,000 in bonuses.

Here’s how it works:

• Open a Bank Smartly Checking account by Oct. 31 and make a minimum initial deposit of at least $25. Then, within 90 days, enroll in the U.S. Bank mobile app or online banking and complete at least two direct deposits. You’ll receive a $300 bonus for deposits totaling $5,000 to $9,999.999 or a $500 bonus for direct deposits totaling $10,000 or more.
• Open a U.S. Bank Standard Savings account by Oct. 31 with an opening deposit of at least $25. Then, deposit new money by Nov. 30 and maintain at least that deposit amount until March 31, 2024. You get a $200 bonus for depositing at least $25,000 and maintaining a balance of at least $25,000, or a $400 bonus for depositing at least $50,000 and maintaining a balance of at least $50,000.
• Meet the requirements for both the checking and savings bonuses to earn an additional $100 bonus.

This offer has a coupon code you must use to qualify for the bonuses. The code is 2023SEP. To open the account online, you must start on the bonus page. U.S. Bank will enter the code for you when you apply. Alternatively, bring the code to a branch to apply in person.

Access to Your Cash

Accessing your cash is easy with the Bank Smartly Checking account. U.S. Bank has over 2,300 branches in addition to its network of fee-free ATMs.

As a bona fide checking account, Bank Smartly Checking comes with check-writing privileges, and you can also make online and mobile bill payments and debit card payments, transfer funds between accounts, and transfer money between family and friends using Zelle.

Interest Rate

Unlike many large banks’ more basic checking accounts. Bank Smartly Checking is an interest-bearing account. The rate is low — just 0.001% annual percentage yield on balances up to $24,999.99 and 0.005% on balances of $25,000 or more. However, that’s better than no interest at all, and you earn it without having to pay a high monthly account fee or maintain an exorbitant account balance to have the fee waived.

How To Open a US Bank Smartly Checking Account

It takes less than five minutes to apply for a U.S. Bank Smartly Checking account, and you can do it with an opening deposit of just $25.

First, gather the information and documents you’ll need:

• Social Security number
• Valid government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, passport, or state or military ID
• Account information from a credit, debit or prepaid card or bank account to fund your new Bank Smartly Checking account with at least $25

If you’d prefer to open your account in person, visit your local branch. To do it online from the Bank Smartly Checking product page on the U.S. Bank website, click an “Open an account” button and enter your ZIP code when prompted. Then follow the prompts to complete the application and make your initial deposit.

But remember, to earn that bonus, you’ll need the coupon code to apply in person or start from the bonus page to apply online.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Oct. 11, 2023.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors across all accounts (checking and savings) from each bank (excluding relationship accounts): (1) minimum deposit to open an account; (2) monthly checking fee ratio (percent of the minimum to avoid fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (3) minimum needed to earn interest; (4) APY on the account; (6) overdraft fee amount; and (7) any associated perks advertised with the account. All factors were scored and combined with the lowest score being best. In final calculations, factor (1) was weighted 0.5x, factor (2) was weighted 2x, and factor (7) was weighted 1.5x with any cash bonus offer counting as a double perk. Search volume for each account was also taken into consideration. Rates, terms and bonus offers can change from the date of publication.