What is bank of america advantage safebalance banking

What is bank of america advantage safebalance banking

Checking

Member FDIC

3.5

/5 NerdWallet rating 

Monthly fee

$12.00

Waived with direct deposit of $250 or more or $1,500 daily minimum balance each statement cycle

Bonus

$100

See offer page for more details

Bank of America’s Advantage Plus option is the standard choice of its three checking account options to get convenient checking account features — including check writing and overdraft programs — with fairly easy ways to avoid the $12 monthly fee, including receiving monthly direct deposits of at least $250 or maintaining a minimum daily account balance of at least $1,500. Being enrolled in the Preferred Rewards program also helps you dodge the monthly fees on all three checking accounts.

Bank of America also offers the Advantage SafeBalance account, which can help frequent overdrafters. In lieu of charging overdraft fees, the bank simply declines transactions if the account holder doesn’t have enough funds. But the account comes with downsides, such as the lack of check-writing privileges and a $4.95 monthly fee that’s hard to waive. The only interest-bearing checking account that Bank of America offers, Advantage Relationship Banking, requires at least $10,000 at the bank to avoid a $25 monthly fee and pays minimal interest.

Customers that use non-Bank of America ATMs are charged a $2.50 fee for U.S. ATMs, and a $5 fee abroad. The bank also charges $3-$10 for sending transfers to accounts at other banks (depending on the transfer speed) and limits consumers to sending $1,000 per day — much lower than some other banks' limits.

What is bank of america advantage safebalance banking

Bank of America Advantage Savings

Savings

Member FDIC

3.0

/5 NerdWallet rating 

APY

0.01%

With $0 min. balance for APY

Bank of America’s Advantage Savings has an unimpressive 0.01% annual percentage yield. Customers can secure higher rates by enrolling in Preferred Rewards (which requires a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $20,000 across deposit and/or investment accounts), but those rates top out at 0.04%. The account requires an initial deposit of $100. It offers a potentially useful Keep The Change program, which rounds up debit card transactions from your linked Bank of America checking account to the nearest dollar and transfers the difference to your savings account.

The bank waives the $8 monthly maintenance fee on the savings account for customers who either maintain a daily balance of at least $500, link to a Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking checking account or are enrolled in Preferred Rewards.

What is bank of america advantage safebalance banking

Bank of America CD

CD

Member FDIC

1.5

/5 NerdWallet rating 

Neither of Bank of America’s two types of CDs come close to matching the rates on high-yield CDs or savings accounts available elsewhere. You can use NerdWallet's rates tool to compare CD rates at other institutions.

The Standard Term CD can be opened with $1,000. The annual percentage yield is a flat rate of 0.03%, no matter the term length and balance.

» Interested in the top CD options? Check out our list of the highest CD rates.

Banking experience

Bank of America shines with an easy online banking experience and digital tools. The website design is straightforward, and information about fees and rates is relatively easy to find. Its mobile app lets you deposit checks, pay bills, send money, monitor account activity and balances and use its virtual assistant, Erica. Android and iOS phone users gave the bank’s app high marks.

Customer service hours and channels are convenient. You can get a real human on the phone from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. ET on weekdays and 8 p.m. on weekends. The bank also provides live chat support for existing customers and answers questions on Twitter.

Overdraft fees

Bank of America has a $10 overdraft fee, and the bank can charge it up to two times per day. There’s no fee for a continuous negative balance, which some banks charge.

You can opt for Balance Connect®, the bank’s overdraft protection service, but it’ll cost $12 per day for every day a transfer occurs from a linked Bank of America savings or secondary checking account. Other banks provide this service for free.

What is bank of america advantage safebalance banking

Checking

Member FDIC

3.5

/5 NerdWallet rating 

Monthly fee

$12.00

Waived with direct deposit of $250 or more or $1,500 daily minimum balance each statement cycle

Bonus

$100

See offer page for more details

Bank of America’s Advantage Plus option is the standard choice of its three checking account options to get convenient checking account features — including check writing and overdraft programs — with fairly easy ways to avoid the $12 monthly fee, including receiving monthly direct deposits of at least $250 or maintaining a minimum daily account balance of at least $1,500. Being enrolled in the Preferred Rewards program also helps you dodge the monthly fees on all three checking accounts.

Bank of America also offers the Advantage SafeBalance account, which can help frequent overdrafters. In lieu of charging overdraft fees, the bank simply declines transactions if the account holder doesn’t have enough funds. But the account comes with downsides, such as the lack of check-writing privileges and a $4.95 monthly fee that’s hard to waive. The only interest-bearing checking account that Bank of America offers, Advantage Relationship Banking, requires at least $10,000 at the bank to avoid a $25 monthly fee and pays minimal interest.

Customers that use non-Bank of America ATMs are charged a $2.50 fee for U.S. ATMs, and a $5 fee abroad. The bank also charges $3-$10 for sending transfers to accounts at other banks (depending on the transfer speed) and limits consumers to sending $1,000 per day — much lower than some other banks' limits.

What is bank of america advantage safebalance banking

Bank of America Advantage Savings

Savings

Member FDIC

3.0

/5 NerdWallet rating 

APY

0.01%

With $0 min. balance for APY

Bank of America’s Advantage Savings has an unimpressive 0.01% annual percentage yield. Customers can secure higher rates by enrolling in Preferred Rewards (which requires a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $20,000 across deposit and/or investment accounts), but those rates top out at 0.04%. The account requires an initial deposit of $100. It offers a potentially useful Keep The Change program, which rounds up debit card transactions from your linked Bank of America checking account to the nearest dollar and transfers the difference to your savings account.

The bank waives the $8 monthly maintenance fee on the savings account for customers who either maintain a daily balance of at least $500, link to a Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking checking account or are enrolled in Preferred Rewards.

What is bank of america advantage safebalance banking

Bank of America CD

CD

Member FDIC

1.5

/5 NerdWallet rating 

Neither of Bank of America’s two types of CDs come close to matching the rates on high-yield CDs or savings accounts available elsewhere. You can use NerdWallet's rates tool to compare CD rates at other institutions.

The Standard Term CD can be opened with $1,000. The annual percentage yield is a flat rate of 0.03%, no matter the term length and balance.

» Interested in the top CD options? Check out our list of the highest CD rates.

Bank of America shines with an easy online banking experience and digital tools. The website design is straightforward, and information about fees and rates is relatively easy to find. Its mobile app lets you deposit checks, pay bills, send money, monitor account activity and balances and use its virtual assistant, Erica. Android and iOS phone users gave the bank’s app high marks.

Customer service hours and channels are convenient. You can get a real human on the phone from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. ET on weekdays and 8 p.m. on weekends. The bank also provides live chat support for existing customers and answers questions on Twitter.

Bank of America has a $10 overdraft fee, and the bank can charge it up to two times per day. There’s no fee for a continuous negative balance, which some banks charge.

You can opt for Balance Connect®, the bank’s overdraft protection service, but it’ll cost $12 per day for every day a transfer occurs from a linked Bank of America savings or secondary checking account. Other banks provide this service for free.

What is a Bank of America SafeBalance account?

SafeBalance Banking® is now Advantage SafeBalance Banking. The monthly maintenance fee and key features are the same: Get help spending only what's in your account to help avoid going into overdraft, 2 pay no overdraft fees and get convenient access without paper checks.

Is Bank of America ADV SafeBalance banking a checking account?

No monthly maintenance fee for Students under 25 The Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking® checking account is a smart choice for students, with no monthly maintenance fee if you're under 25 and enrolled in school or an educational or vocational program.

What is an advantage plus banking account?

Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking account offer more perks than BofA's basic account and a lower monthly fee than the premium option. You can enable overdraft protection and you get the ability to write checks, but you won't automatically earn interest or have fees waived. Peter Carleton. Last Updated Sep 17, 2021.

What type of account is ADV SafeBalance banking?

Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking is a “checkless” checking account, which means users cannot write personal paper checks. Account holders can send and receive money to others via Zelle®, which is integrated into BoA's Mobile Banking app.