Bank of America’s financial services date back to 240 years ago. Although headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bank of America offers an extensive network of 3,800 branches and 15,000 ATMs nationwide. Its digital platform is also customizable, making managing your accounts from anywhere easy. But like many big banks, its rates are low, except if you’re a Preferred Rewards member with a high account balance.
Bank of America
| Checking accounts: | $200 opening bonus |
| Savings accounts: | Open with as little as $100 |
| CD rates: | Earn up to 4.85% APY |
Bank of America rates and products
Bank of America offers several banking products, including a savings account and three checking account options with opening bonuses. Customers can also choose from as many as 127 CD terms. Those with over $20,000 in their accounts can take advantage of benefits, such as a waived monthly service fee and discounted interest on loans through the bank’s Preferred rewards.
Checking accounts
Bank of America offers customers three checking account options. While none of them is a free checking account, they are all eligible for opening bonuses.
| Bank of America checking account features | |
| Account opening bonus | $200 |
| Minimum opening deposit | $25-$100 |
| Monthly service fee | $4.95–$25; waivers available |
| Top APY | 0.02% for Advantage Relationship Banking accounts with over $50,000 |
| Use of non-Bank of America ATMs | $2.50 |
| Use on international ATMs | $5 |
Advantage SafeBalance Banking
- Minimum opening deposit: $25
- Monthly service fee: $4.95; $0 for eligible accounts
- Standard interest: None
- APY: None
- Overdraft protection: Unavailable
- Paper checks: Unavailable
Advantage Plus Banking
- Minimum opening deposit: $100; $0 for eligible accounts
- Monthly service fee: $12
- Standard interest: None
- APY: None
- Overdraft protection: Available
- Paper checks: Available
Advantage Relationship Banking
- Minimum opening deposit: $100
- Monthly service fee: $25; $0 for eligible accounts
- Standard interest: 0.01% for balances below $50,000 or 0.02% for balances above $50,000
- APY: 0.01% for balances below $50,000 or 0.02% for balances above $50,000
- Overdraft protection: Available
- Paper checks: Available
Bank of America savings rates compared to current top rates*
See how Bank of America stacks up against other top banks:
Savings accounts
Bank of America offers one savings account product, Advantage Savings account, with the following features.
| Bank of America Advantage Savings account features | |
| Minimum opening deposit | $100; $0 for under 18 |
| Monthly service fee | $8 (waived for six months); $0 for eligible accounts |
| APY | $0.01% on all balances |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $0 |
| Overdraft fee | $0 |
The Bank of America Advantage Savings account is not a high-yield savings account, especially since it offers the same APY on all balances. If earning modest interest on savings is important to you, consider any of the best high-yield-savings accounts.
CDs
Bank of America offers three types of CDs to help you earn more from your savings. While they are not the best CD rates, there are several terms to choose from.
| Bank of America CD features | |
| Minimum opening deposit | $1,000 |
| Available term lengths | 28 days to 120 months |
| APY range | 0.03%–4.85% |
| Annual fees | $0 |
| Early withdrawal penalty | Seven to 365 days of interest |
Bank of America Featured CD rates
There are five featured CD terms available for you. Below are their CD rates.
| CD term | Interest rate | APY |
| 7-month CD | 4.75% | 4.85% |
| 10-month CD | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| 13-month CD | 4.41% | 4.50% |
| 25-month CD | 2.96% | 3.0% |
| 37-month CD | 0.05% | 0.05% |
Bank of America Fixed CD rates
Bank of America offers 120 fixed-term certificates of deposit between 28 days and 10 years. Your earnings depend on your term and CD account balance.
| CD term | Interest rate | APY |
| Between 28 days and 17 months | 0.03%–3.93% | 0.03%–4.0% |
| Between 18 and 47 months | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Between 48 and 120 months | 0.03% | 0.03% |
Flexible CD
Bank of America offers this flexible 12-month CD term that renews as a 9-month CD term upon maturity. You’ll earn 3.45% interest and 3.51% APY on the funds you set aside. Also, there’s no early withdrawal penalty except for withdrawals made within the first six days.
Preferred rewards membership
Bank of America provides more benefits for personal checking accounts with a three-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 or more. Preferred rewards members in the Gold, Platinum, Platinum Honors, or Diamond tiers will enjoy higher APYs, discounts on loans, and waived monthly service fees. However, you’ll need to enroll to participate in the program. We recommend calculating the potential preferred rewards savings before enrolling. Here’s what you’ll enjoy as a Gold Tier preferred rewards member.
| Gold Tier benefits | |
| APY | 0.02% |
| Credit card | 25% |
| Savings | 5% |
| Monthly service fee | $0 |
| Mortgage originating fees | $200 off |
| Home equity | 0.125% |
| Auto loan | 0.25% |
| Foreign currency exchange rate | 1% |
| Annual program fee for Merrill guided investing | 0.05% |
Other services Bank of America offers
Below are a few more Bank of America offerings:
- Credit cards: Bank of America offers numerous credit card options, including Bank of America Premium Rewards Card, Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards, and Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card, with cash rewards, travel rewards, and bonus offers. The bank also offers business credit cards.
- Home loans: If you want to buy a home, refinance your mortgage, or carry out a few home improvements, Bank of America offers fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM), jumbo loans, Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans with as low as 6.699% APR.
- Auto loans: Bank of America works with several dealers across the country to assist customers with financing the purchase of pre-owned and new vehicles.
- Investments: Bank of America assists customers who need portfolio management, helping them invest in stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and bonds without charging annual fees.
- Student loans: Bank of America helps customers prepare for college expenses with tax-deductible 529 plans without age, income, or withdrawal restrictions.
- Retirement planning: Bank of America provides traditional individual retirement accounts (IRA) and Roth IRAs for retirement planning. Customers can open savings or investment IRAs.
Online banking
Bank of America’s online banking tool allows customers to perform banking activities without visiting a physical branch. Customers can transfer money, pay bills, activate cards, order checks, schedule appointments with bank advisors, and more on their computers.
The Bank of America platform and customer support
Bank of America’s customizable mobile app ranks highly in Apple and Google stores. Customers can manage their accounts and access Zelle on their mobile devices from anywhere. Those who want to connect with the bank’s customer service can do it online, over the phone, or in person. You can call (800) 432-1000 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern time and Saturday and Sunday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET. The team can also chat via the Bank of America mobile app, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
Is Bank of America secure?
Bank of America uses enhanced encryption technology and other security measures, such as multifactor authentication (MFA), account activity notifications, and security meter updates, to keep customer accounts safe. However, the bank has been involved in malicious activities and has had to pay fines for misconduct, including withholding credit card rewards, enrolling Bank of America customers in accounts without authorization, unduly freezing their accounts, and charging overdraft fees for the same transaction repeatedly.
Bank of America user reviews
While Bank of America boasts of several support channels, many complaints are about its customer support. Customers complained about how long it takes to connect to a support agent and that they sometimes don’t receive adequate responses to inquiries or get necessary help. A few customers are also not pleased that the bank does not consider customers with hearing or speaking impairments. Other common complaints from current Bank of America customers include delayed deposits, undue account holds, and card shut-offs. Bank of America ranks 11th out of 15 banks in J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Retail Bank Customer Satisfaction Study.
Compare Bank of America alternatives
Here’s how Bank of America stacks up with other big banks.
| Bank of America | Chase Bank | Citibank | Wells Fargo | |
| Minimum opening deposit | $25 | $25; $0 for eligible accounts | $0 | $0 |
| Monthly service fee | $5–$35; $0 for eligible accounts |
$4.95–$25; $0 for eligible accounts |
$5–$35; $0 for eligible accounts |
$4.50–$15; $0 for those on a relationship tier |
| APY rates | 0%–5.01% | 0%–4.85% | 0%–5.0% | 0.05%–5.01%; lower for Citi Savings accounts |
| CD rates | 1.49%–5.01% | 0.03%–4.85% | 0.01%–5.0% | 0.05%–5.01% |
Is Bank of America right for you?
Bank of America is right for you if you’re looking for a bank with an impressive network, multiple CD options, or rewards for keeping large amounts of money in your account. However, if you don’t want to be stuck with only one savings account option or caught paying monthly service fees while earning low yields on your savings, Bank of America is not a good fit.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bank of America a good bank to use?
Bank of America is good for those who prioritize an extensive network, multiple CD terms, or rewards for active accounts. Those who desire high yields on their savings would think otherwise.
Which is better: Bank of America or Chase?
Bank of America is better than Chase when it comes to CD terms, CD rates, and APY rates but for multiple savings or checking account offerings, Chase beats Bank of America.
Is Bank of America FDIC insured?
Yes, Bank of America is FDIC-insured, meaning that deposits in any checking account, savings account, CD, or MMA are insured up to $250,000 per depositor for each account category in case of a bank failure.
