[Update January 2021: The APYs on Bank of America’s variable rate savings accounts remain unchanged to start the new year.]
If you’re in the market for an FDIC-insured savings account, then Bank of America may be one of the first places you start your search.
And for good reason.
Bank of America is perhaps the most recognizable name in banking in the US and is the second largest bank by asset size, only behind JP Morgan Chase, with a whopping $2.38 trillion in assets (yes, with a T).
So it’s not surprising that this bank would get your consideration as the home to your future savings account. But before making your final decision, be sure you understand the full scope of their savings accounts’ features, rates and fees.
In this post you'll learn:
Bank of America Savings Account Options
While Bank of America has offered lucrative savings accounts in the past, their variable rate savings account offerings today consists of the following:
- Bank of America Advantage Savings
- Minor Savings Account
- Custodial (UTMA) Savings Account for Children
The Bank of America Advantage Savings account is the main savings account that Bank of America offers. They’ve had money market accounts in the past (at times, with great rates) but do not offer these products currently.
All of Bank of America’s savings products, whether a child savings account or Advantage Savings, come with the Keep the Change feature.
The Keep the Change program by Bank of America has been covered by many financial blogs over the years and slight variations of it have been mimicked by other large banks such as the Way2Save program by Wells Fargo.
Keep the Change simply allows you to round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and deposit the difference into savings automatically. Making saving money easy and automated.
Of course, to benefit from this program you’ll need to also open a checking account and conduct your everyday purchases with your BofA debit card. So you’ll have to weigh this against your current spending method. If you get more rewards out of a credit card or another debit rewards card, it may not be worth the switch at this time. Especially given Bank of America’s extremely low savings rates.
Bank of America Advantage Savings Account Fees
The big fee to watch out for with the Bank of America Advantage Savings account is the $8.00 monthly maintenance fee. Most big banks (Chase, Wells Fargo, etc) have monthly “maintenance” or “service” fees which can be avoided by meeting a few criteria, but Bank of America’s is the steepest.
The monthly service fees for Chase Bank and Wells Fargo’s savings accounts sit at just $5.00 for comparison.
Below is a complete list of the fees you may face as a Bank of America Advantage Savings account holder.
Bank Of America Savings Account Fees
| Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Monthly Maintenance Fee | $8 (can be avoided, see below) |
| Withdrawal Limit Fee | $10 |
| Minimum Opening Deposit | $100 |
| Overdraft Item Fee | $35 / each |
| NSF: Returned Item Fee | $35 per returned or declined transaction |
| Overdraft Protection Transfer Fee | $12 per transfer |
| Non-Bank of America ATMs | $2.50 / per cash withdrawal |
| Statement Copies | $5 / each |
| Deposited Item Returned | $12 / each |
| Check-Cashing Fee | $8 per check for amounts greater than $50 |
How to Waive the Monthly Maintenance Fee
There are three ways to avoid the $8 monthly maintenance fee tied to the Bank of America Advantage Savings account.
You must meet one of the following three to avoid the fee:
- Maintain a minimum daily account balance of at least $500,
- Link to your Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking account (waiver applies to first 4 savings accounts)
- Be a Bank of America Preferred Rewards client (waiver applies to first 4 checking and savings accounts)
Maintaining the minimum daily balance of $500 will likely be the easiest path to avoiding the $8 monthly fee if you’re new to Bank of America.
Remember this is the minimum daily balance requirement, so your account can technically dip below $500 in the day, so long as it ends up at or above $500 by the end of the day.
This is slightly different than say, money market account fees, which generally have an average monthly balance requirement – meaning your balance has to average out at that number (or above) for the entire month to avoid fees.
The average daily balance requirement on the Advantage Savings account, like the fee itself, is steeper than most other large national banks. To put this in perspective both Chase Bank and Wells Fargo let you avoid their $5 service fee by maintaining a daily balance of just $300.
Bank of America Advantage Savings Account Rate
You’ll be less than impressed with the yields provided by Bank of America on their Advantage Saving account at the moment.
They offer a tiered rate structure based on your account balance and your Preferred Rewards Membership status. Regardless of where you sit on this spectrum, the range of rates received is just 0.01% to 0.05% APY so don’t feel like you’re missing out on much in terms of rates if you’re not at the highest membership tier.
Below is a breakdown of the APYs received by balance and membership tier.
Advantage Savings Account Rates
| Member Level | APY with < $2,500 | APY with > $2,500 |
| Standard | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Gold Tier | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Platinum Tier | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Platinum Honors Tier | 0.05% | 0.05% |
To put these offers in perspective the current national average for a savings account sits at just 0.04% APY, according to recent FDIC data, while money market accounts and interest checking accounts sit at 0.07% APY and 0.04% APY, respectively.
That said, a small number of online banks are still paying up to 0.60% APY and feature no minimum balance requirements or monthly maintenance fees.
These rates above are variable and subject to change at any time without notice.
Bank of America Minor Savings Account (Fees and Rates)
Bank of America’s Minor Savings account, and children savings accounts in general, are great ways to get your kid(s) familiarized with money, budgeting and saving.
They have helpful tools like allowance scheduling and automatic transfers as well as the ability to track purchases and monitor the child’s banking activity.
The Minor Savings account must be opened jointly with a parent or guardian, and can be opened with as little as $25. It also comes with zero daily balance requirement and no monthly maintenance fees if the child is under 18 years old.
To open the Minor Saving Account at Bank of America you must first schedule an in-person appointment with a representative. Find a branch and call ahead as rules may have changed due to COVID-19.
Minor Savings Account Rates
| Member Level | APY with < $2,500 | APY with > $2,500 |
| Standard | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Gold Tier | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Platinum Tier | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Platinum Honors Tier | 0.05% | 0.05% |
The member level status applies to the parent or guardian’s account if the child is under 18. The rates are currently identical to the Advantage Savings account rates. These are variable and subject to change at any time without notice.
Bank of America Minor Savings Account Fees
| Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Monthly Maintenance Fee | $0 if child is under 18 years old |
| Withdrawal Limit Fee | $10 |
| Minimum Opening Deposit | $100 |
| Overdraft Item Fee | $35 / each |
| NSF: Returned Item Fee | $35 per returned or declined transaction |
| Overdraft Protection Transfer Fee | $12 per transfer |
| Non-Bank of America ATMs | $2.50 / per cash withdrawal |
| Statement Copies | $5 / each |
| Deposited Item Returned | $12 / each |
| Check-Cashing Fee | $8 per check for amounts greater than $50 |
Bank of America Custodial (UTMA) Savings Account (Fees and Rates)
The UTMA savings account is designed to save for the child throughout their youth and then gifted to them when they reach maturity. The account differs from the Minor Savings account in a few ways:
- The UTMA savings account does not provide the child access to funds until he/she is 18 years old.
- The UTMA account can be opened online, whereas the Minor Savings account must be opened in branch.
- The $8 monthly maintenance fee does apply to the UTMA savings account (but can be avoided the same way as the Advantage Savings can).
- The UTMA savings account requires a $100 minimum deposit vs only $25 for the Minor Savings account.
Along with the account differences (above), you’ll want to note that there are state laws that govern Custodial UTMA accounts as well. These laws vary based on which state the account is opened in.
As the parent or guardian, you are the “custodian” of the account. This means that it is your responsibility to manage the account on your child’s behalf even though all funds that enter the account instantly become irrevocably the property of the child.
So even though you are in control, the ownership is not yours at all.
These accounts can be used for a number of things but the most frequent use case is higher education.
The funds will be accessible to the child when they reach either 18 or 21 – determined by state law in which the account was opened.
Funds can be accessed earlier than this but will need good reason. In all cases the reason must be to the sole benefit of the child.
Custodial (UTMA) Savings Account Rates
| Member Level | APY with < $2,500 | APY with > $2,500 |
| Standard | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Gold Tier | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Platinum Tier | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Platinum Honors Tier | 0.05% | 0.05% |
Remember the $8.00 monthly service fee applies to this account, but can be waived by maintaining a $500 minimum daily balance in the account.
Here is a complete list of fees that may come with ownership of a Custodial UTMA Savings account:
| Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Monthly Maintenance Fee | $8 (can be waived, refer to above) |
| Withdrawal Limit Fee | $10 |
| Minimum Opening Deposit | $100 |
| Overdraft Item Fee | $35 / each |
| NSF: Returned Item Fee | $35 per returned or declined transaction |
| Overdraft Protection Transfer Fee | $12 per transfer |
| Non-Bank of America ATMs | $2.50 / per cash withdrawal |
| Statement Copies | $5 / each |
| Deposited Item Returned | $12 / each |
| Check-Cashing Fee | $8 per check for amounts greater than $50 |
Final Thoughts
Bank of America has underwhelming rates on all of their savings products at the moment. The yields lag the national average, which has already set the bar low at 0.07% APY.
The savings products do come with some decent features and tools such as the Keep the Change program, but these hardly make up for what they lack in annual percentage yields.
The kids savings accounts – both the Minor Savings account and the Custodial (UTMA) Savings account come with OK features, but again lackluster rates. We’d suggest looking at the youth-tailored savings accounts offered by some of the large national credit unions. Some have promotional rates as high as 3.50% APY.
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