What are the best free checking accounts?
Wondering where’s the bank that has the best free checking accounts? We got you! Choosing the best free checking account is one of the better tools to helping you be more financially independent. Who doesn’t want to earn more on cash that’s just sitting there?
This post is about the best free checking accounts.
Let’s dive into the top 5 free checking accounts.
1. Chase
Ok, so it’s not technically free; HOWEVER, this $12 fee can be easily waived with a $500 direct deposit (or maintaining a $1,500 daily balance or $5,000 averaged across accounts). One of the great benefits to banking with Chase is that they have physical ATMs, no minimum balance to open an account, and have a several great features (partners with Zelle, mobile app, etc).
Monthly Fee: $12 (easily waived)
Minimum Balance: None
ATM Access: 16,000
2. Ally
Ally’s very popular for their high yield savings account. However, they also have a checking account option. This is a great option for those who want to earn a bit of interest on the cash they’re parking in their checking account. For balances below $15,000, you could earn up to 0.15% APY, and 0.25% APY on balances of $15,000+.
Monthly Fee: None
Minimum Balance: None
ATM Access: 43,000 via Allpoint
3. Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab is one of the best physical banks. Why? They offer unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide. What does this mean exactly? It means, if there’s an ATM near you, regardless of what bank/company owns it, you can still access your cash and get that fee waived. So you have access to your cash anywhere.
On top of that, if you’re looking to earn interest on the cash in your checking account, Charles Schwab offers 0.45% APY. Awesome, right?!
Monthly Fee: None
Minimum Balance: None
ATM Access: Unlimited ATM fee rebates wordwide
4. Discover
Ok, so the checking account itself doesn’t exactly offer perks, BUT if you use their debit card, you could get 1% cash back on up to $3,000 debit card purchases every single month! Unique feature, right?! If you’re looking to train your kid on being financially responsible, this could be a great option for them to get some cash back while getting used to using a card to make purchases.
Monthly Fee: None
Minimum Balance: None
ATM Access: 60,000+
5. Wealthfront
Wealthfront will be the highest return! Wealthfront uniquely combines their checking and savings account. This means that you could earn up to 4.30% APY on any of the cash you have sitting in your Wealthfront account. Crazy high, right?!
Monthly Fee: None
Minimum Balance: None
ATM Access: 19,000 via Allpoint
To reiterate, the top 5 best free checking accounts are:
- Chase
- Ally
- Charles Schwab
- Discover
- Wealthfront
