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What account fees should you avoid with savings accounts?

Author

Sophia Sparks

Published Mar 13, 2026

What account fees should you avoid with savings accounts?

Here's a rundown of seven of the most common fees banks charge—and tips to avoid them.
  • Account maintenance and minimum balance. Many banks charge fees for maintaining checking or savings accounts.
  • ATM.
  • Overdraft.
  • Insufficient funds.
  • Excess transactions.
  • Wire transfer.
  • Account closing.

Correspondingly, what 3 account fees should you avoid with savings accounts?

How to Avoid 3 Bank Fees You Shouldn't Be Paying

  • Maintenance fees. Many traditional banks charge a maintenance, or service, fee on checking accounts — about $10 to $12 per month.
  • ATM fees. You've probably had the experience of needing cash and looking unsuccessfully for an ATM affiliated with your bank.
  • Overdraft fees.

One may also ask, what fees are associated with a savings account? Check here for a rundown of the best options for savings accounts.

  • Overdraft and Non Sufficient Funds (NSF) Fees. Most major banks charge you $35 per overdrawn or NSF item, while online banks can charge as low as $5 per item.
  • Stop Payment Fee.
  • Returned Item Fee.
  • Paper Statement Fee.
  • Annual and Inactivity Fees.

In this way, what bank fees should you avoid?

7 common banking fees and how to avoid them

  1. 7 common banking fees. Monthly maintenance/service fee.
  2. Monthly maintenance/service fee. Many banks charge by the month for you to keep your money in an account with them.
  3. Out-of-network ATM fee.
  4. Excessive transactions fee.
  5. Overdraft fee.
  6. Insufficient fund fee.
  7. Wire transfer fee.
  8. Early account closing fee.

What are some common fees that you should avoid that are often associated with a checking account?

  • Monthly service fee. One of the most common characteristics of a checking account is the monthly fee that banks or credit unions charge to maintain your account.
  • Overdraft fee.
  • Non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee.
  • ATM fee.
  • Paper statement fee.
  • Foreign transaction fee.
  • Account closure fee.

How do you avoid account fees?

Here are some proven tips:
  1. Utilize free checking and savings accounts. Many banks still offer them.
  2. Sign up for direct deposit.
  3. Keep a minimum balance.
  4. Keep multiple accounts at your bank.
  5. Use only your bank's ATMs.
  6. Don't spend more money than you have.
  7. Sign Up for Email or Text Alerts.

Do all savings accounts have maintenance fees?

Banks offer multiple ways to avoid monthly maintenance fees.

Monthly Maintenance Fees for Savings Accounts at Top U.S. Banks.

BankMonthly Maintenance FeeMinimum Balance To Waive Fee
Union Bank Regular Savings Account$4$300 minimum daily balance (or deposit $25 or more monthly into your savings account)

Do banks charge you for having an account?

To make a profit and pay operating expenses, banks typically charge for the services they provide. When a bank lends you money, it charges interest on the loan. When you open a deposit account, such as a checking or savings account, there are fees for that as well.

What's the maximum amount of money you can have in a bank account?

For example, if you have a checking account, savings account and a money market account at the same bank that are all owned by you and you alone, the combined balances for those accounts would be insured up to the “per depositor” $250,000 limit.

What age do you stop paying bank charges?

AIB: Full-time students and people over 60 years of age do not pay transaction or quarterly maintenance charges. These fees are also waived for graduate account holders for 18 months. No set-up fees for standing orders or direct debits are charged to any customer.

How much money do I need in my Chase savings account?

A balance at the beginning of each day of $300 or more in this account. OR $25 or more in total Autosave or other repeating automatic transfers from your personal Chase checking account (available only through chase.com or Chase Mobile®)

Should a checking account be used as a savings account or a spending account?

Checking and savings accounts have two different purposes. Mainly, checking accounts are meant to be used for spending money, while a savings account has federally-regulated limits on how often you can take cash out every month.

How can I avoid direct deposit fees?

Jump To:
  1. Maintain a minimum balance.
  2. Stay in school.
  3. Use direct deposit.
  4. ACH transfers appear as a direct deposit.
  5. Open an online account to avoid ATM fees.
  6. Use your debit card frequently.
  7. Opt out of overdraft fees.
  8. Link your accounts.

How do I get rid of bank fees?

All you need to do is pick up the phone and call your bank's customer service when you notice the fee. Be polite on the phone and say that you saw the charge and you would like it removed. Most agents will wipe it for you and tell you that they can only do so a limited number of times.

Which bank has no monthly maintenance fee?

Citibank and TD Bank are the only two banks that offer no interest checking accounts with no minimum to open. BB&T also offers a checking account with no monthly maintenance fee; however, it is only available in select states.

How much do I have to keep in my account to avoid fees at Wells Fargo?

You can avoid the $10 monthly service fee with one of the following each fee period : $500 minimum daily balance. $500 or more in total qualifying direct deposits.

Why do bank accounts have monthly fees?

Many banks charge a monthly maintenance fee in order to cover costs associated with maintaining accounts and certain perks that may be added on. Some of these perks include: overdraft coverage programs, no charge for using ATMs outside the system, cashback on spending, and so forth.

How can I wire money without fees?

Google Pay lets you transfer money for free using a phone number or email address. You can also cash out for free within minutes from the in-app wallet to a debit card. The maximum is $10,000 per transfer. Bank accounts and debit cards can fund transfers, but credit cards and prepaid cards cannot.

Does a bank account close if you don't use it?

If you don't use your account for a year, the account would move to inactive status. And the bank has no other way to penalise you other than deducting any balance that may be in the account. You can very well close the account anytime and the bank can't ask for penalty charges during closure.

What is the minimum amount of money you can have in a bank account?

$100 to $2,500

Do banks charge for bank transfers?

A bank transfer is when money is sent from one bank account to another. Transferring money from your bank account is usually fast, free and safer than withdrawing and paying in cash.

Does it cost money to close a savings account?

Typically, a bank will not charge you anything to simply close a basic savings account, even if you decide to change banks. Or you can choose to submit your request in a bank account closing letter to initiate the process, according to Bank of America close account instructions.

What savings accounts have the highest interest rates?

Best High-Yield Savings Account Rates
  • Prime Alliance Bank - 0.60% APY.
  • BrioDirect - 0.60% APY.
  • Customers Bank - 0.60% APY.
  • Vio Bank - 0.57% APY.
  • SFGI Direct - 0.56% APY.
  • Live Oak Bank - 0.55% APY.
  • Comenity Direct - 0.55% APY.
  • Quontic Bank - 0.55% APY.

Why does my savings account have a monthly maintenance fee?

A monthly maintenance fee is a fee charged by a financial institution to a customer if certain requirements aren't met. These fees are charged by banks to help “maintain” your account, kind of like a service fee.

How much can I take out of my savings account?

six

What is the typical minimum balance on an online savings account?

No minimum balance, which is typical for many online banks. A minimum balance to keep the account open, which could be as little as $1 or as much as several thousand dollars. A minimum balance to earn the advertised high interest rate, with anything less earning a lower APY.

What is the most expensive bank fee?

TD Bank

What are the three different types of bank fees?

The Top 10 Most Common Banking Fees & How to Avoid Them
  1. Checking Account Fees. It is recommended that you speak with your bank to learn more about its service fees (how often you can potentially be charged, and for how much).
  2. Minimum Balance Charge.
  3. Overdraft Charge.
  4. Returned Deposit Charge.
  5. Hard Copy Statement Fee.
  6. ATM Fees.
  7. Foreign Transaction Charge.
  8. Lost Card Fee.

What is the highest ATM fee?

Banks charge non-customers $1.50 to $3.50 at their ATMs, but non-bank ATM operators often charge more, up to $10 per transaction.

What fees can you see on a bank statement?

There are wire fees, bounced check fees, ATM fees, and even fees based on the number of deposits, checks, or ATM transactions in your account. One of the most annoying is the paper statement fee. This is a fee that many banks charge as online and mobile banking have become prevalent.

Can a bank charge a fee for paper statements?

Many banks charge you a few dollars per month for mailing paper bank statements to your home.

Fees at the top banks.

BankPaper statement fee
TD Bank$1
US Bank$2
Wells Fargo$5

Does a checking account earn more interest than a savings account?

The benefit: Savings accounts typically have higher interest rates than checking, making it easy for you to grow your money faster. “Some financial institutions may limit your transfers and some withdrawals to only six times a month.”

What happens to checking account monthly fees when you have a 0 balance?

3 Answers. Unless your agreement says otherwise, the bank is authorized to debit your account for the amount — and then charge you an additional fee for being overdrawn. If you do not add money to the account to bring it into a positive balance, they can pursue you for it just as they could any other debt.

How do I avoid additional bank charges?

9 Ways to Reduce Business Bank Charges
  1. Compare banks' fee structures before settling.
  2. Understand what you're paying for.
  3. Reduce your transactions.
  4. Go for bundled services.
  5. Consider alternative payment systems.
  6. Don't use other banks' ATMs.
  7. Ensure your account is never overdrawn.
  8. Avoid additional cards.

What would happen if you had $30 in your checking account and tried to take out $45 at the grocery store using your debit card?

Therefore, if a person has $30 in their checking account and tries to take out $45 to pay his grocery bills using his debit card, the transaction would be denied because of lack of sufficient funds, the groceries would have to be returned and no overdraft would be charged.

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