Best National Banks October 2024

With one of the largest branch networks and highly rated mobile apps, Bank of America is a natural Best Banks choice for all-in-one banking. Three checking accounts give you plenty of options for managing your money, including a no-frills online account and an interest-bearing Advantage Relationship Banking account with all the bells and whistles for account holders who maintain higher balances. Add an Advantage Savings account, CD and bank IRA — as well as a brokerage IRA through Merrill Edge — and you’ve got all your banking under one roof. What’s more, Bank of America offers the convenience of banking online, in-branch or at any of thousands of ATMs, all of which have private audio for the visually impaired.

Sometimes you don’t want to overthink your next money move and just want to go with a name you can trust. As a big bank, it does have lower rates of return but this is balanced out by everything else it offers. Whether you’re looking for checking, savings, investment or loan options, we like Bank of America for its wide variety of accounts, services and more.

As a mostly online bank, Capital One has less overhead than brick-and-mortar banks, which translates to fewer fees and minimums for customers. In fact, 360 Performance Savings has no fees and no minimums, yet accounts earn an outstanding APY rate. The 360 Checking account also has no fees or minimums, and balances earn APY. So not only do you keep more of your money — it also grows faster.

Despite not charging fees, Capital One delivers best-in-class features and service.

Capital One’s mobile banking app offers great functionality, including the ability to transfer money through the popular app Zelle® and perform most banking transactions without setting foot in a branch office, Capital One is distinguished for its convenient, streamlined banking experience. We’re not the only ones who praise banking with Capital One online: The mobile app has 4.5 stars on Google Play and iOS users give it a near perfect score of 4.8 out of 5.

*Capital One interest rates accurate as of Sept. 27, 2024. See website for all current rates.

Citi received top honors as one of GOBankingRates’ Best National Banks in 2024, due in part to it’s excellent checking accounts. Access Checking is a checkless account with no monthly service fee for the first three months. Regular checking is also fee-free for three months and offers unlimited checking. Both accounts have no overdraft or returned-item fee, and you can waive the monthly fees with a Relationship Tier or $250 in Enhanced Direct Deposits. The three fee-free months should give most account holders plenty of time to set up their direct deposit to avoid fees after the promotional period ends.

Accessing your cash is easy — Citi has over 65,000 fee-free ATMS nationwide.

There’s a wide selection of additional financial products and services designed just for you at Citi, from savings accounts, CD accounts and bank IRAs to help grow your money to credit cards with low intro rates and cash back. Increase your wealth using tools like Citi® Self Invest or Citi® Wealth Builder and turn your homeownership dreams into reality with the HomeRun Mortgage program. We can’t help but love how you can do and achieve so much more with your money at Citibank. 

Chase is a winner in the Best National Banks category for the fact that it offers over 4,700 branches nationwide, which makes it easy to pop in to make a deposit or schedule a meeting with a banker, home lending advisor or investment advisor. To find your nearest branch, just enter your ZIP code or address from the branch locator on the Chase website.

Chase also offers multiple checking and savings accounts which you can open in a matter of minutes. Opening an account gives you the ability to manage your money via mobile and online banking and access thousands of ATMs to make withdrawals and deposits. From travel to earning rewards, Chase has an entire suite of credit cards that suit different lifestyles where cardholders can earn thousands of bonus points and receive generous offers. 

Chase Bank also offers financing tools to help banking customers reach their financial milestones. Auto financing helps lock in your interest rate and monthly car payment before you visit the dealership, and if you’re looking to buy a home Chase can walk you through each step of the home lending process. Plus, depending on how you like to invest, you can invest on your own using J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing or utilize its team of personal advisors to create a financial plan expressly made for your goals.

One of the key differentiators between PNC and its competitors is the PNC Virtual Wallet®, which has excellent tools to help you manage your money and plan ahead of expenses.

The Virtual Wallet is banking with a philosophy: Spend, Reserve and Growth.

Spend is a checking account for your day-to-day expenses. Reserve is also a checking account, and you can use it to create short-term spending goals and fund them over time. Growth is for long-term savings.

While fees and rates vary according to which of the three Virtual Wallet® levels you choose — Virtual Wallet, Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend or Virtual Wallet with Performance Select — all levels provide a dashboard where you can access your accounts and tools. For example, you can enter bill payments into a calendar and let your Virtual Wallet keep track of how much cash you have available for spending. All Virtual Wallet accounts have a Low Cash Mode that warns you when your balance is low.

Bringing checking and savings together with efficient money management tools helps you better control spending and save toward your financial — and life — goals. It’s not every day that a bank takes interest in helping you learn how to use your money better, but that gives PNC an advantage. For added convenience, the PNC Virtual Wallet connects to popular apps like PayPal and Venmo while being Zelle compatible. 

U.S. Bank beats out its big four competitors, including Chase Bank and Bank of America, with exemplary customer service that includes a 24/7 phone number and a top-rated mobile app, so you’ll never have to wait until morning or the next business day to get help. Support is also available via the app, including video demos of banking features and live guidance with Cobrowse, which lets you share your screen with a customer service or technical rep who can guide you step-by-step through resolving your issue.

U.S. Bank also impressed the GOBankingRates team as a one-stop shop for consumers and businesses who need a full suite of banking services. 

Products like U.S. Bank’s Smartly Checking account stand out for low fees, which are easily waived, and the potential to earn Smart Rewards. The rewards program can help eliminate out-of-network ATM fees and increase your interest rate for your linked savings account. A variety of certificates of deposit, plus savings and money market accounts, give consumers lots of options to save. 

Nearly anywhere you are in the U.S., you’re likely to find a Wells Fargo nearby, with nearly 5,000 branches in all but 14 states and a network of 83,000 ATMs. This makes banking at Wells Fargo easy and convenient, while the mobile app also puts banking services at your fingertips. You can bank however you want, whenever you want, wherever you happen to be.

As one of the four largest banks in the U.S., with $1.9 trillion in assets, Wells Fargo also stands out for its variety of checking accounts, straightforward savings and other financial products such as CDs and investment services.

Easy online and in-person accessibility and the range of account types and services are why GOBankingRates recognized Wells Fargo as the best bank for all-around banking. Also, its Premier Checking Account was ranked by GOBankingRates as one of the best for 2024. 

If you want to fill all your banking and investment needs under one roof, with the security of one of America’s top banks, Wells Fargo could meet your needs.