Is Bank of America a good bank to use?

Bank of America is a good banking option if you want access to a full suite of banking and investment products and services from one financial institution. It is ranked as one of the Best National Banks for 2024 by GOBankingRates.

What are two pros and cons of Bank of America?

Two primary pros of Bank of America are its wide range of products and services — from deposit accounts to loans to credit cards — and wide access to its physical locations and award-winning digital banking platform. As for cons, Bank of America doesn't have high-yield savings account offerings. Also, checking and savings accounts come with monthly maintenance fees if you can't meet minimum requirements, unlike the fee-free, high-yield offerings of some banks.

Which bank is better: Bank of America or Wells Fargo?

Wells Fargo has higher APYs on its savings accounts and CDs, giving it the edge in that regard. But Bank of America only has a $10 overdraft fee on checking compared to Wells Fargo's $35 fee. Do your research to ensure the bank you choose fits all your banking needs.

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Bank of America Review: One-Stop, Full-Service Relationship Banking

Name: Bank of America Review: One-Stop, Full-Service Relationship Banking
Item: Bank of America
Rating: 4.6

September 20, 2024

8 min Read

Written by Andrea Norris

Edited by Melanie Grafil

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GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

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GOBankingRates Score

Bank of America

4.6

SCORE

Quick Take: Bank of America, Member FDIC, offers everything from checking and savings accounts to a full roster of investment and loan options, including credit cards. Customers who utilize its many services may be eligible for significant perks through the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. It's best for those looking for one financial institution to accommodate most or all of their banking and investing needs.

Checking Account

4.7
Savings Account

4.3
CD Accounts

4.6
Banking Experience

4.8

How did we calculate this?

Pros

Wide variety of accounts and services to cover most banking and investing needs
Generous rewards program for eligible customers
Highly rated mobile app
Vast network of branches and ATMs

Cons

No high-yield savings account offerings
Steep eligibility requirements for Preferred Rewards membership

Bank of America Overview

If you like to do all of your banking through one financial institution, Bank of America has you covered with its deposit accounts, loans, credit cards and investment services. And you probably won’t have to look too far if you need a Bank of America teller or in-branch representative. Bank of America, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, has thousands of ATMs and financial centers. Bank of America also offers extensive digital banking options that serve around 58 million verified users.

In addition to its many product and service offerings, Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program provides members with attractive perks like loan APR discounts, APY boosts on savings and ATM fee rebates.

With its wide range of products and services and easy accessibility, Bank of America is ranked as one of GOBankingRates’ Best National Banks of 2024.

Bank of America Review

The following provides some of the benefits and drawbacks of Bank of America’s primary banking products.

Bank of America Checking Account

Bank of America offers three tiers of its Advantage Banking account, each with different balance requirements and fees. However, Advantage Banking may best be suited for those with a significant checking account balance or first-time checking account holders.

Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking^® is an interest-bearing account intended for those with a minimum account balance of $20,000 or a Bank of America Preferred Rewards membership. Otherwise, you’ll incur a $25 monthly maintenance fee.

Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking^® is an affordable digital banking option if you need a starter account. This account meets the Bank On National Account Standards for account affordability and safety and is similar to some of the low-fee or no-cost options you can find with many online banks. You can avoid the account’s monthly $4.95 maintenance fee if you’re under 25, maintain the account’s minimum $500 daily balance or are Preferred Rewards program member. The account has no overdraft fees and doesn’t allow paper checks.

Bank of America Savings Account

Bank of America offers a single primary savings account, Advantage Savings. It is not a high-yield account; the annual percentage yield ranges from to based on your Bank of America banking relationship. However, Preferred Rewards members receive an interest rate booster of 5% to 20%, depending on the rewards tier. If you don’t qualify for Preferred Rewards membership, a high-yield account at another financial institution might better suit your savings needs.

You can avoid the account’s $8 monthly fee if you’re under 25 years old or meet any of the following account requirements:

Maintain a minimum daily balance of at least $500
Have a linked Advantage checking account
Become a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member

Bank of America CD Accounts

Bank of America offers Featured, Fixed Term and Flexible CDs. Depending on the type of CD, term and balance, APYs range from to , comparable to the APYs of many other banks. Compare CDs carefully to find a high-yield option and a term length that matches your savings goal.

A Bank of America Flexible CD is ideal if you’re concerned about early withdrawal penalties. The 12-month CD term doesn’t charge a penalty on withdrawals past the first six days of account opening, which is a plus in case you do need to access those funds quickly.

Bank of America Banking Experience

Because of its breadth of products and services and thousands of locations, Bank of America can likely meet your every financial need, making it a convenient, one-stop shop for all of your financial accounts. Bank of America also has an award-winning digital banking platform and a highly rated mobile app. It’s the No. 10 finance app on Apple’s App Store with a 4.8 out of 5-star rating. On Google Play, it has a 4.6-star rating and more than 10 million downloads.

If you require customer service, you can contact a Bank of America representative by phone, chat or email. However, you can also schedule an appointment to visit one of its branch locations if you prefer in-person customer service, allowing you to get help when and how it’s most convenient.

Comparable National Bank Options

Here’s a look at a few Bank of America competitors that also ranked in GOBankingRates’ Best National Banks of 2024.

Capital One

Like Bank of America, Capital One provides deposit accounts and credit cards, but loan options are limited to auto loans. Capital One has high-yield APYs on 360 Performance Savings and 360 CDs. You can open any deposit account without the worry of minimum account requirements or monthly maintenance fees.

Citi^®

Citi offers a full suite of banking and investing services and products, making it another good option for anyone seeking a single financial institution that can meet almost any banking need. Like Bank of America, Citi provides member benefits such as higher APYs and loan APR discounts to those who qualify for a Citi relationship tier.

Final Take

For anyone needing a financial institution that provides banking products, loans and credit cards, Bank of America is a good option. It is typically best for someone opening their first basic checking account or with a high net worth who would like to integrate banking with wealth management. Its large branch network and robust digital presence cover the needs of nearly any type of customer. Best of all, the bank rewards customers with relationship rates for using multiple Bank of America products.

Bank of America FAQ

Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about Bank of America.

Is Bank of America a good bank to use?
- Bank of America is a good banking option if you want access to a full suite of banking and investment products and services from one financial institution. It is ranked as one of the Best National Banks for 2024 by GOBankingRates.
What are two pros and cons of Bank of America?
- Two primary pros of Bank of America are its wide range of products and services — from deposit accounts to loans to credit cards — and wide access to its physical locations and award-winning digital banking platform.
- As for cons, Bank of America doesn't have high-yield savings account offerings. Also, checking and savings accounts come with monthly maintenance fees if you can't meet minimum requirements, unlike the fee-free, high-yield offerings of some banks.
Which bank is better: Bank of America or Wells Fargo?
- Wells Fargo has higher APYs on its savings accounts and CDs, giving it the edge in that regard. But Bank of America only has a $10 overdraft fee on checking compared to Wells Fargo's $35 fee. Do your research to ensure the bank you choose fits all your banking needs.

Compare to Other Banks

Cynthia Bowman and Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Aug. 8, 2024.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

To discover the Best National Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top national institutions (excluding online banks and neobanks) that have branches in 25-plus states and/or over $400 billion in total assets. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) checking product minimum deposit; (3) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) savings product minimum deposit; (5) savings product APY; (6) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (7) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (8) the average mobile app rating between the Google Play (Android) and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1), (2) and (4) were weighted 0.5 times; factor (5) was weighted 2.5 times; and factor (7) was weighted 1.5 times.