Best Bank Account at Bank of America: A Checking Account With Perks and a $300 Sign-Up Bonus
Written by
Daria Uhlig
Edited by
Lindsey Kloosterman
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Bank of America, Member FDIC, is a full-service financial institution and America’s second-largest commercial bank. One benefit of banking with a major institution is the range of banking products and services available to you. GOBankingRates has identified one Bank of America account in particular as being the best one to open right now.
Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking® Overview
Bank of America Advantage Banking is a checking account with three checking types to choose from, each of which has its own features and perks. The most basic is SafeBalance®, which is a checkless option. At the other end is Advantage Relationship, for customers who maintain a high balance. Advantage Plus strikes a balance between the two, offering a robust set of features, including low checking fees and ways to waive the monthly fee. That flexibility earned Advantage Plus GOBankingRates’ recommendation as the best Bank of America account to open right now.
Advantage Plus Fees
The Advantage Plus checking account has a $12 monthly service fee, but Bank of America gives you several ways to have it waived. Just have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more or maintain a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more in a statement period to eliminate the fee for that period.
Bank of America defines a qualifying direct deposit as regular monthly income, such as your salary, pension or Social Security benefits, made by your employer or other payer using account and routing numbers that you provide to them.
Bank of America has a few other fees that can’t be waived. Some are for optional banking services, and the others usually can be avoided.
- ATM fee: $2.50 per transaction at non-Bank of America ATM, plus fees charged by ATM operator; $5 per transaction outside of the U.S., plus ATM operator’s fees
- Overdraft fee: $10 per item, up to $20 per day
- Foreign transaction fee: 3% for converted ATM cash withdrawal
- Paper statements: $5 each
- Non-Bank of America teller withdrawal fee: $5 or 3% of transaction, whichever is greater, up to $10 maximum
- Stop payment fee: $30 per request
- Cashier’s check: $15
- Wire transfer fees: $15 incoming domestic or foreign; $30 outgoing domestic; $45 outgoing foreign in U.S. currency
Advantage Plus Perks
Advantage Plus comes with a number of account perks, some of which apply to all Advantage Banking products and some that are exclusive to Advantage Plus.
Change Your Checking Account Type
One of the most unique perks Advantage Banking products offer is the ability to change your checking account type if your situation changes. That means you can start out with Advantage Plus, and later, switch to the more basic SafeBalance or upgrade to Advantage Relationship without having to close your current account or go through the steps involved in opening a new one.
Overdraft Protection
If you occasionally overdraw your checking account, the Balance Connect feature you get with an Advantage Plus account could save you money. This perk lets you connect up to five eligible backup accounts. If you overdraw your Advantage Plus account, Bank of America will transfer funds from a backup account to cover the transaction, without charging you transfer fees. And unlike the typical checking account that only allows you to link other deposit accounts, Advantage Banking lets you connect credit cards and/or a home equity line of credit.
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Access to Preferred Rewards
While you can earn more perks if you change your account type from Advantage Plus to Advantage Relationship, you’d need a $20,000 balance in the Advantage Relationship account to waive the $25 monthly fee. With Preferred Rewards, you reap extra benefits from your Advantage Plus account by maintaining at least $20,000 in combined balances across all your eligible Bank of America bank accounts and Merrill investment accounts.
Preferred Rewards benefits include a 5% interest-rate boost on your Bank of America Advantage Savings account, fee waivers on monthly maintenance fees, fee waivers on select banking services, 25% rewards bonuses on eligible Bank of America credit cards, and discounts on mortgage, home equity and auto loans, as well as a Merrill Guided Investing program fee discount.
Mobile Banking
The Bank of America Mobile Banking app lets you deposit checks, transfer money, pay bills, manage your digital wallets and check your credit. The app also has a budgeting tool and customized cash-back deals and rewards. When you need assistance, Erica, the Bank of America virtual financial assistant, can point you in the right direction.
The app provides advanced security features such as Touch ID or Face ID sign-in, account alerts and debit card lock and replacement. In addition, it shows you how taking measures such as a strong password and login enhancement increases the security of your bank accounts.
Accessing Cash
With thousands of branches and ATMs to choose from, you have easy access to your Advantage Plus account.
In addition to banking in-branch or at an ATM, you have the option to buy paper checks — but you might not need to thanks to bill pay, which is available through online and mobile banking. You can also send (and receive) money with Zelle and schedule automatic transfers from Advantage Plus into another account.
Interest Rate
The Advantage Plus account doesn’t earn interest. For that, you’d have to upgrade to the Advantage Relationship account type, which earns an annual percentage yield of just on balances under $50,000 and on balances of $50,000 or more — not enough to offset account fees unless you maintain a checking balance of $20,000 or more for at least nine statement periods in a given year.
Promotions and Bonuses
Bank of America often runs specials for new banking and credit card customers. Among the current promotions and bonuses is a $300 checking bonus. If you’re a new Bank of America personal checking account customer — meaning you haven’t owned or co-owned a Bank of America personal checking account within the past 12 months — you could earn $300 for opening an eligible account through Jan. 31, 2025.
To get the bonus, open your account online using offer code LHR300CIS. Then set up and receive at least $2,000 in qualifying direct deposits into the account within the first 90 days of account opening. Qualifying direct deposits include regular monthly income payments, such as your salary, pension or Social Security benefits, made by your employer or other payer using account and routing numbers that you provide to them.
How To Open a Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking Account
Although you can open an account in person at a Bank of America branch location, opening it online makes you eligible for the $300 bonus.
First, collect the information you’ll need to apply: name, birthdate, contact information and Social Security number, plus a payment method for your $100 minimum opening deposit. Then navigate to the offer page and select the Advantage Plus account. Follow the prompts on the application page. Offer code LHR300CIS will be filled in for you.
FAQ
Still have questions about the Bank of America Advantage Plus checking account? Chances are, you'll find the answer below.- What do you need to open a bank account at Bank of America?
- To open an account, you'll need your name, birthdate, contact information and Social Security number, plus a payment method for the opening deposit.
- Can I open a Bank of America account online?
- Yes. Bank of America's homepage has links to personal checking and savings accounts
- Do I need an appointment to open an account at Bank of America?
- No. You can meet with an associate without an appointment. However, scheduling your visit in advance saves you waiting time and lets the associate prepare for your visit. You can schedule the appointment online, without speaking to an associate.
- Is Bank of America a good bank?
- Yes. Bank of America is the nation's second-largest bank. In addition to having a full suite of banking, loan and investment products, Bank of America has high credit ratings from agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's.
More Bank Accounts
Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Oct. 1, 2024.
To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors across all accounts (checking and savings) from each bank (excluding relationship accounts): (1) minimum deposit to open an account; (2) monthly checking fee ratio (percent of the minimum to avoid fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (3) minimum needed to earn interest; (4) APY on the account; (5) overdraft fee amount; and (6) any associated perks advertised with the account. All factors were scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. In final calculations, factor (1) was weighted 0.5x, factor (2) was weighted 2x, and factor (6) was weighted 1.5x, with any cash bonus offer counting as a double perk. Search volume for each account was also taken into consideration. Rates, terms and bonus offers can change from the date of publication.
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.
