Chase Bank is the largest bank in the US, making it one of the most financially secure institutions in the country. It serves over half of all American households with a variety of financial products including personal banking, credit cards and more.
Chase is one of the Big Four banks and has millions of customers. There are multiple checking and savings accounts to compare, most of which you can link together for easier management or overdraft protection. Chase also offers specialty accounts for kids and teenagers. With one of the largest branch networks nationwide, it’s an ideal bank for those who deposit cash often or prefer in-person banking. And with JP Morgan, you can manage investments and receive guided investment advice. However, most of Chase’s personal accounts come with monthly service fees, between $4.95 and $35 per month, but Chase offers multiple ways to waive those fees. If you were considering this Big Four bank for high savings APYs, look elsewhere, because Chase tends to have much lower savings rates than average.
Best for: Those who prefer in-person customer service.
In August and September of 2024, Chase made headlines, but it wasn’t due to the bank’s own actions.
In a trend spread via social media, Chase Bank customers were allegedly reporting an “unlimited money glitch.” They cashed large checks at Chase ATMs and branches for amounts they did not have, then withdrew the cash before the check bounced.
In a nutshell, this is a form of check fraud called check kiting. The consequences for check fraud vary by state, but being found guilty could result in jail time and hefty fines. Chase is actively reviewing these “thousands” of incidents, freezing accounts and, in a more recent development, informing law enforcement, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Chase has been around since 1955, giving it years to refine its products and services. It is estimated to have over $3.5 trillion in assets, making it the largest bank by assets in the US. With that in mind, your expectations for Chase are probably high, and rightfully so.
Chase is worth considering if you’re seeking a variety of banking products, personal or business, from a trusted, long-standing institution. It also has a major footprint across the US, with more branches than any other bank in the states. If in-person support is important, you won’t find another bank with as large a physical presence as Chase.
This Big Four bank has nearly 5,000 branches and around 16,000 ATMs nationwide. It serves over half of all American households with a variety of financial products, including personal banking, credit cards, investments, CDs and more.
Chase serves millions of customers, supports Zelle and offers tons of personal and business accounts, lending products, investment planning and even specialty bank accounts for kids, teens and students.
It’s not all roses with Chase.
Chase offers seven personal checking accounts, including banking options for kids. Most accounts come with a monthly fee, except the kid-centered ones, but Chase typically provides at least two ways to waive it.
Chase offers two savings accounts:
Overall, Chase’s savings accounts are tough to recommend due to the monthly fees and very poor APYs. The average rate for a savings account is 0.46%, so the 0.01% to 0.02% APYs offered are significantly lower than average.
Like its savings accounts, Chase’s CDs don’t have the best rates we’ve seen. The majority of the fixed-rate CD terms only offer 0.01% APY, and all require an opening deposit of at least $1,000. Rates can vary by zip code, but we tried multiple zips and kept seeing the 0.01% APY on most CDs.
A few of the CDs offer higher rates through Chase’s relationship rates, with specialty relationship CDs providing APYs often around 4%.
Chase offers a ton of other products, including loans and wealth management advice. It acquired JP Morgan in 2000 and uses the name Chase for its banking products and JP Morgan for investments.
We will callout that Chase has a major gap in its offerings: it doesn’t offer personal loans. Most major banks and credit unions offer personal loans for various purposes, such as home improvement or debt consolidation, but it’s simply not something you can get with this bank.
See how Chase’s many banking products stack up against each other.
Holding the highest Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating of A+, Chase makes a marked effort to resolve customer complaints. In the last few years, there have been over 4,000 customer complaints, with the majority involving typical banking grievances. Many are unique circumstances with loans, but quite a few customers claim their accounts were closed without notice, problems revolving around fraudulent charges and poor customer service.
On Trustpilot, the sentiment is much the same. Most customer reviews are negative, citing poor customer service, long deposit hold times, getting the runaround after disputing unauthorized charges and difficult experiences with the claims department.
On Reddit, customer experiences are mixed. Some customers praise Chase for offering modern banking options, a decent mobile app and the ability to do most banking tasks online. Other customers say they’ve found more competitive personal accounts at smaller institutions, while many more report that they’ve been with Chase for years with no issues. While numerous complaints say the Chase fraudulent department isn’t so great, quite a few Redditors claim the fraud department for credit cards is quick to respond.
| BBB accredited | No |
|---|---|
| BBB rating | A+ |
| BBB customer reviews | 1.1 out of 5 stars, based on 242 customer reviews |
| Trustpilot score | 1.3 out of 5 stars, based on 1,922 customer reviews |
| Apple App Store Score | 4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 5,800,000 customer reviews |
| Google Play Score | 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 1,810,000 customer reviews |
| Customer reviews verified as of | 14 October 2024 |
Many people in the US agree Chase is a good bank. As the largest bank by asset size, millions of Americans trust Chase. On top of that, Chase’s products are top-of-the-line, offering a highly rated mobile app to manage your Chase accounts digitally, along with various wealth management resources, lending services and some of the best credit cards on the market.
Yes, Chase accounts are compatible with the peer-to-peer payment system Zelle. Zelle is owned by Early Warning Services, which is actually owned by Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase and other top banks.
No, Chase does not offer personal loans — see alternatives here.
Both are Big Four banks, but Wells Fargo has significantly worse customer ratings and reviews compared to Chase.
Wells Fargo has also had very serious run-ins with regulators. In the last few years alone, it was required to pay over $3.7 billion in civil penalties and damages to its customers for widespread violations and mismanagement.
Wells Fargo has significantly higher savings rates than Chase, but Chase and Wells Fargo aren’t your only options for savings accounts.
A checking account with minimal fees but has an unavoidable monthly service charge.
Chase High School Checking has some decent perks, but you can’t open it online.
Chase First Banking is a solid first bank account for a kid, but it’s lacking basic features.
TD Bank’s high APYs stack well against Chase’s larger presence and ATM network.
Compare rates, fees and access among these two Big Four.
This well-known bank has a myriad of products, but its Premier Savings account isn’t competitive.
Chase CDs let you pick from a number of terms, but you may end up sacrificing interest.
Chase College Checking offers no monthly service fees for enrolled college students for up to five years, but there may be other free accounts worth considering.
The Chase Savings account is a simple savings account that helps you reach your short- and long-term financial goals. It offers the benefits and security of banking with Chase for a low monthly fee that is easily avoidable.
A no-frills checking account with all of the benefits of banking with Chase. Plus, there’s a $300 signup bonus if you set up direct deposit.