Bank of America Review 2025
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At a glance
Overview
Bank of America could be a good fit for consumers who want access to a local branch, plenty of ATMs and a highly rated app. But, like many big banks, it generally offers low savings rates, especially compared with what other financial institutions are paying out.
Highlights:
Highly Rated App Large Branch NetworkHighlights:
CDs
Checking
Savings
Offers featured here have been sponsored which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear. Not all offers are displayed on this page.
These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.1/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Offers featured here have been sponsored which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear. Not all offers are displayed on this page.
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Overall
Bank of America is the second-largest financial institution (based on assets) in the country. It offers a wide variety of products for consumers and small businesses. You’ll find many of the standard pros of a big bank at Bank of America, like a large branch network for in-person services and the ability to keep all your accounts in one place. But you’ll also have to deal with the downsides, especially the fees and low rates (though Bank of America does have a few solid rates on certain certificates of deposit (CD) terms).
Pros
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3,700 branches in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
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About 15,000 fee-free ATMs.
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Highly rated banking app.
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AI-driven virtual assistant Erica makes tracking expenses easier.
Cons
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Costly monthly fees for most accounts.
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Savings and CD yields are generally low.
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Branch network is shrinking.
Bank of America bank products
Savings
Pros
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Bank of America’s Keep the Change program helps to automate your savings by rounding up your purchase when you use a Bank of America debit card.
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Relatively low minimum opening deposit required.
Cons
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High monthly maintenance fee (though it can be waived in several ways).
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Extremely low APY.
The interest rate on the standard savings account at Bank of America is so low as to be almost nonexistent. Plus, it comes with an $8 monthly service fee (though it can be waived). You can find much higher yields at FDIC-insured online banks and avoid monthly service fees, too.
Rate history for Bank of America's Savings account
See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.
CD
Pros
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Good variety of CD terms to choose from.
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Some of the Flexible and Featured CD terms offer solid APYs.
Cons
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Most fixed-rate CDs have a much lower yield than the national average.
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You’ll need at least $1,000 to open a CD at Bank of America.
Most CDs at Bank of America pay low rates but there are a select few that have decent ones. If your needs coincide with the term lengths of the good ones — usually a non-standard term like 7 or 10 months — then you could be in luck. But you’ll still likely find higher rates for similar term lengths elsewhere.
Rate history for Bank of America's CD accounts
See how rates for this account have changed over time. Select the CD term length from the dropdown and interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.
Checking
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Overdraft fees:Good4/5Charges applied when a customer spends more money than is available in their account, resulting in a negative balance.NSF fees:Great5/5Non-sufficient funds fees are incurred when a transaction is attempted without enough money in the account to cover it.APY offering:0.00%0/5APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY includes the effects of compounding interest.ATM network:Great5/5Accessibility to ATMs for account holders within a specific network or financial institution, facilitating cash withdrawals and transactions.
Pros
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$100 opening deposit for the Advantage Plus checking account is reasonable.
Cons
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High monthly maintenance fee of $12, though you can get it waived if you meet requirements.
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The out-of-network ATM fee is $2.50, which is higher than the average.
This account comes with one of the highest maintenance fees of all the checking accounts Bankrate reviews. If you don’t manage to meet the requirements to waive it — like receiving at least $250 in direct deposits or maintaining a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more — you’re out $12 a month. That’s $144 in a year of possible fees.
Not sure you can meet the requirements to waive the monthly fee?
The monthly fee here is high. If there's a chance you can't waive it, you might be better off looking elsewhere. There are plenty of great checking account options, especially at online banks, that don’t come with monthly fees.
How Bank of America compares to other banks
Compare different account types offered by Bank of America. Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown were updated between Nov. 27, 2025 and Dec. 3, 2025.
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Selected bank
Bank of America savings account
Bankrate score
2.8
Bankrate Savings rating = 2.8/5 Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Annual percentage yields (APYs), minimum opening deposit requirements and minimum balances to avoid monthly service fees are some of the things that make up Bankrate’s score. |
Most comparable
Chase Bank savings account
Bankrate score
2.9
Bankrate Savings rating = 2.9/5 Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Annual percentage yields (APYs), minimum opening deposit requirements and minimum balances to avoid monthly service fees are some of the things that make up Bankrate’s score. |
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Bankrate score
Bankrate Savings rating Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Annual percentage yields (APYs), minimum opening deposit requirements and minimum balances to avoid monthly service fees are some of the things that make up Bankrate’s score. |
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APY
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY includes the effects of compounding interest. APYs last updated between Nov. 27, 2025 and Dec. 3, 2025.
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| 0.01% | 0.01% | |
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Minimum balance for APY
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| $0.00 | $0.00 | |
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Estimated earnings
Interest earned calculation based on a $50,000 deposit amount for a period of 1 year and is rounded to the nearest dollar. Exact earnings are dependent on calendar year, balance, and compounding frequency. Minimum deposit rules may apply.
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| $5 | $5 | |
| Bank of America has very low yields on its Bank of America Advantage Savings account. Its APY is well below the savings national average. | The Chase Savings account is the bank’s standard savings account. It offers a yield well below the national average for savings accounts. The Chase Savings account has a $5 monthly maintenance fee. Starting every day with at least $300 or automatically transferring at least $25 per month from your Chase checking account to this savings account are two ways to waive the fee. | |
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N/A
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N/A
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APY offering:
0.01%
1/5
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY includes the effects of compounding interest.
Minimum balance for APY:
$0.00
5/5
The lowest deposit amount an account must have before it can earn interest.
Monthly service fee:
$8.00
5/5
A monthly charge a financial institution deducts from an account if certain requirements are not met.
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$500.00
3/5
The lowest balance an account must maintain in order to avoid a fee.
Access to funds:
Great
5/5
A procedure that allows an individual or organization to access and manage the funds of another account holder.
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APY offering:
0.01%
1/5
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY includes the effects of compounding interest.
Minimum balance for APY:
$0.00
5/5
The lowest deposit amount an account must have before it can earn interest.
Monthly service fee:
$5.00
5/5
A monthly charge a financial institution deducts from an account if certain requirements are not met.
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$300.00
4/5
The lowest balance an account must maintain in order to avoid a fee.
Access to funds:
Great
5/5
A procedure that allows an individual or organization to access and manage the funds of another account holder.
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Bankrate does not currently track additional product details for this bank.
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Bank fees
| Fees | Charged? |
|---|---|
| Overdraft fee | $10 |
| Non-sufficient funds fee | N/A |
| Account maintenance fees | Fees range from $4.95 to $25 |
| Out-of-network ATM fee | $2.50 (domestic), $5.00 (international) |
| Excessive transaction fee | None |
Customer experience
Customer support
Customer service. You can reach customer service members from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET on weekdays. Saturday hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, while on Sunday the phone hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. You can also get customer service help through the bank’s social media accounts, like Instagram and Facebook.
In-person banking. Bank of America offers access to more than 3,600 locations across 38 states and Washington, D.C. and maintains about 15,000 ATMs nationwide.
Mixed customer satisfaction. Bank of America customer satisfaction varies with region, though the bank generally gets below average scores, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study.
Digital experience
Highly rated mobile app. Bank of America’s mobile app receives high marks on both the Apple App and Google Play stores. The app has been reviewed by more than five million users across both platforms. Customers have access to Zelle, a person-to-person payment platform that lets you send and receive money directly from family and friends.
Digital assistant. Bank of America’s app experience includes an extra touch when compared to rivals: financial insights and guidance from Erica, the bank’s virtual assistant. Erica can track your budget and send you bill reminders, for example, so you don’t miss a payment.
The above images were last updated on August 20, 2024.
Complaints
CFPB enforcement action. In July 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that Bank of America had charged duplicative non-sufficient fees arising from the same transaction. From September 2018 until February 2022, Bank of America “generated substantial additional revenue by illegally charging multiple $35 fees,” the CFPB said. Bank of America was ordered to pay more than $100 million in remediation and $150 million in penalties to the CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Bankrate staff insights
“The app lets you set up savings goals for which you can name the goal and a target date,” said a Bankrate staff member with an account. “It shows you a breakdown of your spending. It also shows you a breakdown of your spending by categories like groceries, transportation, entertainment, etc. This helps if you want to pinpoint areas where you might be overspending. I opted not to open a savings account there since I could find much better rates elsewhere.”
Disclosure: To enhance our product reviews, Bankrate employees often open accounts and provide feedback. They may have been compensated for their time and account maintenance, but this does not affect the integrity of their review.
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Review methodology
We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.
