Chase Bank Review
It seems a little unfair to judge a bank as a whole, since it has so many parts that each can (and should) stand on its own. For example, a bank may have a bad reputation when it comes to supporting small businesses, but can be highly rated for their checking accounts.
Having said that, we’re going to do an overall bank review anyway. Today’s focus is on Chase Bank, one of the biggest banks in the United States by assets. Consider these points prior to opening a Chase bank account.
Chase Offers Welcome Bonuses
Remember back when you started a job and you had to open your first bank account? The bank may have been offering a free t-shirt, coffee mug, or an entire BBQ set if you were “lucky”.
It was exciting for me then, but pretty sad looking back today. I didn’t realize banks were the financial behemoths that they are and they want your business bad… really bad. And they’re willing to give you gobbles of money to be a customer.
Chase Bank is no different. If you’re planning to open a checking account, savings account, business account, or any other financial account, you should first check to see if Chase has a bank account opening bonus offer. It’s highly likely they are.
This bank frequently offers welcome bonuses, from $100 for opening a college checking account to $625 for opening an investing account. There aren’t any convoluted requirements either. These bonus offers are legit.
For example, right now you can get $200 for opening Chase Total Checking, a personal checking account. All you need to do is make a direct deposit of any amount and the $200 welcome bonus will be deposited into your new account. That’s it!
So while a bank account opening bonus probably won’t sway whether you need another account or not, it’s a pretty convincing offer to consider. It’s also perfect if you’re running around trying out different banks to see which treats you the best, then a good opening bonus helps to sweeten the process.
The Biggest Upside
Chase is a large national bank and has international name recognition. It isn’t an overnight digital-only operation. This means you can be at ease and know that normal functions will always run without a hitch. You will always find ATMs that accept your bank cards, visit the thousands of brick and mortar bank branches, and speak to customer service representatives.
With Chase, you’ll also find highly-secure mobile banking services, a national money-sending network, and a range of legitimate financial products for your life’s journey.
It seems a little unfair saying that this bank’s biggest upside is that it’s a large national bank, since there are several other financial institutions that would fit this criteria, but the point is that Chase does its job.
The internet seems to focus on the ones that make a mess and ignore the ones that get it right. This is because when people feel ripped off, they often run online to complain to every website that will let them leave feedback (hello Reddit).
However, when a bank does its job correctly, people feel they are entitled to it being done correctly (which is a correct assumption), and so rarely go online to boast about such a bank. Yet, this bank does its job pretty well.
The Biggest Downside
The biggest downside is just like other national banks, if you’re looking for a competitive banking product, you probably won’t find one. That’s because big banks know they have the name cache and don’t need to offer the best to gain customers.
Take savings accounts and money market accounts for example. Chase, along with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and U.S. Bank offer really low interest rates. Currently, we’re talking about yields of around 0.10% to 0.35% APY across the major banks.
That’s pitiful and your savings is definitely not going to grow that much if you leave it in these accounts.
Compare this with popular digital-only banks like Ally Bank and Marcus by Goldman Sachs that offer the highest yields in the industry, currently at 2.50% APY. That’s 25x more than some of the traditional banks.
There are also Fintech platforms like Current.com or T-Mobile Money that offer 4.00% APY. While it’s capped to a certain balance amount, the point remains – you can earn so much more interest with other alternatives.
Conclusion
Everyone needs a national bank because you can quickly access your money from anywhere thanks to their large footprint nationally (and internationally). And if you need to open a new account, now you know there are these crazy bonuses that banks are willing to dole out to gain your business.
But once you have a significant amount of money, look for alternatives that offer the highest savings yield. Make your money work for you because it really makes a huge different in the long-term.
