2016-02-25

Chase Bank is one of the largest U.S. banks with 15,500 ATMs and 5,300 branches nationwide.


Their list of products is comprehensive and includes everything from credit cards, auto loans, mortagages, savings and CDs, to personal and business checking accounts.

I’ve been banking with Chase for over a decade now and have both business and personal checking accounts with them.

In this article, I’ll review all of the Personal Checking options from Chase, along with my favorite features and benefits.

Chase Personal Checking Accounts Compared

I personally have a Chase Premier Plus CheckingSM account, but the most popular account option is the Chase Total Checking®. Both account options provide all the main benefits most consumers are looking for, but I picked the Chase Premier Plus CheckingSM  just for the few extra perks. Luckily, both of these options also currently have sign-up bonus offers as well.

The monthly fee can be waived on all of the personal checking account options below:

Chase
Total
Checking®

Chase
Premier Plus
Checking(SM)

Chase
Premier Platinum
Checking(SM)

Chase High School
Checking(SM)
or
Chase College
Checking(SM)

BONUS OFFER?

Chase Total Checking® $150 Coupon

Chase Premier Plus CheckingSM $300 Coupon

N/A

N/A

Access to 15,500 Chase ATMs & 5,300 branches

YES

YES

YES

YES

Chase Online(SM) Banking and Online Bill Pay

YES

YES

YES

YES

Chase Mobile® Banking

YES

YES

YES

YES

Chase Debit Card with chip technology

YES

YES

YES

YES

No Chase fee at non-Chase ATMs

YES(4 times per statement period)

YES(unlimited)

Earns interest

YES

YES

NO FEE for checks

YES(Chase design checks)

YES(Personal design checks)

NO FEE for money orders and cashier's checks

YES

YES

No Monthly Service Fee on any linked personal Chase savings account(s) and relationship interest rates

YES

YES

Two additional linked Chase Premier Plus Checking accounts with no Monthly Service Fee

YES

Nine additional linked Chase Premier Platinum Checking accounts with no Monthly Service Fee

YES

NO FEE for Overdraft Protection Transfers or Stop Payments

YES

NO FEE for Incoming Wire Transfers

YES

NO FEE for Insufficient Funds or Returned Items if you have 4 or fewer occurrences in previous 12 months

YES

24/7 Priority Telephone Service line where you'll always reach a live representative and priority service

YES

Minimum deposit to open

$25

$25

$100

$25

Monthly Service Fee

$12 or $0

$25 or $0

$25 or $0

$6 or $0

No Monthly Service Fee with:
Direct deposits totaling $500 or more made to this account
OR a $1,500 minimum daily balance
OR an average daily balance of $5,000 or more in qualifying linked deposits/ investments

No Monthly Service Fee with:
An average daily balance of $15,000 or more in qualifying linked
deposits/
investments
OR with automatic payments to your qualifying linked Chase first mortgage from your Chase account

No Monthly Service Fee with:
An average daily balance of $75,000 or more in qualifying linked
deposits/
investments

No Monthly Service Fee with:
Chase High School Checking(SM): with qualifying linked parent/guardian checking
account
Chase College Checking: Enrollment in college for up to five years
OR monthly direct deposit

Best Chase Checking Features

Here are some of my favorite features of the Chase Checking accounts. All of the big banks will provide their own variation of these benefits, but I like Chase Bank’s implementation and never had a reason to change banks.

ONLINE BANKING

You can do just about everything online from the comfort of your home computer, including transferring funds, paying bills, wiring money, setting up ACH payments, and making person to person payments with QuickpaySM.

I have business and personal checking accounts with Chase, along with a savings account as well. Transferring funds between the 3 online is fast and convenient.



One of my favorite online features is using Chase QuickpaySM. This is Chase Bank’s person to person payments solution. I no longer have to worry about getting cash or mailing out checks when paying friends back after splitting up vacation costs.

With Chase QuickpaySM, the recipient doesn’t have to be a Chase Bank account holder, and all I need is their email address to send them money. Plus, it’s free!



Another convenient feature is paying bills to companies that require paper checks still. I hate writing checks and do so only when absolutely necessary. I haven’t had to re-order checks in a VERY long time.

Of course Online Bill Pay with Chase is also free.

I just set up the payee info online, and a paper check gets sent straight from Chase within 5 business days.

MOBILE BANKING

Ah, how the times have changed. While I’d rather handle most activities on my computer, the Chase Mobile® App let’s you do a lot of the same things. It’s available for both Apple and Android phones.

But, the most awesome feature of all for me is the ability to Deposit Checks using my phone! I used to pile up checks for my business and only head to the bank about once a month or so. Now, every time a check comes in, I just whip out my phone to deposit.

I get to deposit $10,000 a day, or $25,000 within a 30-day period using the app. This limitation is based on how much you’ve deposited via the mobile app within the past 30 days. I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue with that constraint, but I thought I’d share for those who might.

You simply plug in the info, take a photo of the front and back of the check, and submit the deposit. I’ve never had an issue, but always keep your checks around for at least 2 weeks just in case something goes wrong.

And there you have it. Those are my favorite Chase Checking features that I thought should be highlighted.

If you’re interesting in signing up for a new Chase Checking account, be sure to take advantage of the bonus cash sign-up offers here.

New Chase Bank Bonus Offers

Take a look at these cash bonus offers from Chase Bank:

For all the current promotions from Chase Bank, go to this article. Other bank promotions here.

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