Largest U.S. Bank in 2024

Review of the largest U.S. bank in 2024. Biggest USA bank: service fees, interest rates, checking, savings accounts, CDs.

Chase - The Largest National Bank in U.S.

With over $2 trillion in assets, Chase Bank is the largest bank in the U.S in 2024. But does that mean this is the bank you should be with? If you need access to an ATM anywhere in the country, maybe it is. If you only need basic bank services, the extraordinary fees Chase charges can be avoided at most smaller banks.

Chase became the largest bank in U.S. by merging many smaller banks together. In fact, when all of the mergers are counted, 1,200 various financial institutions have been combined to form Chase. In 2008, Chase acquired troubled Washington Mutual and became the biggest bank in the country.

Chase Services

The services offered by Chase stretch completely across the financial spectrum. Everything from hedge funds to the common checking account. No way can a short review address all of these services. This review focuses on the common checking and savings account. One thing Chase does is vary services and fees across different regions of the country. What is available at one location is not necessarily available somewhere else.

Chase Checking Accounts Review

The Chase Basic checking account is charged a $12 monthly fee unless one of the following conditions is met:

$1,500 minimum daily balance is maintained.
Minimum $800 monthly direct deposit.
Minimum $5,000 daily deposits in other qualified accounts.
You pay $25 in other checking related fees.

Here's the catch, the $12 monthly fee is a falsehood. Unless you pay $25 in related fees, it's the $25 fee that applies to your basic checking account. Going with a smaller community bank, credit union, or one of the popular completely free checking accounts almost always avoids a checking account fee. Also note, the $1,500 minimum deposit is the daily average, not the monthly average. If your account falls below the minimum for even a few hours during the month, you'll be charged the $25 monthly fee.

The only advantage to a big bank like Chase is the availability of ATMs on a national level. You can access these 19,000 ATMs almost anywhere in the country. There are also 5,600 branches across the country. Therefore, if you need access to funds at several different places, Chase could be the bank for you.

The Chase Premium checking account has a $25 monthly fee unless a $15,000 daily balance is maintained. Chase does pay interest on this balance but with interest rates starting at 0.10%, it isn't worth it. For higher interest rates try Discover online savings account with a 0.95% APY rate.

Chase Savings Accounts Review

That brings us to Chase savings accounts. Again, a monthly $5 fee applies to the Basic savings account unless you authorize Chase to automatically transfer funds from your checking account to your savings account on a monthly basis. The same 0.10% interest rate makes the monthly fee ridiculous. You can also avoid the service fee by maintaining a $300 daily minimum in the account.

Additionally, Chase charges a $5 fee when you make more than six withdrawals from your savings account each month.

The Premium savings account does offer slightly better interest rates based on the size of the daily minimum. It starts with a daily deposit requirement of $15,000 to open the account. If it falls below that level, a $20 monthly service fee applies. At $15,000, you earn the same 1/10th of one percent interest as the basic savings account. Once your daily balance is above $25,000 the interest rate jumps all the way to 0.15%. Even with a $5 million daily balance, the interest rate is still a meager 0.15%. If you are looking for higher rates, the best deals are available in online accounts, such as Capital One 360 savings or Discover bank savings (0.95% APY).

Other Chase Products

Generally, Chase CD interest rates are in line with the saving account rates. Interest rates do fluctuate but federal economic policies are going to keep them incredibly low for the foreseeable future.

Other consumer related services offered by Chase include:

Debit and credit cards - some fees apply.
Home, auto, and student loans.
Equity loans.
Financial and retirement planning.
Online and mobile banking.
Commercial and business banking.

The Largest Bank in U.S. Review Summary

In a nutshell, Chase is more about collecting fees and making profits than it is about serving the average consumer. Credit unions don't have shareholders demanding ever higher profits the way Chase does. Unless you have a real need for a relationship with a large national bank, you'll almost always do better and avoid ridiculous fees by going with a local bank or credit union or an online bank for your financial needs. In general, local banks offer the same services for free. They just don't have as many ATM machines.