Checking Account Fees Are Creeping Back in 2026

Analysis — Checking accounts at the biggest U.S. banks still carry monthly maintenance fees of $12 to $15 and overdraft fees up to $35 in 2026 — but almost every fee is avoidable if you know the published waiver rules. This article now relies on the banks' own current fee schedules, linked below, rather than unsourced reports of new hikes. An earlier version of this page reported fee changes we could not verify; those claims have been corrected.

Bank of America Advantage Plus: $12 a month, three ways to waive it

According to Bank of America's own Advantage Plus Banking Clarity Statement (current as of 08/2026), the monthly maintenance fee is $12 — not the $14 figure we previously published. The fee is waived with any one of: a qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more, a minimum daily balance of $1,500, or Preferred Rewards at the Preferred Plus tier or higher. BofA's overdraft item fee is $10 (maximum two per day, none for items of $1 or less), and non-BofA ATM withdrawals cost $2.50 in the U.S.

Wells Fargo Everyday Checking: $15 a month, and a $35 overdraft fee that never went away

Our earlier claim that Wells Fargo "reintroduced" a $35 overdraft fee was wrong: the fee was never suspended. The bank's current Everyday Checking fee summary lists a $15 monthly service fee, waivable with $500 or more in qualifying electronic deposits, a $1,500 minimum daily balance, $5,000 in qualifying balances, or if the primary owner is 17–24. The overdraft fee is $35 per item (no fee on items of $10 or less, maximum three per business day), and the overdraft services page confirms no fees for declined or returned transactions. Non-Wells Fargo ATM withdrawals cost $3 in the U.S. Wells Fargo's no-overdraft-fee alternative, Clear Access Banking, costs $5 a month.

Chase Total Checking: $12 a month, $34 overdrafts, $3 non-Chase ATMs

Chase's official Total Checking fee page lists a $12 monthly service fee, waived with $500 or more in qualifying electronic deposits, a $1,500 beginning-of-day balance, or $5,000 across linked Chase accounts. The overdraft fee is $34 per transaction (maximum three per business day), with Chase Overdraft Assist waiving fees when the account is overdrawn by $50 or less. The non-Chase ATM fee is $3 in the U.S. — not $3.50 as we previously wrote — and $5 outside the U.S.

Comparing the big three, from their own fee schedules

What this means for your budget

The practical takeaway is unchanged even after the corrections: a monthly maintenance fee you fail to waive costs $144–$180 a year, more than many households spend on overdrafts. The single highest-value move is matching your account to your actual cash flow — if you reliably have direct deposit, the fee should be $0 at any of these banks. If you can't reliably meet waiver rules, online banks and credit unions with no monthly fee are the cheaper default. Track what you actually pay in bank fees for one month — our guide to choosing a budgeting app explains what to look for, and the glossary decodes the fee-disclosure jargon.

How we verify fee claims

Fee schedules change, and third-party roundups (including ours) lag behind them. Every figure in this article links to the bank's own published schedule with its "current as of" date. If a bank changes a fee after that date, its own page is the authority — tell us via the corrections log and we will update.