Should You Open a Bank Account That Charges a Monthly Maintenance Fee if You Qualify for a Waiver?

If you are thinking about opening a bank account that charges a monthly maintenance fee, you need to be aware of the impact on your finances.

Now, many of these fees are structured so you can avoid them if you meet specific requirements, like directly depositing a set amount of money each month or maintaining a certain minimum balance. So, if the bank allows you to waive the fee and you can meet its qualifying requirements to avoid it, should you go ahead with opening the account? It might not be the best idea, for the reasons discussed below.

Fee waiver rules could change

One big reason you may not want to choose an account with a fee -- even if you can likely get it waived -- is that the rules could change. Say, for example, your bank starts out requiring you to maintain a $500 average daily balance in your checking account, but after a few years, it switches this requirement to a $1,500 average daily balance.

Sure, you could switch banks at that time -- but doing so can be a lot of hassle. If you instead opened your account with a bank that doesn't charge fees at all, you'd be less likely to face this problem and be forced to move your money elsewhere.

You may not always be able to meet the requirements

There could be another potential problem with trying to waive a bank fee. Your situation could change, leaving you unable to meet the requirements.

Say, for example, you get your fee waived because you get two direct deposits a month. But if you switch jobs and start to work for yourself and therefore no longer receive direct deposit paychecks, you'd no longer qualify for the fee waiver. You could switch banks, of course, but again, that can be a pain.

The requirements could limit your financial flexibility

If you have to directly deposit your money to avoid a fee, or keep a certain minimum balance in the account, this can impact your financial choices. For example, you might want to temporarily open a new bank account to get a new customer bonus -- but might not be able to change your direct deposit to qualify for the bonus without getting hit with a fee by your current bank. Or you may want to transfer more money from your bank to your brokerage account, but be charged to do so because you'd be dropping below that minimum balance.

If you don't want to be limited in your choices by your bank's rules, steer clear of accounts that require you to fulfill requirements to avoid a fee.

You can avoid fees 100% by choosing a different bank

The good news is you have plenty of options if you don't want a bank account that requires you to meet certain requirements to avoid a fee.

In fact, most consumers don't end up getting hit with these kinds of bank charges. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, only around 2.3% of customers paid fees for having a low balance in 2021, and you don't want to be one of them.

Instead, consider researching some of the best bank accounts available that don't come with monthly fees -- or even other situational fees like overdraft charges. Online banks often provide great opportunities to get fee-free checking, so look into your options today to see if there's one that's right for you.