Is Chase a Good Bank? 5 Reasons It’s My Favorite
Having a good reliable bank is one of the key things you need to do to make your financial life easier. In my book, Young, Dumb, and NOT Broke?! I wrote about how setting up your accounts was one of the three pillars to financial success. One of the problems people constantly express to me is which bank to choose. I’ve banked at a lot of places and have eventually left most of them except a select few. One of those is Chase. Chase has proven to be an important and reliable part of
Is Chase a good bank?
With the combination of a wide array of products, great customer service, and an easy to use phone app, Chase is one of the top banks in the world. They are constantly rolling out new products and ways to save money that benefit you, the consumer. Additionally, innovating and pairing your current products with new rewards and other businesses definitely helps you in the long-run.
Before you jump to the conclusion that I’m just a Chase fanboy, you should know that I’ve banked at more than half a dozen other places and still have accounts at a couple of those. Chase isn’t perfect; no bank is. But they do take certain items that I’ll discuss below to a whole new level that I’ve never seen done before.
If you’re looking for a new bank then take the next five minutes to read why Chase is a good bank to potentially switch to.
Product Offerings
It’s no secret that Chase is a big bank. In fact, it’s the sixth largest in the world. For this
The wide breadth of these products is at the top of the reasons why I think that Chase is a good bank. Now, it would be foolish to believe that just because a company offers a ton of products, they automatically are the best value in the industry. Chase is not exempt from this. Although overall, from the ridiculous (almost embarrassing) amount of research I’ve done, they rank in the top percentile.
If it involves money and banking, you can get it through Chase. Some examples are:
- Online checking and saving accounts
- Investment accounts
- Credit cards
- Mortgages
- Auto loans, home equity lines of credit, and general loans
- Automatic bill pay to entities outside Chase including individuals
From the list above, I use them all except my mortgage, auto loans, and other general loans. This was done because of a personal preference of wanting to work with someone local that I could negotiate with. Since I’m now more familiar with the mortgage process, I’ll consider doing this through Chase in the future.
If you’ve read any of my past articles then you probably know my favorite thing on this list is the credit card options. I’m a credit card nerd and my first card was the Chase Freedom.
If you want to learn more about some of their cards then check out two articles I recently posted. The first, Why The Chase Freedom Unlimited Should Be Your First Credit Card, gives you a breakdown for people with little credit history. If you already have a card then consider upgrading to the Sapphire Preferred which you can learn more about by reading, Why The Chase Sapphire Preferred Is the Best Second Credit Card.
Customer Service
No one wants to deal with customer service issues. It’s an annoying process that takes MUCH longer than it should. Usually, you get stuck with a robot that has you pushing numbers trying to navigate a confusing menu only to get to the wrong cache. Why does getting help take 30 minutes but when you finally get to talk to someone they tell you what you need to know in a minute? That’s backward if you ask me.
Chase’s customer service is top notch. I realize it sounds like I’m getting paid to say that but unfortunately I’m not. I really do mean it though. I’ve had certain questions about setting up an automatic bill pay, credit card reward points, and other benefits. Each time I call, I get to the person I need to talk to within 5 minutes and they have an answer for me.
The key part of that sentence is I talk to a person. No robot, no button pushing, but an actual physical person.
Better yet, they match up my phone number with my account so all I have to do is confirm the last four digits of my social security number and I’m verified. This saves me a ton of time because who really remembers the secret questions they set up when registering their account?
Customer service will always be slightly annoying since you’re most likely trying to solve a problem. I can honestly say Chase has made the experience incredibly easy and efficient.
Chase Mobile App
Having a solid mobile app is probably one of the most important things a bank can do today. We as consumers, have dozens of options in where we bank and there’s no faster way to scare away young people than having a bad app.
I feel so strongly about this that I actually left a bank because their app was so terrible. It had no functionality besides checking your account balances. Add in the fact that they tried to charge me a $5 fee per month just to use it and I was out. I walked into one of their branches and told the teller I wanted to close my account immediately and the reaction I got was priceless.
I don’t think any major banks charge for their app anymore and this includes Chase. To demonstrate some of the things you can do from your phone, here is a screenshot of the sidebar:
Every bank app in the world can show you account balances, so what is it that takes Chase to the next level? Well, you can read the sidebar above. Many of these aren’t groundbreaking but some bring simplicity to your life. For example, QuickPay with Zelle (essentially Venmo or Paypal) let’s you send money to an individual instantly even if they aren’t a Chase customer.
One of my favorite items on this list is the mobile check deposit. This has become pretty standard on major banking apps but Chase allows you to just aim your camera and it’ll do the rest. You don’t even have to take the picture as it recognizes when the check is in the frame.
Chase’s mobile app is fast and always changing for the better. Just recently, they added in the capability to check your credit score and get alerts when changes have been made to your credit report.
Nationwide
If you live in the US, especially in a major city, then chances are you have a Chase bank near you. With over 5,100 branches, 16,000 ATMs, and 250,000+ employees Chase’s reach is almost everywhere, almost.
I first started banking with Chase when I lived in Atlanta, Georgia. They had a branch within two blocks of me and I think the next closest was a half mile away. They were honestly about as prevalent as Chik-Fil-A.
Unfortunately for
Some banks offer this 100% of the time which I believe is fantastic. If Chase could adopt this or even an option where they waive 5-10 a year, I think that as a bank, they would be as close to perfect as possible.
I do however take full advantage of their reach when I travel. Most of the time this is done through one of the ATM’s I mentioned above.
Always Innovating
I mentioned this in the beginning but since Chase has the resources they do, they can invest to build new, innovative products. Thinking about the last year, five major changes come to mind and those are just the ones I know about.
Yes, Chase is a huge public company and they need to make money. This means everything they do needs to have a certain return on investment. So while a new product may benefit you, somehow Chase is going to make money off of it also.
Certain products like a credit card or mortgage make money off of you directly. Indirectly though, items like the mobile app and sending you your credit score are just ways to build your loyalty.
No matter the case, I think that they are always doing an above average job to get new products and services into your hands. Ones that will not only save you time but more importantly, money.
Related Questions
Maybe I’ve sparked your interest about switching your bank to Chase. I took the liberty of searching Google to figure out what more people wanted to know. Here are those answers.
1) Does Chase charge for direct deposits?
No, Chase does not charge for direct deposits. In fact, when you set up direct deposit, you’ll get the fee waived on the Chase Total Checking Account. Don’t let the fee for a checking account scare you away either as it is $12 per month. This is the same rates charged by other major banks like Bank of America.
If you keep $1,500 in your account or have direct deposit set up, then this fee is waived.
2) What fees do Chase charge?
Aside from the fee I mentioned above regarding the Chase Total Checking Account, they also have another fee associated with their savings account. This one is only $5 and again, can be easily avoided.
By having $300 in your account or a balance transfer of at least $25 a month. you are cleared from paying any fees. Let’s be honest, fees are a waste of money and can easily be avoided.
3) What’s the largest bank in the US?
Well, you’ve spent the last couple of minutes reading all about it because it’s Chase! According to Bank Rate Chase ranks number one in regards to assets with just over $2.62 trillion in 2018.
If you took this number and laid $100 end to end you could go to the moon and back just over ten times. This is a number so high that its hard to even conceptualize it. Now, when you think back to the financial crisis of 2008, it’s a little easier to understand how important some of the bailouts of these big banks were.
The Bottom Line
Your options in choosing where to bank are growing by the day. When you add this in with the fact that more and more marketing campaigns are being flashed in front of people, then you have a recipe for confusion. Usually, this wouldn’t be a concern but when it comes to dealing with your money and finding a bank that has your best interests in mind for the long run, then it’s a huge problem.
Chase is a huge bank. Often this can be a problem as you become just another person lost in the crowd but this hasn’t been my experience. The fact that they have a ton of money and they use that to re-invest in their products makes me a huge fan. I have been a customer for over 5 years and have always been treated like I’m someone important (which I’m not). For this reason alone, I think Chase is a good bank for anyone.
Who do you bank with and why? If you’re not sure on the why, then maybe consider switching over to a bank that can better serve you.
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