Money Market Accounts from Chase Bank…

High Yield or Low Yield?

In the vast expanse of products and services offered by Chase Bank, let’s pull out the details on their money market accounts and see if they can be called one of the best money market accounts available online.

Chase money market savings account

Opening a Chase Money Market Account and the package benefits

The first deposit account is the Chase money market savings account. You can apply for an account online and with online banking services; you can see statements as well as receive e-mail alerts for free. The minimum opening deposit is $25. If you have a Chase checking account, you do have the option of linking it to this money market account for the purpose of overdraft protection, as well as to offset monthly checking account fees. The Chase money market savings account does come with free enrolment into Chase’s automatic savings program.

Limitations and Fees

The monthly service fee of $12 can be avoided by keeping a daily balance of $1,500 or by having a qualified Chase checking account linked to your money market account. You are limited to the standard six pre-authorized withdrawals per statement cycle. If you go over the limit, you will be zinged a $12 fee multiplied by the number of transactions above the allowed six. Remember, that we are only talking about pre-authorized payments like (but not limited to), checks and electronic transfers. There are no limits on the number of withdrawals you can make at an ATM or in person. Planning on spending some money from this account while you are out of the country? There will be a 3% change rate adjustment fee assessed on debit card purchases and withdrawals made outside the United States.

Chase money market savings account rates

The standard rate is 0.01% and the “relationship” rate is 0.02%. These are APY rates. To qualify for the increase in return you must have a Chase Better Banking checking account that is in good standing. There is an obvious benefit to qualifying for the relationship rate but double of almost nothing is still….almost nothing! Chase’s money market saving account cannot, in honesty, be called a high yield money market account. The best money market rate is currently being offered by Ally bank at 1.28% APY. This is 64 times the return being offered by Chase Bank even with the relationship rate. If you take the comparison to the standard rate then you are looking a 128 times the return from Ally Bank.

Chase retirement money market account

The other money market account we will look at in this review of Chase bank is a retirement money market account. You cannot apply for this account online. Your options are either to go into a brick and mortar Chase bank or to use Chase’s telephone services. The minimum initial deposit is $100. If you read the fine print you will see that each year you will be assessed a $30 annual IRA fee and hat there is a $50 fee for trustee to trustee transfers whether they happen via check or ACH. Another little detail is that interest on this account is compounded monthly rather than daily. The Chase retirement money market account is described as being tiered and variable, but if you look at the fine print all account balances earn 0.01% APY. Clearly this is not the best money market rate being offered. If you are truly looking for high yield money market accounts please see Bank Truths reviews on the best money market rates. The highest IRA money market rate quoted by www.bankrate.com is 1.26% from First Internet Bank of Indiana and AIG Bank.

Summary of Money Market Accounts offered by Chase Bank

Chase Bank offers two money market accounts but their rates fall far below national averages. Chase is a large bank with lots of experience in traditional banking. Those qualities are great but they do not always translate to the best options for online bankers. If you would liek to learn more about Chase Bank specifically pleas read Bank Truth’s  Chase Bank review. On the other hand, if you would like to review what other online banks are out there, please take the time to read some of our other full bank reviews. Reading not really your thing…no problem, Bank Truth has video reviews that you can choose to view.

Even if you already have an established relationship with Chase Bank and you qualify for their best money market account rate. It is still significantly less than what is offered by other online banks. If after reading this review you are unsure that a money market account is the deposit account you are looking for, Bank Truth has pages on the pros and cons of CD accounts and savings accounts. Doing your homework and shopping around will help you to avoid low yield accounts like the money market accounts offered by Chase Bank.