9 Best Checking Accounts of December 2021

Chime is a mobile checking account that has no monthly fees, minimum balance requirements or overdraft fees, and you have access to more than 60,000 ATMs at retailers like Target, Walgreens, CVS and 7-Eleven. Through Chime’s early direct deposit service, customers can get their paychecks up to two days earlier than through direct deposit at most banks (note that early access to direct deposit funds depends on payer).

One has no fees or minimum balances, and customers have access to more than 55,000 free ATMs. Customers can also earn interest with One Finance’s Auto-Save and Save "Pockets," which are basically linked sub-accounts of the main One account.

Rewards Checking has no minimum balance aside from a $50 balance required to open an account, and no monthly maintenance, overdraft or nonsufficient-funds fees. The account also has an annual percentage yield as high as 1.00% on up to $50,000, depending on your account activity. To start earning interest, you need to have at least $1,500 in monthly direct deposits. That earns you 0.40%. To earn the maximum APY, you have to: make 10 debit card purchases — with a minimum of $3 per transaction — or sign up for the Account Aggregation/Personal Finance Manager tool (earns 0.30%), have an average daily balance of $2,500 in a managed investment portfolio (earns 0.10%), have an average daily balance of $2,500 in a self-directed portfolio (earns 0.10%) and make a monthly Axos consumer loan payment from Rewards Checking (earns 0.10%).

The Free Rewards Checking account offers an exceptionally high annual percentage yield of 2.09% for balances of up to $10,000, as long as you’re able to meet a few spending and online banking requirements. Jumping through some additional hoops will land you as much as 4.09% APY on balances of up to $10,000. If you can’t qualify for these rates, your APY will be 0.01%, and you won’t get unlimited ATM fee refunds.

This account from Discover offers 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in qualifying debit card purchases each month. The account also has no monthly fee, no monthly balance requirement and access to over 60,000 fee-free ATMs. The bank also doesn’t charge overdraft fees; if you try to initiate a transaction that will result in an overdraft, Discover will pull that money from a designated funding account if you’ve enabled overdraft protection. If you haven’t enabled it, then Discover will decline the transaction and you won’t be charged a fee.

The LendingClub Rewards Checking account gives customers two cash-earning benefits: an interest rate and cash back on spending. For the interest rate, if your balance hits $2,500, a 0.10% annual percentage yield kicks in. If you have $100,000 or more, the rate becomes 0.15% APY. For the cash-back benefit, customers can earn unlimited 1% on online and signature-based “credit” purchases with their debit card.

It’s easy to apply for Alliant membership. Just agree to support an Alliant-affiliated nonprofit if you don’t meet the other criteria, and Alliant will make a $5 donation on your behalf. Once you open an account, you’ll have access to Alliant’s services, including more than 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs.

You’ll qualify for an annual percentage yield of 0.25% if you opt out of paper statements and have at least one electronic deposit made to your account each month, such as a direct, ATM or mobile deposit or a transfer from another financial institution. Alliant’s digital tools are a step ahead of those offered by other credit unions. Its mobile check-deposit feature, for instance, lets members make daily deposits of up to $50,000. The account also doesn’t charge a monthly fee.