Bank of America Overdraft Fee [A Guide]

What Is the Bank of America Overdraft Fee?

If you spend more than the money you have in your bank account, you go into your overdraft. An overdraft can be helpful sometimes: it allows you to make a payment even when you don’t have the funds immediately available to do so. However, going into your overdraft also generates a cost.

There are two kinds of overdrafts: authorized and unauthorized. If your overdraft is unauthorized — because you haven’t agreed on it with the bank in advance — you’ll be expected to pay an overdraft fee. The Bank of America overdraft fee policy is that you pay back the money with interest alongside a $35 fee.

When Does Bank of America Charge an Overdraft Fee?

If you don’t have enough money in your account to cover an item, the bank will either decline the item or authorize the purchase, overdrawing your account. Even if the item is declined, $35 will be charged as an NSF fee for having insufficient funds. You can’t be charged this fee more than four times in one day.

If I request an overdraft using the ATM, will I still be charged an overdraft Bank of America fee?

If you’ve authorized an overdraft using an ATM, you’ll be charged the overdraft fee unless you pay the money back and clear your overdraft by the end of the same business day. That’s how long before the overdraft fee Bank of America applies.

Do I Have to Pay an Overdraft Fee to Bank of America in the Event of a Bounced Check?

In the event of a bounced check, you’ll be charged for having insufficient funds in your account. This will be the usual Bank of America overdraft item fee of $35.

What Is the Overdraft Protection Fee for Bank of America?

At Bank of America, you’re able to purchase an Overdraft Protection service. This links multiple accounts, allowing you to automatically transfer money from one to another to avoid an unauthorized overdraft. The Bank of America Overdraft Protection fee is $12 per transfer.

What Are the Bank of America Overdraft Fee Rules for Each Account?

Bank of America offers a range of services, including three different checking accounts and three different savings accounts. Fees vary depending on which account you have, and some are deducted automatically from the interest you’re paid.

What Is the Bank of America Savings Account Overdraft Fee?

As shown below, all three Bank of America savings accounts charge a $35 overdraft fee.

What Is the Bank of America Checking Account Overdraft Fee?

As shown below, the only checking account that doesn’t charge a $35 overdraft fee is the Advantage SafeBalance account. With a SafeBalance account, charges that cannot be paid are refused without the usual Bank of America overdraft item fee.

How Do Other Banks Fees Compare to the Bank of America Overdraft Fee?

Like Bank of America’s, all of the major banks operating in the USA charge an overdraft fee.

• The Chase overdraft fee is the least of all the major American banks.

• The Wells Fargo overdraft fee is the same as Bank of America’s — as is the TD Bank overdraft fee.

• The US Bank overdraft fee is slightly more expensive and so is the PNC Bank overdraft fee.

How Do I Get the Bank of America Overdraft Fee Waived?

If you have checked your account and received an unpleasant surprise, you’re probably wondering how to get Bank of America to remove the overdraft fee. After all, if you’ve already charged items that you can’t cover, the last thing you want to do is to pay unexpected overdraft fees.

Before approaching the Bank of America dispute overdraft fee, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Compile a list of all the overdraft fees that you’ve been charged. You want to make sure that all of them are removed, not just some.

2. Prepare some information in support of your request. If this is the first time you’ve gone into your overdraft, for example, this may be useful to share. Check how long you’ve been with Bank of America and how many accounts you hold there. You can use this to remind Bank of America that you are a valuable customer.

3. Get into the right mindset. Remember, the bank technically has the right to charge you this overdraft fee. If you approach too aggressively and offend a staff member, they may outright refuse to entertain your request.
   However, you do need to be assertive and persistent as well as polite. Banks make a lot of money from overdraft fees. For that reason, it’s unlikely that your request to waive the fees will be accepted straight away.

4. Decide how you want to contact the bank. Bank of America offers customer service via online chat, email or telephone. There’s always the option to enter your local Bank of America and speak to a teller in person.

What Lines Can I Use to Get a Bank of America Overdraft Fee Refund?

• Good morning/afternoon. I notice I have a charge on my account for entering my overdraft. How can you help me to remove this charge?

• I’ve been a customer with Bank of America for X years and I have X accounts with you. What can you do to help a loyal customer like me?

• As I’m sure you can see from my information, this is the first time I have entered my overdraft. Knowing that this won’t happen again, I hope you can honor my request to waive this overdraft fee.

Using this approach, a potential conversation with a Bank of America teller could go like this:

You: “I’ve noticed overdraft fees of (amount) on my account, and I’d like to have them waived.”

Teller: “I see those fees too. Unfortunately, whenever you enter your overdraft, this fee will apply. Would you like to learn about our Overdraft Protection service so you can avoid fees like this in the future?”

You: “Perhaps we can discuss that later. However, first I’d like you to remove these fees from my account. I’ve been a good customer of Bank of America for many years, and I’ve never had an issue with my account before. What can you do to help?”

Depending on the teller, you may have to persist for longer or even ask to speak with a supervisor. Eventually, they should honor your request and waive the fee.

What Steps Can I Take to Avoid Bank of America Overdraft Fees?

Now you’ve hopefully obtained a Bank of America overdraft fee waiver, and you’ll naturally want to make sure you avoid overdraft fees in the future!

Here are three top tips to keep you safely out of your overdraft.

1. Check your balance regularly.
   If you are vigilant about the amount you have in your account, you’re far less likely to spend beyond your means. Using the Bank of America mobile app, you can easily keep tabs on your account balance.

2. Pay with cash.
   In situations where you may end up spending beyond your budget — for example, on vacation or on a big night out — commit to paying in cash only. You can check your account balance each time you withdraw money.

3. Use Overdraft Protection.
   Although it’s not a free service, Bank of America does offer a service whereby your second account can cover a potential overdraft on your first. The Overdraft Protection fee Bank of America is $12, significantly less than the $35 you’d be expected to pay otherwise.