Chase College Checking Account Review - $100 Bonus for New Account Holders

Using Chase College Checking for Payments

• Bank of America
• Capital One
• TD Bank
• US Bank
• Wells Fargo

Chase College Checking Perks

• Access to 16,000 ATMs at nearly 4,700 branch locations
• Access to Chase Deposit Friendly ATMs
• A Chase debit card featuring chip technology
• 24-hour customer service

The Chase Mobile App

Is Chase Right for College Students?

Update - This offer is now EXPIRED.

One of the best college checking accounts available to students today comes from Chase. The Chase College Checking account is available to college students ages 17-24 and for a limited time, a $100 bonus can be applied to the account. When applying, it is necessary to have identification and proof of student status.

The $100 bonus is given to new account holders that make 10 qualifying transactions in the first 60 days (such as using your debit card to buy something). The $100 is then deposited into your account within the next 10 business days. Read on for our full Chase Student Checking Account review.

Chase Online Bill Pay is another convenient feature that can be accessed via the Chase Mobile app. You can add specific payees, schedule regular payments and verify that your payments have been made from anywhere you happen to be. The automatic-payment feature makes it easy for busy college kids to make payments on time and avoid late fees. The list of bills that can be paid using this type of account includes rent, car payments, utilities, mortgages and much more.

Chase QuickPay with Zelle just might be the neatest feature that Chase College Checking offers. Zelle is a person-to-person payment service that makes it easier to pay friends and people you know. This feature makes it possible to skip checks or trips to the ATM for cash when you need to pay a friend back for dinner, concert tickets or a taxi ride. It is designed to be compatible across many banks to enable easy payment. Here’s a look at some of the major banks that are compatible with Chase through Zelle:

In addition to the major banks, Zelle also works with many regional banks. Over 85 million consumers are actually able to use Zelle right now. This means that there’s a good chance that whatever bank is popular near the college or university you attend is compatible.

The monthly service fee is waived for up to five years while you’re in college. A $6 monthly service fee kicks in after that. The fee is also present if you have a Chase High School Checking account. However, the fee is waived in all cases if you make a direct deposit to the account or have an average balance of $5,000 in the account. There is no minimum deposit to open a Chase Student Checking account.

Chase offers account holders the option to set up account alerts. You can receive text or email alerts for things like account activity, low balances, large transactions and more. You can also set up a special alert if your account balance dips below a preset amount. Then, simply send back a text to transfer money immediately.

This checking account goes above and beyond when it comes to paperless statements. Account holders receive email alerts as soon as statements are ready. You can actually go back as far as seven years to look at old statements online. While many college students living away from home may prefer the paperless option, they can also switch back to paper statements at any time.

Chase College Checking offers an option to set up direct deposit. Checks will automatically go into your account once you download and complete Chases deposit form. Your money will be available to spend immediately on each payday. A quick rundown of the customer service features are as follows:

There are a lot of benefits here that allow account holders to simply manage their money and pay their bills without putting a lot of thought into it. Chases real-time fraud monitoring is there to help you watch your debit card and stop any fraudulent activity in its tracks. The other big benefit of going with Chase is that it has so many branches around the country. Guidance from bankers is always available to account holders when they have questions about how to manage their accounts or take advantage of special offers.

College students are sure to appreciate the many features that can be accessed simply by downloading the Chase Mobile app. Students will especially appreciate that they wont have to worry about taking care of things during traditional bank hours. You can take care of checking your balance, managing your bills and cashing checks around the clock.

Some students already have a local bank account open in their hometown before they get to college. If your parents use the local credit union, you might, too. And that’s fine until you’re hundreds of miles away from a convenient ATM. Here’s why a Chase College Checking account is must-have for back to school.

Students looking for a way to manage money, pay bills, receive paychecks and access funds should definitely put Chase College Checking near the top of their list. This is an account that works for students who are living on campus far away from home or commuting to classes each day.

Chase College Checking is an especially attractive option if you're planning to do a lot of your banking online or through the Chase Mobile app. This state-of-the-art app truly puts everything you need to manage your account and finances at your fingertips.

Just make sure that you keep meeting the requirements to keep from having to pay a monthly account fee! But it gives you access to ATMs nationwide, which is nice, and it's hard to beat those mobile features. Once you open your first bank account away from home, take a few minutes to read our guide on how to graduate college with amazing credit.

One thing to note is that checks do not come free when you open a Chase College Checking account. But it does come witha VISA debit card. There is a $34 fee for overdrafts. In addition, account holders are charged $15 every five days when they have a negative balance. Using an ATM outside of the Chase network will also cost $2.50 in fees (for US banks) and $5 in fees (for international banks).

The fact that direct deposit can be set up to allow you to get funds on payday makes a Chase College Checking account competitive against non-bank prepaid options. Unlike most prepaid options out there, a Chase debit card doesn't come with monthly fees. There also isn't a fee to obtain a card.

And to top off the benefits, Chase is offering a $100 bonus for new customers. Make 10 qualifying transactions in the first 60 days of account opening and BOOM; $100 on the house. That money is deposited into your Chase College Checking account within 10 business days.