Don’t be fooled into paying extra fees

One of the most reliable ways to save and protect your money is by placing it in a bank or credit union account. When searching for a place to save and grow your funds, it’s essential to ensure that it won’t come with unnecessary costs. Paying fees on accounts designed to help you grow your savings can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be. Many accounts exist with few or no fees; you just need to know what to look for.

Avoid being fooled into paying extra fees while saving and growing your money. Here are three common hidden fees to watch out for to increase your overall savings:

What you’ll learn

• Monthly Maintenance Fees
• Overdraft fees
• ATM Fees
• Fewer fees mean more savings

Monthly Maintenance Fees

Depending on the type of account, a financial institution could charge you anywhere between $5-$15 to simply have an account at their institution. These fees cover precisely what the title implies–the maintenance of the account (and sometimes the overall profitability of the institution). Other than the account itself, you don’t really get anything from the institution for paying this fee.

Some institutions will waive this fee if you maintain a specific balance on your account. If this is the case, pay attention to how much you have in your account and that it doesn’t fall below the needed amount so that you won’t be tricked into paying an extra fee.

Or, to minimize the stress and avoid the fee altogether, look for an account that doesn’t charge a maintenance fee at all. Due to reduced overhead, online banks and credit unions are less likely to charge this type of fee. For example, Alliant Credit Union has one of the lowest operating expenses in the financial industry – just 1.25% – which means Alliant can give back more to members (and not those money maintenance fees!).

Overdraft fees

Overdraft fees occur when you accidentally withdraw more money than you have, resulting in a penalty. Even though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that caps overdraft fees at $5, it is still possible to avoid the fee altogether. While this will help individuals and families who frequently incur overdraft fees, some financial institutions, like Alliant,¹⁹ have eliminated overdraft fees entirely.

Further, some banks and credit unions offer features such as overdraft protection and courtesy pay. Overdraft protection is usually a free feature that you can opt-in to, which automatically pulls money from other accounts if a transition causes you to go into a negative balance.

On the other hand, Courtesy Pay is a feature that covers checks, other transactions made using your checking account number and external automatic bill payments that extend beyond overdraft protection and won’t clear due to insufficient funds.¹⁹ Of course, you must pay back the amount, but you will have avoided an unnecessary fee.

ATM Fees

We’ve all been there: Out for dinner or drinks only to realize that the place only accepts cash. In situations like this, using an ATM is the only option other than leaving. However, doing so can sometimes result in paying a fee simply to withdraw cash.

On average, according to Bankrate.com, ATM fees cost customers around $4.77 per transaction when using an out-of-network ATM. However, in some cases, and with some banks and credit unions, it is possible to avoid it.

For example, along with access to more than 80,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide,¹⁹ Alliant also offers up to $20 ATM rebates a month for when your only choice is to access an out-of-network ATM. This means you can save up to $240 each year if you are a consistent ATM user.

Fewer fees mean more savings

One of the main goals of putting your money in a financial institution, other than keeping your finances safe, is for your money to grow. But when you have extra fees tacked on to your bank account, your money may not see the growth that it could at a different institution.

Due to Alliant’s member-focused vision, which helps provide lower fees and better rates, our members received an outstanding annual benefit of $493M in 2024—over $900 per core member! This means more money in your accounts yearly without the stress of overdraft or ATM fees, providing an easy way for you to keep more money in your pocket.