Chase checking accounts have no monthly minimum balance requirement
Chase does not require you to keep a set amount of money in most of its checking accounts at any time. You can open an account, deposit $1, and leave it there without penalty. The account will not close and you will not be charged a fee simply because your balance dropped below a certain level.
However, Chase does charge a monthly service fee on some checking accounts if you do not meet other conditions — and those conditions vary by account type. The fee is not triggered by a low balance itself, but by failing to do things like set up direct deposit, maintain a linked savings account, or keep a minimum balance as an alternative to those actions.
Which account you have determines what those conditions are, and whether a minimum balance is one of them.
Key Takeaways
- Chase Total Checking and Chase Secure Checking have no minimum balance requirement and no monthly fee if you set up direct deposit or keep a linked savings account with at least $500.
- Chase Premier Plus Checking charges $25 per month unless you maintain a $25,000 minimum balance or meet other conditions like direct deposit and linked savings.
- Chase Sapphire Checking charges $25 per month unless you maintain a $10,000 minimum balance or meet alternative conditions.
- If your account is closed due to inactivity or overdraft, Chase will not reopen it based on a new deposit — you must contact them to restore it.
- Minimum balance requirements are checked at the end of each business day, so a single day below the threshold can trigger a fee.
Which Chase checking accounts have a minimum balance requirement
Chase offers several checking accounts, and only the premium-tier accounts impose a minimum balance as a fee condition. Chase Total Checking and Chase Secure Checking — the two most common accounts — have no minimum balance requirement at all.
Chase Premier Plus Checking requires a $25,000 minimum daily balance to avoid the $25 monthly service fee. If your balance falls below $25,000 on any business day, you will be charged the fee that month. You can avoid the fee by setting up direct deposit, maintaining a linked Chase savings account with at least $500, or keeping a linked Chase money market account with at least $500.
Chase Sapphire Checking requires a $10,000 minimum daily balance to waive its $25 monthly fee. The same alternative conditions apply: direct deposit, or a linked savings or money market account with at least $500.
Chase also offers Chase Secure Checking, which is designed for people building or rebuilding credit and has no minimum balance requirement and no monthly fee.
How Chase measures your minimum balance
Chase checks your balance at the end of each business day. If you dip below the required minimum on even one day during the month, you will be charged the monthly fee. This means you cannot rely on deposits arriving later in the day to keep you above the threshold — if the balance is low when the business day closes, that counts.
The minimum balance is calculated on the account itself, not across multiple accounts. If you have a Premier Plus Checking account that requires $25,000, that $25,000 must sit in that specific account. Money in a linked savings account counts only if you are using the linked account as your alternative to the minimum balance requirement.
If your balance falls below the minimum on the last day of the month, you will still be charged the fee for that month. The fee typically posts within one to three business days.
Fees charged when you do not meet the minimum
The monthly service fee for Premier Plus Checking is $25. The monthly service fee for Sapphire Checking is also $25. These fees are charged once per month if you do not meet the minimum balance or one of the alternative conditions.
If you are charged a fee and believe it was an error — for example, if a deposit should have posted before the balance check — contact Chase customer service with documentation. Chase may reverse one fee as a courtesy, but this is not may provide and depends on your account history and the circumstances.
Overdraft fees are separate from minimum balance fees. If your account goes negative, Chase will charge an overdraft fee in addition to any minimum balance fee you may owe.
How to avoid the monthly fee without maintaining a minimum balance
If you have a Premier Plus or Sapphire account and do not want to keep $10,000 or $25,000 in the account, you have three alternatives:
- Set up direct deposit. Any amount of direct deposit counts — even $1 per paycheck. The deposit must post to the account during the month to waive the fee for that month.
- Link a Chase savings account with at least $500. The savings account must have a minimum balance of $500 at the end of each business day. If the savings account dips below $500, the checking account fee will be charged.
- Link a Chase money market account with at least $500. This works the same way as the savings account alternative.
If you meet any one of these conditions — direct deposit, or a linked account with $500 — the monthly fee is waived for that month, regardless of your checking account balance.
What happens if you close your account with a low balance
You can close a Chase checking account at any time, even if the balance is $0 or negative. If the balance is negative, you owe Chase the amount of the overdraft. Chase will not close the account automatically due to a low balance — the account will remain open and active until you close it or until Chase closes it for inactivity or fraud.
If your account is closed by Chase due to inactivity (typically after 12 months with no deposits or withdrawals), you cannot reopen it by making a deposit. You must contact Chase to request reinstatement. Chase may or may not agree to reopen the account, depending on why it was closed and your account history.
If you close the account yourself and later want to reopen it, you can open a new account, but it will be treated as a new account for all purposes — including credit reporting and fraud monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep my Chase checking account open with zero dollars in it?
Yes. Chase will not close your account or charge you a fee based on a low balance alone, unless you have a Premier Plus or Sapphire account and have not met the minimum balance or alternative conditions. Even then, the fee is charged monthly — the account stays open.
Does a linked savings account have to stay at $500 forever?
The linked account must have at least $500 at the end of each business day to count as your alternative to the checking account minimum balance fee. If it drops below $500 on any day, the checking account fee will be charged that month. You can rebuild it the next month and waive the fee again.
What if I have direct deposit one month but not the next?
Direct deposit waives the fee only for the month in which it posts. If you do not receive a direct deposit in a given month, and you do not meet the minimum balance or have a linked account with $500, you will be charged the monthly fee for that month.
Does Chase charge a fee if I go negative?
Chase charges an overdraft fee (typically $35) if your account goes negative. This is separate from the monthly service fee. If you have a Premier Plus or Sapphire account and go negative, you may be charged both an overdraft fee and a monthly service fee in the same month.
Can I move money between accounts to stay above the minimum?
Yes, but only if the money is in the same account. If you have a Premier Plus Checking account that requires $25,000, you can transfer money into it from another Chase account to bring it above $25,000 before the end of the business day. However, if you are using a linked savings account as your alternative, that savings account must maintain its own $500 minimum separately.