Citizens
Citizens Personal Checking
The easiest fee waiver in banking, plus tiers for bigger balances
Insurance: FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor (Citizens Bank, N.A.)
Live Bonus
This account currently pays a $300 opening bonus: $300 flat with qualifying direct deposit. See the full requirements.
Plan Options
One Deposit Checking
$9.99, waived with one deposit of any amount each statement period
- ▸A single $0.01 deposit kills the fee, the lowest bar in the industry
- ▸Citizens Peace of Mind: 24 hours to cure an overdraft and get the fee refunded
- ▸Standard checking with full check-writing
Quest Checking
$25, waived with $5,000+ in monthly deposits or $25,000+ combined deposit/investment balances
Token interest
- ▸Unlimited non-Citizens ATM fee rebates
- ▸Free checks, money orders, and stop payments
- ▸Rate boosts on linked Citizens savings
Private Client Checking
$0 with $200,000+ combined deposit and investment balances
Token interest
- ▸Dedicated Private Client advisor team
- ▸Top relationship rates and broad service fee waivers
- ▸Wealth planning through Citizens Securities
Features
- ▸One-deposit fee waiver requires literally any deposit, any size
- ▸Citizens Peace of Mind gives 24 hours to cure overdrafts with automatic fee refund
- ▸About 1,000 branches across New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest
- ▸Early direct deposit available
- ▸Periodic $300+ checking bonuses
- ▸Quest tier rebates all out-of-network ATM fees nationwide
Pros
- +The most forgiving fee waiver of any major bank
- +Overdraft grace with automatic refunds is genuinely customer-friendly
- +Quest's unlimited ATM rebates rival online banks
- +Decent recurring bonuses
Cons
- −No meaningful interest anywhere in the family
- −Regional footprint, thin west of Ohio
- −Quest's $5,000 deposit waiver bar is steep for what you get
- −App and online experience trail the megabanks
Our Take
One Deposit Checking deserves credit for honesty: deposit a penny a month and the account is free, full stop. Add Peace of Mind overdraft refunds and this is one of the lowest-stress branch accounts in the Northeast. Quest only pencils out if you'd actually use the unlimited ATM rebates, and Private Client is standard mass-affluent fare. Solid, unflashy, regional.
Best for: Northeast customers who want a branch account with zero fee anxiety
Open at Citizens →Last verified 2026-06-11
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