The bank’s most compelling feature is its prepaid debit card, which charges fewer fees than many of its competitors and refunds one out-of-network ATM fee per month.
The bank has about 700 locations in seven states. About half of the branches are in Texas, but customers elsewhere can get their questions answered on its easy-to-use and informative website.
BBVA Compass may be right for you if:
- You live in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico or Texas and want a free checking account.
- You want a checking account alternative and are willing to try a prepaid debit card.
- You’re a basketball fan and want an account that comes with some NBA perks.
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Checking accounts | |
| Savings & money market accounts | |
| Certificates of deposit (CDs) | |
| Customer experience | |
| Other fees |  |
| Overall | |
Read on for more details about BBVA Compass’s checking and savings accounts, CDs, customer experience and fees.
» MORE: NerdWallet’s best checking accounts for college students
Checking accounts
3.5 / 5.0
BBVA Compass customers have three checking options: Free Checking, NBA Checking and Premium Checking. Users with Free Checking accounts get access to 1,000 free BBVA ATMs, while the last two options come with access to an additional 43,000 surcharge-free Allpoint cash machines. Premium Checking pays 0.03% interest, but does charge a monthly fee.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Doesn't charge monthly fees on the Free Checking and NBA Checking accounts. • Offers a $100 NBAStore.com gift card to customers who pay bills online using an NBA Checking account. |
• Only lets Free Checking users make fee-free withdrawals at 1,000 BBVA ATMs — so the $2.50 out-of-network fees could add up. • Makes it difficult for Premium Checking customers to avoid the $15 monthly fee. (The most straightforward way is by maintaining an average daily balance of at least $5,000.) |
» MORE: NerdWallet’s best checking accounts of 2016
Savings and money market accounts
3.5 / 5.0
Customers can choose between a basic savings account, an NBA savings account (if they have an NBA checking account), and a money market account. Rates are fairly average across the board. Each requires a $25 minimum opening deposit.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Pays a relatively high 1.10% APY on money market accounts with balances between $10,000 and $4,999,999. • Lets customers avoid the $15 quarterly maintenance fee on basic savings accounts by keeping a minimum daily balance of at least $500. |
• Pays APYs of only 0.05% on basic savings accounts, NBA savings accounts, and money market accounts with balances below $10,000. • Charges money market account holders a $15 monthly maintenance fee unless they keep a minimum daily balance of $10,000 or schedule an automatic monthly transfer of at least $25 from a linked BBVA checking account. |
» MORE: NerdWallet’s best savings accounts
Certificates of deposit
3.5 / 5.0
Standard rates vary by state, but new BBVA customers can go online to open short-term certificates with rates as high as 1.35%. However, the CDs can’t be renewed at that rate, so your savings will benefit for a maximum of two years. BBVA’s standard CDs are best avoided. They must be opened at a branch, and rates top out at 0.50%.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Offers nine term lengths, from one month to four years. • Allows customers in every state but Alaska and Hawaii to open featured online CDs. |
• Requires a $500 minimum deposit for all CDs. • Pays a higher rate than most banks for featured CDs — but even-higher rates can be found at online-only banks. |
Customer experience
3.5 / 5.0
You won’t come across a BBVA branch as often as you will one for banking behemoths like Wells Fargo and Bank of America. However, if you’re looking for help, you can always turn to BBVA’s website, which does a good job of highlighting its various accounts and fees — and how to avoid them.
BBVA also offers a solid prepaid debit card, called the ClearSpend. With this type of plastic, you can spend only the money you’ve loaded onto the card. Instead of incurring overdraft fees when you go overboard, your transaction is simply declined. It has a first-time loading fee of $4, but no fee to reload, and refunds one out-of-network ATM charge every month.
Other fees
2.5 / 5.0
If you’ve incurred overdraft fees in the past and have yet to completely change your ways, BBVA isn’t the best bank for you. It charges an exceptionally steep $38 overdraft fee — $32 for California residents — up to six times per day. The bank will slap you with an additional $25 fee if your account has a negative balance for 10 consecutive calendar days, and you’ll owe another $25 if the account remains in the red for another 10 days.
Higher rates, fewer fees exist elsewhere
If there’s a branch nearby and you’re looking for convenience, BBVA Compass will do. But if you want high savings rates or a more lenient overdraft policy, you’ll be happier banking elsewhere.Consider an online-only bank; they’re typically home to the best checking accounts and high-yield savings accounts.
Tony Armstrong is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: tony@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @tonystrongarm.
RATINGS METHODOLOGY
For banks and credit unions, NerdWallet’s overall rating is a weighted average of each subcategory: checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, CDs, customer experience and other fees. Factors we consider, depending on the subcategory, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing tech and customer service. Several Nerds contribute to each financial institution’s ratings to ensure consistency and accuracy.
What the ratings mean:
— Among the very best
— Very good; only minor caveats for most customers
— Good; issues that might make a difference to some customers
— Fair; make sure strengths and weaknesses are a good match for you
— Poor; proceed with great caution
(or below) — Best to avoid
from NerdWallet
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/bbva-compass-bank-review/
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