A Bank of America customer posted a viral TikTok saying she will now be charged a monthly fee if she doesn’t have $10,000 in her checking account.
Tenille Sokolow (@teesok) has reached over 3.6 million views and 286,000 likes on her video by Wednesday. Her video also sparked a viral stitch from a Bank of America customer who says her accounts were closed without her consent and that she is ineligible to open them “ever again.”
Sokolow captioned her video saying, “B of A wildin’.”
She begins by asking viewers, “Do you have $10,000 in your checking account?” She clarifies, “No, not your savings account, your checking account.”
Sokolow says that Bank of America called her on the phone to let her know that she will have to start paying a $24 monthly maintenance fee if she doesn’t keep a total of $10,000 in her checking account.
“He literally giggled when he said $10,000,” she says. Before ending her video, Sokolow adds, “Besides the 1 percent, who has $10,000 just sitting in their checking account?”
@teesok b of a wildin
♬ original sound – tenille joy sokolow
According to its website, monthly maintenance fees for Bank of America vary depending on your location and bank account type. To avoid monthly maintenance fees, “you must maintain a combined balance of $10,000 or more in the account each statement cycle,” the site continues.
Another way to avoid monthly fees is to “be enrolled in the Preferred Rewards program and qualify for the Gold, Platinum, Platinum Honors, Diamond or Diamond Honors tier.” Sokolow did not disclose which type of bank account she uses or qualifies for.
Bank of America also states that as of November 2023, “We will no longer use a combined balance of $10,000 as a way to avoid the monthly maintenance fee.” Instead, to avoid the monthly fee, “you will need to maintain a minimum daily balance of $20,000 or more in your Advantage Relationship Banking account during each statement cycle.”
You can also waive the fee by being “enrolled in the Preferred Rewards program and qualify for the Gold, Platinum or Platinum Honors tier (first 4 checking accounts) or Diamond or Diamond Honors tier (unlimited),” the site states.
On a “Regular Checking” account, Bank of America states that the statement per cycle is $14. You can waive the monthly maintenance fee by meeting one of the following requirements during each statement cycle: “$1,500 or more minimum daily balance in Checking account, $2,000 or more minimum daily balance in a linked Regular Savings account, $5,000 or more minimum daily balance in a linked Money Market Savings account,” or be enrolled in the Preferred Rewards program.
The Daily Dot reached out to Sokolow via TikTok direct message and Bank of America via email.
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