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Maintenance fees are never fun to pay, but many banks offer ways around them. Fifth Third Bank’s monthly maintenance fees can be avoided in several ways, such as by maintaining certain account balances or even linking up your checking account with other Fifth Third accounts.
The Fifth Third Bank monthly checking account fee, which is a service charge, can run you up to $25. But Fifth Third waives this fee for specialized accounts.
| Account | Monthly Service Fee | Earns Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Momentum Checking | $0 | No |
| Preferred Checking | $25 | Yes |
| Student Banking | $0 | No |
| Military Checking | $0 or $5 | No |
| Express Banking | $0 | No |
| ABLE Checking | $2 | Yes |
Fifth Third’s specialized checking accounts are made for a specific cohort of people. For example, the ABLE Checking is designed for people with disabilities.
Here are other common fees Fifth Third can charge you:
| Fee | Cost |
|---|---|
| Out-of-Network ATM | In U.S.: $3.50 Outside the U.S.: 3% plus currency conversion fee; additional $5 fee may apply |
| Overdraft | $37 |
| Foreign Exchange Rate | 0.20% of transaction |
| Incoming Wire Transfers | $15 |
| Outgoing Wire Transfers | $30 – $85 |
| Stop Payment | $33 per item |
| Debit Card Replacement | $0 for regular shipping, $30 for rush delivery; Fee waived for Preferred customers |
Wire transfer charges depend on whether the wire is incoming or outgoing and whether it’s foreign or domestic.
Savings account maintenance fees, which range from $0 to $5 depending on the account, are generally much cheaper than their checking account counterparts. Here are Fifth Third’s savings accounts and corresponding fees:
| Account | Monthly Service Fee |
|---|---|
| Momentum Savings | $5 |
| Relationship Money Market | $5 |
| Minor Savings | $5 |
You won’t pay more than $5, and both checking and savings accounts have ways to eliminate the monthly fee.
Fifth Third lets customers avoid paying a service fee for its accounts if they meet certain requirements:
Preferred Checking
Military Checking
ABLE Checking
Savings account fee waivers work much in the same way as checking account fee waivers, usually relying on account balances or concurrent enrollments. Additionally, Fifth Third Bank offers a range of CD accounts as part of its banking services, providing another saving option for its customers. You can get your savings account service fees waived in the following ways:
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Momentum Savings
Relationship Money Market
Minor Savings
The easiest way to avoid a savings account service fee is to open a checking account.
Overdraft fees are supposed to act as deterrents for withdrawing on an account with insufficient funds. But Fifth Third charges a hefty $37 fee for overdrawing your account. In addition to not spending the money and paying close attention to your account balance, you can avoid this Fifth Third bank fee by taking advantage of overdraft protection.
Fifth Third will link your bank savings account, credit card or line of credit with your checking account to cover insufficient funds. You will still pay a fee every time overdraft protection funds are used in a transaction, but it’s $12 instead of $37.
Fifth Third also offers MyAdvance, a cash advance from your direct deposit, to help avoid overdrafts. Extra Time allows you to make a deposit to bring your account balance up to at least $0 before the end of the day to avoid an overdraft fee.
Fifth Third’s ABLE checking account does not have overdraft fees.
Fifth Third has a network of 40,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide. Use its ATM locator to find one so you can avoid paying the $3.50 out-of-network fee. Military checking accounts get a set number of free out-of-network ATM transactions each month.
Military members might get the most out of signing up for Fifth Third accounts, as the monthly maintenance fees are waived or discounted for military members. You can also take advantage of Fifth Third’s slightly higher Relationship Savings rate by getting your significant other in on the action. But above all else, you can get the most out of your Fifth Third account by being mindful of your account balance.
More on Fifth Third Bank
More on Avoiding Monthly Fees
Information is accurate as of May 21, 2024.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
