Who you choose for your checking and savings account is important because changing it after you’ve set up your account can be a pain and a huge waste of time.

I call this my home base. It’s the bank account that gets everything.

All of our income is deposited into this account. All of our expenses are paid from this account.

Here’s what I need in for the ideal home base:

• No monthly maintenance fees, no minimum balance to avoid a fee (that’s just a sneaky way for them to make money off you), and no required direct deposit to avoid a fee.
• Free overdraft protection that automatically transfers funds from savings into checking if I draw it down too far.
• A competitive interest rate on your savings account, at least 3% and preferably over 4%. This is the base rate, though it’s OK for it to have a higher promotion rate.
• Finally, instant transfers from savings to checking and ATM access or reimbursement.

Here are the four banks mentioned in the video, along with current rates (headline rate is savings):

Ally Bank – 3.10% APY

• Checking interest rate – 0.10% APY
• Savings interest rate – 3.10% APY
• Overdraft protection – Yes, it’s called Overdraft Transfer Service and it’s free.
• ATMs & Reimbursement – You can use any of the 75,000 Allpoint® and MoneyPass® ATMs across the U.S. If you use another ATM, you can get reimbursed up to $10 in fees each statement cycle.
• New account bonus – $100 by referral when you open an account and set up aa qualifying recurring transfer or direct deposit within 30 days. Then, keep that going for 3 months in a row.

Ally Bank has been my primary bank for over ten years. It has competitive interest rates, though rarely leads the pack, and all the features in want in a home hub bank account.

You can read my full review of Ally Bank here.

Learn more about Ally Bank

Capital One 360 – 3.00% APY

• Checking interest rate – 0.09% APY
• Savings interest rate – 3.00% APY
• Overdraft protection – Yes, three options. Free Savings Transfer automatically pulls from your 360 Performance Savings, No-Fee Overdraft covers you once you deposit $250+ in two of the last three months, or Auto-Decline (the default).
• ATMs & Reimbursement – You can use 70,000+ fee-free Capital One, Allpoint, and MoneyPass ATMs, including many Target, Walgreens, and CVS stores. No reimbursement for out-of-network ATM fees.
• New account bonus – There’s a $250 bonus when you open a new checking account. See the current Capital One 360 promotions here.

I’ve also had a Capital One 360 checking and savings account for years (it started as an ING Direct account) and it’s been a solid performer with interest rates that are sometimes slightly ahead of Ally Bank. I actually use it as a bank account firewall with Paypal.

Capital One 360 checks every box on no fees and free overdraft protection, and it has physical branches and cafés if you ever want to talk to a human. Unfortunately, there’s no ATM reimbursement, though the huge network mostly makes up for it.

You can read my full review of Capital One 360 here.

SoFi – up to 3.30% APY (unlocked with eligible direct deposit or $5,000+ in qualifying deposits during the 31-day evaluation period)

• Checking interest rate – 0.50% APY
• Savings interest rate – up to 3.30% APY (unlocked with eligible direct deposit or $5,000+ in qualifying deposits during the 31-day evaluation period) with direct deposit or $5,000 in qualifying deposits every 31 days (0.80% without).
• Overdraft protection – Yes, free Overdraft Protection pulls from savings when checking runs short. With $1,000+ in direct deposits, Overdraft Coverage also lets debit purchases go up to $50 negative with no fee.
• ATMs & Reimbursement – You can use 55,000+ fee-free Allpoint ATMs. No reimbursement for out-of-network ATM fees.
• New account bonus – $50 with $1,000–$4,999.99 in direct deposits, or $400 with $5,000+. First deposit must arrive by 12/31/2026. See current SoFi promotions here.

SoFi pays one of the higher rates among the big online banks and keeps checking and savings in one app. The catch is the promo savings rate requires a direct deposit, so if your paycheck doesn’t land there, the rate drops to a more modest level.

SoFi also has a brokerage account, which means if you like having both of those under one app, it’s a convenient benefit.

You can read my full review of SoFi here.

Learn more about SoFi

Axos ONE – 4.21% APY

• Checking interest rate – 0.51% APY
• Savings interest rate – 4.21% APY if you have $1,500+ in monthly direct deposits and a $1,500 average checking balance, or $5,000 in deposits and a $5,000 average balance (1.00% base rate otherwise).
• Overdraft protection – Yes, but it isn’t on by default. You have to ask customer support to link your savings to cover overdrafts. There are no overdraft fees.
• ATMs & Reimbursement – Axos charges no ATM fees of its own and reimburses up to $10 a month in domestic out-of-network ATM fees.
• New account bonus – None right now but offers change often. See current Axos promotions here.

Axos ONE has the highest savings rate of the group, but only if you hit the monthly requirements. If you’ll route your paycheck there and keep a cushion in checking, it’s a solid offer.

If not, the 1.00% base rate isn’t worth it.

You can read my full review of Axos ONE here.