Chase Private Client review: A bank for professionals, by professionals

Chase Private Client is a private banking solution provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank and is an invitation-only service. It’s designed to meet the needs of someone who wants a more personal account management experience by offering a three-pronged approach focused on banking, lending, and investing guidance. If you have ever considered private banking, the benefits to this program may be enough to lure you in. But before you say yes to the exclusive invite, potential clients should also be aware of the costs and financial commitments required to access all aspects of this unique service.

The good

Personalized banking at its finest

Each Chase Private Client member receives a dedicated banker for basically all aspects of account management. If you need the mortgage services division, you will be assigned a dedicated home lending advisor. For investments with Chase, a JPMorgan private advisor will be assigned to continue the tradition of personalized guidance with the portfolio of Chase products. 

Small business owners may also like the dedicated Business Relationship Manager, who provides personalized service and recommendations for business financial solutions and funding, plus cash flow management. 

Benefits with more benefits

There are a variety of benefits as a private banking member, including access to the dedicated professionals. There are no fees for ATM usage (even at non-Chase ATMs), incoming or outgoing wire transfers, or fees with the first four overdrafts each year. Plus you receive higher daily purchase limits with a debit card (up to $7,500) and daily ATM withdrawals (up to $3,000) versus other types of Chase accounts. Members also receive discounted home loan rates and auto loan purchase rates when financing through Chase. 

There are selections of special entertainment events and online exclusives offered to private banking members throughout the year. These exclusive events might include fun family outings and concerts, cooking experiences, or thought-leadership forums.

Flexible membership criteria

Some private banks require high minimum monthly balances to maintain private banking status. With Chase Private Client, you do not need a minimum balance to maintain your status once you are a client. You do, however, need to maintain an average of $150,000 or more in qualifying Chase accounts to avoid the $35 monthly fee. 

Chances are there is a Chase Bank near you

For those who prefer a physical location to tend to banking and lending needs, as a Chase Private Client member you will continue to have access to the bank’s 4,700 physical branch locations. Chase also has an extensive ATM network — including international locations — with over 16,000 ATMs available for fee-free transactions. 

The bad

The potential fees add up

As mentioned, if you do not meet the average monthly balance of $150,000 across all qualifying Chase accounts, the Chase Private Client option will cost $35 each month. While other big fees are waived, such as ATM usage, wire transfers, and up to four overdraft charges per year, there are other fees to watch out for. 

If you exceed the four overdrafts within a year, there will be an overdraft fee charged of $34 for each occurrence. There are other fees too, such as stop payment and money orders. While these types of fees are standard at most banks, if you are not careful it can add up quickly and chip away from the value of the other benefits as a Chase Private Client. 

Chase savings account products have lower APY

If you are relying on personal Chase savings accounts to meet the average daily balance needed to avoid the $35 monthly charge, then you may be disappointed with the Chase savings options. The annual percentage yield (APY) currently sits around 0.01% APY for the basic Chase Savings account, or 0.02% if you link your Chase Private Client savings account to a Chase Private Client cjeclomg account. Compared to other savings accounts, such as Ally or Marcus by Goldman Sachs which offer a competitive 0.50% APY for certain savings accounts, the Chase APY is not nearly as robust. 

Reputation

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has been in business for almost 200 years, making it one of the bedrocks in the global financial community. The Chase Private Client service is one of literally hundreds of product options available under the Chase umbrella. Having this kind of access to such a variety of financial products is one of the many benefits a CPC member will realize. 

Throughout the years, JPMorgan Chase & Co., like other major financial institutions, has dealt with its share of controversies. There have been several enforcement actions noted with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Although not officially accredited with the Better Business Bureau, the BBB does give it a B+ rating for overall trustworthiness. 

When looking strictly at the Chase Private Client option, this account offers several enticing benefits you will not find with other private banking options. If you maintain the account thresholds, the $0 monthly fee and other popular fees waived, make it a strong contender for best in private banking.

Methodology

To compare Chase Private Client with other options and determine the best banks and credit unions of 2021, we collected quantitative data on more than 50 major U.S. financial institutions. Specifically, we looked at savings account APYs, product offerings, fees, mobile app satisfaction, and customer support. We rated each aspect on a scale from 1 to 5, then averaged the five scores into a single rating. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each scoring matrix.

Savings account APY

We rated the highest APY that each bank or credit union offers on a savings account (excluding accounts or rates with a minimum balance requirement greater than $1,000).

Offerings

We counted how many product lines each institution offers, since many people enjoy the convenience of keeping multiple accounts at the same bank. We included deposit accounts (checking, savings, money market, certificates of deposit), credit cards, loans (personal, student, auto, home equity), mortgages and mortgage refinancing, retirement accounts, and investment accounts as distinct qualifying offerings.

Mobile app satisfaction

Since mobile apps are increasingly becoming the primary way people manage their bank accounts, we consulted the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Banking Mobile App Satisfaction Study. For any banks or credit unions that weren’t included in the study, we used mobile app customer ratings from the Google Play store.

Fees

We consulted every bank’s fee schedule and terms and conditions to search for any of the following: monthly maintenance fee, overdraft fee, insufficient funds fee, debit card replacement fee, account closure fee, and stop payment order fee.

Customer support

Since different people prefer different support options at different times, we counted how many customer support channels each bank offers, including telephone, email, online chat, mobile app, online forums, online learning center, and physical branches.