How Banks Treat You at Every Level of Wealth, and What Each One Gets

10. No account yet

One bank adds up to 75% to card rewards as your balances grow. Here are ten levels, and what each one gets. Number ten: no account yet. Bank of America's page says its rewards program starts with an eligible checking account.

That page also says there is no fee to join or keep a membership. Chase's page says opening a checking account is subject to approval. With no account yet, the balance starts at $0. Citi's page says Access Checking monthly service fees are waived for account owners age twenty-three or younger.

By our count, a five-dollar monthly fee waived for twelve months keeps $60 a year. Five times twelve is sixty. Citi's page says terms, conditions and fees are subject to change. Account options differ where you live.

If guides like this help you, subscribe: every fee, tier and bonus here comes from the banks' own pages, linked below.

9. A zero balance

Number nine: a zero balance. Chase Overdraft Assist charges no overdraft fee if you end the business day overdrawn by $50 or less. Over $50, getting back to fifty or less by the end of the next business day also avoids it. Chase Total Checking charges a monthly service fee of $15 in each statement period.

The fee is zero with electronic deposits of $500 or more, or a minimum average daily balance. Citi waives the monthly service fee on Regular Checking and Access Checking each month. That takes $250 or more in direct deposits or other qualifying transactions. Mobile check deposits and money deposited at a branch or ATM do not count, the page says.

Under BofA Rewards at Bank of America, the Member tier needs no minimum balance. It adds a 10% rewards bonus on eligible cards. An auto loan rate discount of 0.10% applies to applications sent directly to the bank. The Member tier also takes up to $100 off mortgage origination fees, once, on a new mortgage or refinance.

By our count, a fifteen-dollar monthly fee waived for twelve months keeps $180 a year. Fifteen times twelve is 180. Other fees and charges can still apply to these accounts, and each bank's page points to its full fee list. Account fees differ where you live.

8. Five hundred dollars in savings

Number eight: $500 in savings. Citi waives the savings fee for owners of a Regular Checking or Access Checking account, its page says. Citi Savings carries a monthly service fee of $4 and fifty cents without a waiver. The same waiver covers Citi Accelerate Savings accounts.

Citi counts the $500 as an average monthly balance. Citi waives the monthly service fee on Citi Savings once that average reaches $500 or more. By our count, a four-dollar-fifty monthly fee waived for twelve months keeps $54 a year. Four fifty times twelve is fifty-four.

Citi's page says Citi Accelerate Savings accounts are available in select markets. Savings rules differ where you live.

7. Fifteen thousand dollars

Number seven: $15,000. Chase Premier Plus Checking pays interest, compounded and paid monthly. $25 is the monthly service fee on Chase Premier Plus Checking. Chase's page also lists a qualifying Chase first mortgage with automatic payments as a way to avoid the fee.

The account has no Chase fees on ATMs across the globe and no foreign exchange rate adjustment fees. It also has no fees on money orders or cashier's checks. Chase Premier Savings has a zero monthly service fee when paired with Premier Plus Checking. Premier relationship interest rates apply with at least five transactions each statement period.

Chase waives the fee with $15,000 in average beginning day balances. Qualifying linked accounts can also bring the twenty-five-dollar fee to zero. By our count, a twenty-five-dollar monthly fee waived for twelve months keeps $300 a year. Twenty-five times twelve is 300.

The fee applies in any statement period when none of the page's ways to avoid it is met. Banking fees differ where you live.

6. Thirty thousand dollars

Number six: $30,000. Citi's Family Linking lets immediate family members who live with you combine balances. Starting at $30,000 in combined balances, BofA Rewards Preferred Plus is Bank of America's tier for this level. Those balances are eligible Bank of America deposits and Merrill investing balances.

Preferred Plus gives a 25% rewards bonus on eligible cards. The tier also takes 0.25% off an auto loan rate. Up to $300 comes off mortgage origination fees, once. Monthly maintenance fees are waived on unlimited checking and savings accounts by Preferred Plus.

Its ATM waiver covers one withdrawal and one transfer per statement cycle at domestic non-Bank of America ATMs. The tier also refunds the ATM operator's fee for that same withdrawal and transfer. Citi names the same $30,000 for its Relationship Tiers. Citi says a Relationship Tier can offer enhanced benefits.

Its tiers waive monthly service fees and the two-dollar-fifty non-Citi ATM fee. By our count, a 25% bonus on $200 of card rewards adds $50. The $200 is only our example, not a figure from the page. Citi re-tiers you if your combined average monthly balance stays below the minimum for three calendar months in a row.

Tiers and rewards differ where you live. That's past the halfway mark: from no account up to $30,000 so far. The last five go from $100,000 up to a family office, with the top last.

5. One hundred thousand dollars

Number five: $100,000. Bank of America's Preferred Honors rewards bonus is double the Preferred Plus bonus, which sits one tier below. BofA Rewards Preferred Honors starts at $100,000 in combined balances. It gives a 50% rewards bonus on eligible cards from Bank of America.

At this tier an auto loan rate comes down 0.35%, up from the tier below. Domestic non-Bank of America ATM fees are waived at this tier with no limit per statement cycle. Unlimited checking and savings accounts have their monthly maintenance fees waived. Rush card replacement, stop payments and incoming wire transfers also have their fees waived.

Mortgage origination fees drop by up to $600 at this level. By our count, $600 off mortgage origination fees is double the Preferred Plus tier's 300. 300 times two is 600. The mortgage benefit is a one-time benefit on a new mortgage or refinance loan, based on your tier at application.

Loan terms differ where you live.

4. One hundred fifty thousand dollars

Number four: $150,000. Chase Private Client includes twenty-four-seven support and no fees on ATMs worldwide. Balances in all linked accounts count toward the $150,000 requirement for Chase Private Client Checking. That requirement waives the Chase Private Client Checking monthly service fee.

A dedicated banker gives one-on-one support and partners with a JPMorgan advisor to create personalized wealth strategies. The banker connects you to specialists for home lending and business needs. Premium banking also brings no Chase fees on incoming or outgoing wire transfers. Linked deposit accounts have their monthly service fees waived.

Mortgage rate discounts may be available based on balances. Chase Private Client customers receive a 0.25% discount off the standard auto financing rate. They may also be invited to invitation-only events, from cultural and sporting events to family experiences. By our count, $150,000 is five times the thirty-thousand-dollar tier two levels below.

30,000 times five is 150,000. Rates, program terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Private client programs differ where you live.

3. One million dollars

Number three: $1 million. Premier gives a 75% rewards bonus on eligible cards at Bank of America. BofA Rewards Premier starts at $1 million in combined balances. Premier is the top BofA Rewards tier, so no tier sits above it.

Premier waives fees at domestic and international non-Bank of America ATMs, though an ATM operator abroad may charge its own fee. Premier also waives fees on incoming and outgoing wire transfers. Merrill Guided Investing gets a 0.15% program discount at Premier. The page's example uses an average investment balance of $80,000 for the discount.

The page's top auto loan rate discount is 0.50%, at Premier. The full Premier mortgage rate reduction is 0.375%, with an approved eligible loan and automatic payments. By our count, 0.15% of $80,000 is $120 a year. 80,000 times 0.0015 is 120.

The page gives its dollar examples for illustrative purposes only. Investment rules differ where you live.

2. A private bank, from five million dollars

Number two: a private bank, from $5 million. Citi Private Bank's page lists home financing, custody, estate planning, art advisory and aircraft financing among its services. Its services have a minimum investment level of $5 million, the page says. JPMorgan Private Bank's page lists real estate lending and securities-based lending among its services.

It also lists tax strategy and trust and estate planning under wealth planning and advice. JPMorgan Private Bank offers families an outsourced chief investment office, with ongoing risk management. By our count, $5 million is five times the one-million-dollar tier one level below. Five times 1 million is 5 million.

Neither of these two private bank pages shows a fee table. Private banking differs where you live.

1. A family office, over one hundred million dollars

Number one: a family office, over $100 million. Single family offices are the only ones that can use Citi Private Bank's family office services. Those offices need over $100 million in assets under management, according to Citi Private Bank. JPMorgan defines a family office as a private business for ultra-high-net-worth families.

That business offers services such as investment management, estate planning, tax services and philanthropy coordination. JPMorgan Private Bank's Family Office Services Team provides a personalized approach to financial stewardship. Its page says family offices are often viable for families with generally at least a few hundred million in assets. JPMorgan's private advisory covers family office structuring and design, family governance and next generation education.

By our count, $100 million is 100 times the one-million-dollar tier two levels below. 1 million times 100 is 100 million. The hundred-million-dollar line is Citi's own rule for its family office services. Family office rules differ where you live.

So, every level: no account, a zero balance, 500 in savings, 15,000 and $30,000. Then 100,000, 150,000, a million, a private bank and a family office. Fees, tiers and rules differ where you live. So open each bank's own page, and see what it asks for in your area.

Which level surprised you most? Tell us the number in the comments. Results vary, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings.

Next on Wealth Filings, watch every level of car ownership, and what changes at each one.