Ally Bank Review 2024: Checking, Savings and CDs

Ally doesn’t charge overdraft fees. The bank offers $100 in temporary overdraft coverage for no fee. Generally, customers will qualify for the service 30 days after depositing at least $100 total into their checking account. Overdraft coverage can increase to $250 if the customer receives a direct deposit of at least $250 for two consecutive months. To maintain this amount of coverage, customers need to have at least one direct deposit every 45 days.

Customers can also enroll in a service that allows them to make free overdraft protection transfers from a linked Ally savings or money market account. Customers who are enrolled in this service and also meet the qualifications for the temporary overdraft coverage will have transfers made in $100 increments from their linked account as necessary. If you don’t have enough in your linked accounts to cover a transaction, Ally will activate its temporary overdraft coverage.

Transactions are approved or declined at the bank's discretion, and customers who do overdraft will have 14 days to bring their balance back to positive before their account will be limited. Transactions that are eligible for overdraft coverage include debit card purchases, automatic payments (such as those for subscription services), personal checks and transfers initiated at other banks. Zelle payments, ATM withdrawals and wire transfers are ineligible for overdraft coverage, and transactions that would overdraft the account by more than the $100 or $250 limit will be declined, too.

You won't be able to escape fees entirely at Ally, but at least the bank clearly highlights what you'll owe for certain services and transactions. That kind of transparency isn't always so easy to come by with banks.