2025 Savings Rates at Chase, Wells Fargo, and USAA

Chase pays 0.01% on its standard savings account right now. Wells Fargo and USAA aren’t much different, and that’s the strange part. The federal funds rate target hit 3.63% in May 2026, and yet three of the country’s biggest banks are still paying customers next to nothing to park their cash there.

Relationship perks sound nice on paper, but for most balances they barely move the needle. A reader asked me not long ago: “Can I actually earn meaningful interest with Chase or Wells Fargo?” The honest answer, based on 2025 rate data, is no. Not unless you’ve got well over $100,000 sitting across linked accounts.

What Chase Actually Pays You in 2025, and How the Premier Tier Works

Chase’s plain-vanilla savings account sits at 0.01% APY. Bump up to Premier Savings and you get 0.02%, but only after linking a Chase checking account, keeping five transactions a month flowing through it, and holding a $500 balance. None of that is hard to do. The payoff just isn’t there.

Run the numbers on $10,000: standard Chase savings hands you $1.00 a year. Premier status doubles that to $2.00. Compare that to an online savings account paying 4.15% APY in mid-2025, which turns that same $10,000 into $2,075 over twelve months. Chase’s “upgrade” is a rounding error next to that.

Wells Fargo’s Platinum Savings and the Million-Dollar Catch

Standard Wells Fargo savings pays 0.01% APY, same as Chase. Platinum Savings advertises up to 2.51% APY, and that number is real, but it only kicks in once you’ve got $1 million or more linked to Premier Checking. CFPB data puts the share of U.S. households that clear that bar at under 0.1%.

Drop down to $100,000 in linked accounts and the relationship rate falls to 0.50% APY, still nowhere near what online banks pay. The rate isn’t even the biggest issue, honestly. It’s the $10 monthly fee on the Platinum account, which only disappears if you hit $10,000 in monthly deposits, keep $100,000 in total balances, or set up automatic savings enrollment. Miss all three and the fee quietly eats whatever interest you earned.

USAA’s Performance First Savings, Military Tiers, and What You Actually Take Home

USAA’s Performance First Savings starts at 0.05% APY and climbs from there depending on your balance. Get to $50,000 and the rate reaches 0.50%, which still trails the 4%+ yields at digital-only banks by a wide margin. You’ll need military service, veteran status, or a qualifying family connection to access the higher tiers, plus enrollment in USAA’s Relationship Rate Program.

Even for eligible members, the dollar amounts stay small. A $25,000 balance at 0.50% APY generates $12.50 a year, less than a single month’s interest at a competitive online bank. USAA’s real selling point isn’t the rate. It’s the fee-free access to more than 10,000 ATMs and the tight integration with military pay schedules.

What $10,000 or $50,000 Really Earns You at These Rates

Put Chase side by side with a top online savings account and the gap is stark. A $10,000 balance at Chase’s 0.01% APY earns $1.00 in a year. The same money at 4.15% APY earns $415, a $414 difference from doing nothing but choosing a different bank. Scale that to $50,000 and the gap widens to $2,075, enough to cover a year of car insurance or a decent vacation.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve data from 2026 puts annual inflation around 3.8%. At that pace, money sitting in a 0.01% account isn’t just earning nothing, it’s actively losing value every year.

Frequently Asked Questions

chase savings rate 2025 standard account

Chase’s standard savings account pays a flat 0.01% APY right now. You don’t need any minimum balance or transaction activity to open one.

does wells fargo have a 2.51% savings rate

It does, on the Platinum Savings account specifically. But you’ll need $1 million or more in linked accounts to actually qualify for that rate.

can you earn more than 0.01% at usaa

You can. USAA’s Performance First Savings starts at 0.05% APY and climbs to 0.65% once you’ve got $50,000 or more and full enrollment in the Relationship Rate Program.

how much do you earn on $10,000 in a chase savings account

Standard Chase savings turns $10,000 into $1.00 a year at 0.01% APY. Premier status gets you to $2.00, still far short of the $415 you’d earn at a 4.15% online account.