Does Capital One 360 checking really have no fees?

The website for Capital One 360 checking declares prominently, "No fees."

Elsewhere on the site, it says Capital One 360 accounts are "fee free" and have "no hidden fees."

And there's this: "Our Overdraft Fee? We don't have one. Yep, that means $0."

Sounds good, but it's just not true.

Soon after opening a Capital One 360 checking account, I got this notice:

"When your check is cashed, you must have the funds available, including
your Overdraft Line of Credit, to cover the payment or it'll be rejected
and you'll be charged $9.00."

Funny, that sounds like a fee. And when I asked Capital One about this, they admitted that yes, they do charge fees.

"Our 360 Checking is typically free," they said in an email to me.  "In the instances we charge fees, it's to cover the third party costs we incur,"

To keep things in context, a few things are important to note:

First, a $9 overdraft fee is much less than the $30 to $32 charged by most banks. Second, you can reduce the likelihood of an overdraft fee by enabling the Capital One overdraft line of credit (you'll be charged interest when you use it, but not a fee). And finally, you can avoid overdraft charges of any kind simply by making sure you have enough money in your account to cover your checks.

Still, when Capital One 360 says its checking account has "no fees," it's lying. And it knows it.

Have you discovered another Capital One 360 fee? Let me know in the comments field below.



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