The Chase Liquid card is a reloadable card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. The card claims to offer the convenience of Chase with the ability to set up Direct Deposit, or deposit checks and cash at any Chase ATM or branch. You can even track your spending for free. So, is the Chase Liquid card as good as it sounds? Actually, it is.
As with most prepaid cards, Chase Liquid is marketed as an alternative to a checking account. This card does stands out from others when it comes to the fee structure, however.
Most prepaid cards have found a way to incorporate hidden fees into nearly every activity, including ATM use, reloading, activation, statements, balance inquiry, customer support and more.
What we like about Chase Liquid is that instead of being bombarded by hidden fees, you are charged a flat $4.95 monthly fee for use.
This card also offers free ATM access at any Chase ATM as well as Chase branch locations – making this an obvious choice over similar cards.
Additional Note: Chase Liquid is also accessible to customers throughout the country. Most comparable prepaid cards are only available in select areas.
Chase Liquid Fees and Fine Print Revealed
Unlike the majority of prepaid cards on the market, the Chase Liquid card has no fee to open, fill, refill or check your balance. You also won’t find charges for paper statements, bill payment, customer service or transactions, which is fairly common for this type of card.
As long as you withdraw money from Chase ATMs, the only real fee for the Chase Liquid is a flat monthly charge of $4.95.
Here is the actual fee schedule for the Chase Liquid:
- Monthly Service Fee: $4.95. This fee is waived if the card is linked to a Chase or JP Morgan checking account.
- Deposit fee at a Chase ATM: $0
- Withdrawal fee at a Chase ATM: $0
- Inquiry or Transfer at a Chase ATM: $0
- Withdrawal, Inquiry or Transfer at Non-Chase ATM: $2 plus ATM owner fee
- Withdrawal at Non-Chase Branch: $0 plus any fees the other bank charges
- Overdraft fee: $0
- Deposited Item Return Fee: $12
- Card Replacement Fee: $0 ($5 for rush request)
There is one MAJOR advantage to this prepaid card…
Unlike most prepaid cards on the market, the Chase Liquid offers an actual physical bank to make free check and cash deposits, or set up Direct Deposit. You also get free ATM withdrawals, while a number of cards, like NetSpend, will incur the card’s fee and an additional surcharge from the ATM.
Chase Liquid vs Other Comparable Prepaid Cards
The Chase Liquid card is a huge step above nearly every prepaid card currently on the market. The annual cost for this card is $59, compared to the Green Dot Card at $195, the Walmart MoneyCard at $236, the NetSpend Prepaid FeeAdvantage at $373 and the Netspend Prepaid Pay As You Go at a whopping $457 per year.
Let’s take a look at the average fees for services from other prepaid cards, all of which are free with the Chase Liquid:
- Activation fee of $8.95
- Card replacement fee of $6.92
- ATM withdrawal fee of $2.21
- Cash reload fee of $4.36
There are a few other bank-issued prepaid cards on the market as well, although they still don’t quite compare to the Chase Liquid. The U.S. Convenient Cash card has a lower annual cost at $39, although they only have 3,000 branches in 25 states with a total of 5,092 ATMS compared to Chase’s 17,500.
