How Many Bank Accounts Should I Have?

While one bank account might be sufficient, it may not always be ideal. Opening multiple bank accounts can help you organize your finances, reach your savings goals faster, access different benefits, earn higher interest rates and bigger welcome bonuses, and even insure larger balances.

There's no one-size-fits-all answer to the question, "How many bank accounts should I have?" Some people may prefer the ease of having one checking and one savings account, while others may find they need half a dozen bank accounts to meet all their banking needs.

Should you have multiple bank accounts?

Opening multiple checking and savings accounts can help you organize your finances. You can manage your budget by opening a checking account for paying bills and a second account for discretionary spending. Having more than one savings account may make it easier to track your progress toward multiple savings goals.

If you run a business, it's best to keep a business bank account that's separate from your personal accounts. If you and a partner want to combine finances in a joint account, it might be wise to maintain your separate accounts as well.

Having multiple bank accounts to take advantage of a variety of benefits can make sense, too. While traveling, an online checking account with a debit card with no foreign transaction fees or ATM fees would be ideal, but when you're home, you could bank at a local credit union with branch access.

If you're hunting for the best savings rates, it can make sense to open high-yield savings accounts and money market accounts at the most competitive banks and move your funds between them to snag the highest rate at any given time. Bank account bonuses offer another way to maximize your earnings, and if you can meet the qualification requirements, you could go for multiple bonuses.

If you hold a large balance in your bank account, that's another good reason to open multiple accounts — taking advantage of the protection offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). Most bank accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, so spreading funds across multiple institutions can help you make sure all your money is insured.

Wondering how many bank accounts can you have? There's no limit. However, opening multiple bank accounts could get you in trouble if you aren't careful. If you struggle to stay on top of your finances, juggling multiple accounts will make this more challenging.

Many bank accounts also charge monthly maintenance fees and have minimum balance requirements, so make sure you're not opening accounts with hidden fees and requirements you can't meet. It's best to look for free accounts with no minimum balance requirements.

How to manage multiple bank accounts

With some organization and budgeting skills, it's possible to manage multiple bank accounts effectively. Here are some tips.

Research accounts before opening

Before opening new accounts, read the terms and conditions carefully, paying close attention to common bank fees. Note any monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees, ATM fees and minimum balance requirements. You can keep a spreadsheet detailing the main features, fees and requirements associated with each of your accounts.

You can also review our expert roundup of the best online banks if you're comfortable with digital banking.

Avoid fees

It's best to opt for accounts that don't charge monthly maintenance fees, so you don't have to worry about meeting multiple balance and activity requirements each month. Spreading your funds across numerous accounts may also increase your chances of overdrawing an account, so opting for accounts with no overdraft fees can be smart.

Give each account a purpose

If you have a checking account that charges no ATM fees and offers ATM fee reimbursements, you'll want to use that account's debit card for ATM withdrawals. If you have an account that earns a higher interest rate than the rest, that's probably where you want to keep your savings. If you have multiple savings accounts, assign a savings goal to each one. Some banks let you nickname your accounts, which may help you keep track of their purpose.

Check your accounts regularly

When juggling multiple accounts, you'll want to check your balances and recent transactions even more than usual. Save all your bank account login pages to a folder on your phone or your browser's bookmarks, and check them at least a couple of times each week. Check your balances before making a big purchase or withdrawing a lot of money, and sign up for alerts with each bank to get notified of a low balance or fraudulent activity.

Avoid overdrafts

To avoid overdraft fees, look for accounts that don't charge any, or you can link your checking account to a savings account at the same bank or a different one. When you link your accounts, the bank can pull funds from the linked account to cover any overspending in your checking.

The Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) notes that consumers who opt into overdraft coverage tend to pay more in fees than consumers who do not. So, it might make sense for you to opt out of overdraft coverage, which will prevent your account from overdrawing. Remember that you may still be charged a fee for returned payments and checks.

Is having multiple bank accounts bad for your credit?

Bank accounts don't generally impact your credit, so having multiple bank accounts isn't bad for your credit score. However, if you have a negative balance in one of your accounts and fail to pay it off, the bank can report that account to credit reporting agencies. In this situation, the account would appear on your credit history and likely hurt your credit.

This is why it's important to stay on top of your finances with multiple accounts. While it's not bad for your credit to have more than one bank account, if you let an account balance go negative and fail to pay it off, that can drag down your credit.

Pros and cons of multiple bank accounts

Pros

• Keep finances separate: Having multiple accounts to separate your personal finances from business finances, or your bills from your discretionary spending, can make money management easier.
• Track multiple savings goals: Having different accounts for each goal makes it easy to track your progress toward each goal.
• Make sure all your funds are insured: Opening accounts across multiple FDIC-insured institutions is a smart way to insure any funds you have that exceed the $250,000 FDIC insurance limit at a bank.
• Share an account: If you want to combine finances with a partner or help a child learn how to use a bank account, opening a new joint account is usually the best way to do that.
• Lock in the best rates: Interest rates change constantly. If you're willing to open multiple savings accounts and move money around to get the best rate, you can maximize your interest earnings.
• Earn welcome bonuses: If you can qualify for multiple bank bonuses at once, opening more than one account can be lucrative.
• Enjoy the best of both worlds: Having multiple bank accounts means you can take advantage of different perks. While some accounts may offer better ATM access and lower ATM fees, others may offer superior customer service, unique savings tools, higher interest rates or lower account fees.

Cons

• Hard to juggle: You might find it challenging to manage multiple bank accounts. It can be stressful to keep track of each account's purpose, pay attention to multiple balances and avoid fees.
• Multiple logins: Remembering multiple logins can be tricky, and checking your account balances will become more time-consuming the more accounts you have.
• Higher risk of overdraft. When your funds are spread across multiple bank accounts, it can be easier to have a misstep and overdraw one of your accounts.
• Fees can add up: If you have accounts that charge monthly maintenance fees, it can be difficult to consistently meet different requirements to have these fees waived on all your accounts.
• More minimum balances to maintain: Unless all your accounts have no minimum balance requirements, you'll have more minimum balances to maintain, which may spread you thin financially.

Is it OK to have just one bank account?

For some people, the answer to the question "How many bank accounts should I have?" is just one. If you don't want the hassle of managing multiple bank accounts at once or worry you won't be able to stay organized and avoid overdrafts and bank fees, it might be best to stick with one checking account and one savings account.

If you see the benefits of holding multiple bank accounts and are willing to put in the time and energy to stay organized and on budget, having several bank accounts might be right for you.