“There are an estimated 25 million safe deposit boxes in America, and they operate in a legal gray zone within the highly regulated banking industry. The total value of the items? An estimated $10 million-plus!

In 2014, he opened the box to find that his watches - along with some other valuables and documents he had in the box - were missing. That bank changed ownership many times over the years, eventually becoming a Wells Fargo. Why Safe Deposit Boxes Could Be a Bad IdeaĪ New York Times article tells the story of a New Jersey man who had kept his collection of rare watches in a safe deposit box at a local bank since 1983.

Obviously, they don't see a need to offer this service to keep the business, but we all know the industry is still very competitive and if there is some opportunity to compete, go for it.If you have valuables or important documents stored in a safe deposit box at a bank or credit union, you should know that your items might not have the protection you think they do. Maybe your mortgage is serviced by one of these other banks and you can take their 'Platinum'-equivalent checking via that association. Many have a lower threshold for free safe deposit rental. I really recommend that people look into banks that still have these (PNC, First Bank, US Bank, etc.). I even had a branch that BofA built, closed and was re-opened as a Chase and it became one of those couch-centric locations (not too different than what Capital One has done with their cafe model, except there is no actual food service at Chase). No new branches have them in the design.

Existing holders where the branch is still open and has them must now pay the renewal fee (as of May 2022 I believe) as many accounts lost their waiver of this fee.

No new Chase safe deposits are available/allowed even if you have an account type where the fee is still waived. Documentation indicates only Private Client (Sapphire and Premier Plus had it removed I believe back in May). Yes, there are only a few account types left that have waived annual safe deposit fee.

Chase bank safe deposit box locations