Maybe it's not love. Whatever depositing a few hundred bucks into an ATM and humping it a few times is called.
I mean hey, I just threw down a couple hundred bucks. I get something out of it, right?
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Chase Banking To Charge a Monthly Fee if you have less than $500 in your account!
- Thread starter HappyDude20
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Maybe it's not love. Whatever depositing a few hundred bucks into an ATM and humping it a few times is called.
I mean hey, I just threw down a couple hundred bucks. I get something out of it, right?
So I guess perhaps its time in this thread to ask:
Which bank would best suit my needs?
Obviously I'm not down with paying any monthly service fees at all.
Aside from Chase Checking, I have a Citi Credit Card.
In about a month i'll be leaving to travel abroad for the next 6 months; jumping from China & Japan and maybe another country if there's time.
With Citi, as far as I remember, when I'm in China and want to take out cash from an ATM they won't charge me, but the bank @ whichever ATM I'm at will.
Though I'm not the biggest fan of Citi's customer service, I've had them for over 3 years now and have since built up pretty good credit for my age of 22. Hell, I even have a 7.99% APR with them due to my good standing.
Though I wouldn't like to admit it, Citi will most likely remain as my credit card of choice for the time being (though I would like to migrate to a "double miles" card, seeing as I love to travel).
What is in jeopardy at the moment is my checking, specifically w/ Chase. A monthly service fee is horrible, considering while in China/Japan I won't be adding any funds to this Chase Checking Account.
So it seems i'd need something w/o any fees and the liberty of using it @ almost any ATM in the world (preferably free of ATM fee charges)
Which bank would best suit my needs?
Obviously I'm not down with paying any monthly service fees at all.
Aside from Chase Checking, I have a Citi Credit Card.
In about a month i'll be leaving to travel abroad for the next 6 months; jumping from China & Japan and maybe another country if there's time.
With Citi, as far as I remember, when I'm in China and want to take out cash from an ATM they won't charge me, but the bank @ whichever ATM I'm at will.
Though I'm not the biggest fan of Citi's customer service, I've had them for over 3 years now and have since built up pretty good credit for my age of 22. Hell, I even have a 7.99% APR with them due to my good standing.
Though I wouldn't like to admit it, Citi will most likely remain as my credit card of choice for the time being (though I would like to migrate to a "double miles" card, seeing as I love to travel).
What is in jeopardy at the moment is my checking, specifically w/ Chase. A monthly service fee is horrible, considering while in China/Japan I won't be adding any funds to this Chase Checking Account.
So it seems i'd need something w/o any fees and the liberty of using it @ almost any ATM in the world (preferably free of ATM fee charges)
My old bank (Citizens) just started doing the same thing. I just opened up new accounts with Bank of America. Really like the fact that you can deposit cash straight to ATMs, and the fees for my accounts are waived because I set up direct deposit. So far it's way better.
Until the local banks get bought up and merged with bigger banks.I had Chase, then dumped them for a local bank. I'm much happier now!
USAA's standard banking services are available to non-military customers. They are probably the best bank as far as customer service and flexibility goes, as long as you can deal with not having a physical bank to go to. I don't know of any bank that reimburses you for ATM transactions overseas.
For credit cards it's probably too late for you to get a different one at this point, but CapitalOne's Venture cards have no FTF and earn 2 miles per dollar spent. Since you'll be abroad for over 6 months that would probably be worth it.
For credit cards it's probably too late for you to get a different one at this point, but CapitalOne's Venture cards have no FTF and earn 2 miles per dollar spent. Since you'll be abroad for over 6 months that would probably be worth it.
I got the same letter as the op did. I am going to be closing my account as I only have $2 in the account. I also have an account with BofA (whom of which I used to work for in the offices and not banking centers) so I will just keep this account open as it is my main account.
I do have a credit card with chase, but I won't need the checking account.
I do have a credit card with chase, but I won't need the checking account.
I have BoA and they've been fine, and don't charge me ridiculous fees, but the second they do, I'm out.
Yeah--I like credit unions too--I belong to two--one--Travis Federal Credit Union in CA I've belonged to since 1971. I have the Chase account because it is convenient--just got a refinance loan with them.
Seconded - I was out at the corporate HQ for the company I work for a few weeks ago. Picked up an expense check while there, signed it, took photos of it with my iPhone using their mobile deposit app, and had the funds uploaded instantly to my account.
My colleague sat their amazed that such a thing could be done.
By comparison, Chase just canceled my credit card with them for lack of use. I was also a former WaMu customer and they canceled my checking and savings accounts I had with WaMu rather than transfer them over. I'm very glad I switched to USAA.
I have two - a bank and a credit union. I joined the CU back in about May of last year. Started with basic checking and savings, no direct deposit or anything else. Slowly but surely I am giving them more of my active business and shifting it away from the bank who I have been with for nearly 4 years, but the bank will be there for the foreseeable future.
The bank, Citi, has a checking account and a new savings account. They have my Direct Deposit and my Bill Pay. Basically, they are a funnel for my cash. Money comes in, money gets spent. That's it. Their credit policies are terrible besides the LOC, so I don't extend any other loans or credit cards with them.
I get asked all the time why I keep Citi. It's simple.
- Their online web portal is superior to any other bank besides Wells Fargo. The only thing Citi can't do that Wells can is order a cashier's check or money order from my funds to be sent to me or a recipient of my choosing.
- Line of credit with no credit check (Wells Fargo does this too but you can't withdraw directly from it and it doesn't report on your credit report).
- Funds Availability policy is superior to every other bank including my credit union. Basically, if I walk a check into the branch, it's fully available immediately. Doesn't matter if it's $10 or $10,000. They don't put a hold because I've never bounced a check and my cash flow is good. My credit union holds checks every time which is annoying.
- Daily spending limit is high. I can spend $5,000 on my debit card if I choose. Haven't found another bank that is anywhere near that limit.
- Daily withdrawal limit is high. I can withdraw $1,000 from ATMs. Again, can't find any other bank anywhere near that.
- Free next day inter-institution transfers.
- Solid Bill Pay application. Wells is actually superior to Citi, but Citi is superior to my credit union. I put in the account number, it has a database, it finds the name, the majority of companies are setup for electronic payments. Only thing I can't do is view utility bills, Wells has that as an advantage, but that's fine. My credit union is way behind the curve; wants me to fill in all of the information on who I'm paying and it's never electronic.
Citi has been good to me. I read horror stories all the time, but it's not been my experience. The only negative is their credit policies. For cash flow, they've been top tier.
I had Chase for a few months on a promo and they hit me with so many stupid fees I was left dumbfounded. The only good thing about them was the ability to scan checks. Too bad the fees ate up the checks I deposited.
A monthly service charge for a low balance account is not unreasonable, given the costs to administer it. Ironically, the less affluent people that the financial reform bill was trying to protect will bear most of the charges.
Being a college student, I'm constantly dropping below $20. I ALWAYS make sure I don't take out more than I have, but they always seem to slap me with a $5 fee or a $12 fee or other ridiculous amounts to make sure I do, then its time for their overdraft protection to kick in and hit me with another small fee next paycheck.
It's annoying as hell.
Seriously, see if there is a credit union associated with the college. They often have one named for the school or form partnerships with a credit union in the community. A credit union won't charge you those kinds of fees.
Go in and talk to them. There are new government regulations for overdrafts and overdraft protection. You can have them set it up so if you don't have sufficient funds, your card will just be declined instead of over-drafting, so you can save on all the fees.
Besides, with all of the text banking and alert features, there's really no excuse to overdraft. All I have to do is text "BAL" to the BofA text number, and they text me back with my balance instantly. You can also set up low balance threshold alerts for if you go below a set amount (I have mine set at $50 right now).
I think ETrades bank does this or did up to a certain amount. They are a pretty good option if you don't mind an online only bank.
BofA is probably one of the worst banks when it comes to fees and general poor CS. Years ago I had an incident with them and closed my account on the spot. They tried to give me all these reasons they couldn't give me money so I told the manager to either cut me a cashiers check now or I'm calling the police. They finally gave me my money and I have championed against them ever since
A good CU is definitely the way to go. I've been a member at my CU for quite a long time and they have always done the right thing.
BofA is probably one of the worst banks when it comes to fees and general poor CS. Years ago I had an incident with them and closed my account on the spot. They tried to give me all these reasons they couldn't give me money so I told the manager to either cut me a cashiers check now or I'm calling the police. They finally gave me my money and I have championed against them ever since
With the exception of foreign transaction fees and fees for using another bank's ATM - which I fully expected and were well aware of, and would pay at nearly any other bank, I've never paid any fees to BoA. They've actually been quite good.
I'm not saying that non-American banks are perfect.... but two pages of bank rants, and every single one of them is an American Bank..... says something about foreign banks, me thinks....
Accounts at two different credit unions here, each are good for different things. A legacy account at BMO, no monthly fees - so just a place to park some money and keep the AirMiles going, plus they are the issuer of my MC. Legacy line of credit at TD Canada Trust, which I leave at a slight credit balance so they don't close it.... no monthly fees there either.
Once upon time, in the early 70's, Scotia bank had a promo to get children to sign up for bank accounts. No fees on anything - a good interest rate (tied to prime). Exactly how you'd want a bank to treat children. Only children could open one of these "Hockey Accounts" - I got a fake puck in mail a couple weeks later.
However, I kept that account for a couple of decades, and they'd sometimes tease me about keeping my "Hockey Account", but they honoured the original agreement - and I kept getting great interest rates and no fees. I think they purposely had a stock of dopey "Hockey Account" passbooks they kept in back just for me, so that as I filled on passbook they could give me a new Hockey passbook (even though the program had been discontinued years before).
I finally moved away from the city, and closed the account. sigh....
Accounts at two different credit unions here, each are good for different things. A legacy account at BMO, no monthly fees - so just a place to park some money and keep the AirMiles going, plus they are the issuer of my MC. Legacy line of credit at TD Canada Trust, which I leave at a slight credit balance so they don't close it.... no monthly fees there either.
Once upon time, in the early 70's, Scotia bank had a promo to get children to sign up for bank accounts. No fees on anything - a good interest rate (tied to prime). Exactly how you'd want a bank to treat children. Only children could open one of these "Hockey Accounts" - I got a fake puck in mail a couple weeks later.
However, I kept that account for a couple of decades, and they'd sometimes tease me about keeping my "Hockey Account", but they honoured the original agreement - and I kept getting great interest rates and no fees. I think they purposely had a stock of dopey "Hockey Account" passbooks they kept in back just for me, so that as I filled on passbook they could give me a new Hockey passbook (even though the program had been discontinued years before).
I finally moved away from the city, and closed the account. sigh....
I'm not saying that non-American banks are perfect.... but two pages of bank rants, and every single one of them is an American Bank..... says something about foreign banks, me thinks....
Or it just means the majority of people who posted in here are American?
I have PNC, and love it. Their service is so much better than First Niagra, which took over my old bank [Harleysville National]. I also have a discover card. Are you me?
I'm trying to not have any debt, so I don't really want a 2nd credit card, but if I did have one it would probably be AmEx, I've never heard a single complaint about them.
My saving account is through ING, they're good at not getting in my way, and I've never had a problem with them since I got the account.
I'm locked in for 5 years under a Student program, which funnily enough, was supposed to mean I didn't get any of these fees.
I don't overdraft until they hit me with random fees with random amounts (I got charged $7 last month for something, nothing online tells me what it is). The whole point of my Student program was that none of this was supposed to happen, no balance minimums, no fees, etc. I will talk to them soon enough.
I try to always keep at least $50 in there, but I make less than $250 ever two weeks and keep having unexpected expenses (the starter in my Suburban just died).
I would still close out the account and switch banks. I do not trust those student programs and I have had some friends get screwed over by them. They do not tell you when they kick you out of the student program and you get slapped with some pretty heavy handed fees. Had multiple friends run into that problem then really struggle with getting out of the account and closing everything out.
I would go with a credit union. In todays age of internet banking not being close by it is not a real big draw back. Even more so when you have access to one of the shared branches that many credit unions are taking part in. Shared branching removes the last advantages the big banks had as now you can access you account almost anywhere in the country.
Only real limitation is you can only pull out about 700 max in any single day from a shared branch but no limitation on deposits and still not fees.