$3 monthly debit card fee? Goodbye Wells Fargo!

[Pliablemoose]

Having all eggs in one basket has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen posted.

Good thing you prefaced with "Disclosure - I am a banker...".

So Dave, you have over $100K in your account?

That's the only reason to spread your money across different accounts.

(puts Dave back on ignore list)

 

[flvinny521]

Actually, it's $250k now.

If you have that much money in liquid accounts, you're probably doing something wrong. There are legal ways to get around FDIC limits if you have very large balances ($1mm+, or in some cases, $250k+)

 

[FelixDeCat]

I need a B&M bank so I can deposit the occasional large check and quickly transfer funds to USAA, and that's its only purpose. I've held on to my BoA for a long time but now monthly fees are up to a ridiculous $13. On top of that they reduced my $5000 limit CC that I never used to $200 a while back. Any suggestions?

From $5k to $.2K? What was the reasoning behind that?

"You can charge $200, but dont spend it all in one place - sonny!" 😀

 

[blinblue]

Anyone in the Chicago area should check out Consumers Credit union. 4.09% interest on balances up to $10,000 and ATM fee refunds.
Got to jump through a few hoops to get it (12 non-PIN transactions a month, direct deposit or bill pay, electronic statements). But not too bad at all, especially for a 4.09% interest. No fees or anything.
See all the details here
https://www.myconsumers.org/en/personal-banking/checking/free-rewards-checking.aspx
Don't need to be a resident (you can apply online), but I personally would rather only do business with a credit union that I can physically go to. You can do the majority of your banking (like making deposits and whatnot) at pretty much any credit union though.

I signed up a few months ago and so far everything works great. Customer service has been pretty good too


There's plenty of good banks and credit unions out there, no sense wasting time with the crappy ones

 

[KK]

I'm looking into Georgia's Own credit union myself. They seem to have pretty decent services and no fees.

I've been with georgia's own since 97 when it was georgia telco. Haven't had any issues with it. It was nicer in the beginning as they had a branch in the basement of our building, but they had to move out for some reason. Now they are just down the road alittle.

 

[manly]

Is Chase really that good of a bank or just another evil?

no better than Wells Fargo, really.

 

[Ns1]

no better than Wells Fargo, really.

except so much more free shit and mobile banking app.

oh, better locations in major metropolitan areas too.

 

[GrumpyMan]

So I will start writing checks for every single thing I do, is it cheaper for a bank to process these than an electronic transaction? Besides I'm with a Credit Union anyway. A bunch of Credit Unions got together and you can bank at any one of them with no extra charges, which makes them very convenient. All banks can kiss my ass.

 

[velillen]

hmmm i live in Washington and have gotten nothing from Wells Fargo about this. Even in my inbox in my account (i assume its under "messages & alerts" ?)

Then again maybe it only went out to acocunts to be effected by it. I have direct deposit from work and a high level checking account so they might just waive it as a "convince" of being that level. Even if i dropped down i could care less as long as the direct despoit waives that fee

 

[Engineer]

I will leave my bank immediately if they try to charge me a monthly fee.

This.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

I haven't seen any indication of this anywhere in my online account management.

 

[pcgeek11]

Disclosure - I am a banker...

Times are changing, and banks' profits have been slashed greatly, so look for ALL major banks to be implementing changes, and they will ALL have some sort of requirements to be met in order to have those service fees waived.

The bottom line is that checking accounts have not always been free; it is a relatively recent development. If you want to keep your business spread between several banks, that is your decision and nobody will argue with you, but you'll probably find that banks will be more lenient with you if you qualify for and maintain a higher level account by consolidating your finances with one institution.

The banks profits have been slashed... Really? Why do you always hear about all these big banks and their billions in profits? BS on this statement.

Free checking accounts are a new development? I am 56 years old and have never paid for a checking account. Again BS.

Find a good credit union. You will be happier and better off for it.

 

[gevorg]

Guys, a lot of these fees are waived if you meet certain conditions such as minimum balance, 2 deposits per months, etc.

For example, here is BofA's MyAccess checking:


Monthly service charge waived if you:

Make at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more each statement period

OR

Maintain an average balance of $1,500

 

[hdeck]

i'm sure they are going to miss you dearly.

 

[Veevester]

Credit unions are the way to go. I opened my first account at one when I was a teen and have used them since. Even then I knew banks were a bad deal. My current CU = free everything. Free checking, debit, cashier's checks, they don't even take a cut when I turn in my change jars. You can deposit checks from the comfort of your own home by scanning them. Can't get more convenient than that. I can take money out of any credit union's ATM. I can't say enough about them, and they tend to have slightly better rates than banks.

Basically, banks blow

 

[GrumpyMan]

The banks profits have been slashed... Really? Why do you always hear about all these big banks and their billions in profits? BS on this statement.

Free checking accounts are a new development? I am 56 years old and have never paid for a checking account. Again BS.

Find a good credit union. You will be happier and better off for it.

Agreed. Banks are right up there with the IRS, Health Insurance Companies and Islamic terrorists as far as cancers to the US populace in my opinion. Oh yeah, and let's not forget about Congress.

 

[ddjkdg]

I need a B&M bank so I can deposit the occasional large check and quickly transfer funds to USAA, and that's its only purpose. I've held on to my BoA for a long time but now monthly fees are up to a ridiculous $13. On top of that they reduced my $5000 limit CC that I never used to $200 a while back. Any suggestions?

I don't really get this, does USAA put a hold on the funds that your local bank doesn't?

You can put checks into your USAA account with remote deposit on their mobile app, or deposit it at a B&M UPS store where they have a partnership. There is no reason to send anything in the mail now.

IMO all the large national banks like Wells Fargo, Chase, US Bank, etc are pretty much the same. The one and only benefit to banking with them is more locations/ATMs, which can be important if you travel frequently. On the other hand you can expect to get hit with fees at every opportunity they have and the service is always sub-par.

I have been convinced for a long time that the best way to do your banking is to keep accounts with an online bank like USAA, Ally, or even the new Amex or Discover banks where you do the majority of your transactions. They have a lot lower overhead so the fees are negligible and some like USAA will either refund ATM fees back to you or have partnerships with large ATM networks. At the same time you should keep an account at a small local/regional bank, or even better, credit union for cash deposits, getting certified funds, etc. The fees will still be less but the service will be 10x better than the nationals. And many credit unions are on the Co-Op network as well so can avoid ATM fees.

 

[Pulsar]

The banks profits have been slashed... Really? Why do you always hear about all these big banks and their billions in profits? BS on this statement.

Free checking accounts are a new development? I am 56 years old and have never paid for a checking account. Again BS.

Find a good credit union. You will be happier and better off for it.

Yep. Credit Union. Much better all the way around. I called a dozen local banks because my credit union is an hour away and none can even come close to the service I get. Not one of them. They want fees for this, fees for that, and when I tell them what I want, they tell me they can't do it and no one else can either. When I mention credit unions, they inevitably reply "well they're not banks". Could have fooled me.

 

[alkemyst]

They only charge fees when you keep very little in the account.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/checking/

Their terms seem VERY reasonable. If you are keeping less than $500, get a secured credit card.

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah... I'm pretty sure that my Wells Fargo account is exempt from these fees because I keep more than a $1,000 balance on my account and I have direct deposit.

We'll see, anyway...

 

[KentState]

They only charge fees when you keep very little in the account.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/checking/

Their terms seem VERY reasonable. If you are keeping less than $500, get a secured credit card.

WF is doing this regardless of how much you keep according to the notice they put on my statement.

 

[esquared]

Disclosure - I am a banker...

All banks have different types of checking accounts, and each of those different accounts have different fees or requirements. If you talk to a banker about it, they will likely recommend that you change your account to another type that may be a better fit for you.

If you bring more of your business to any bank, and upgrade to a higher level account, you will likely not have to deal with these type of issues. Times are changing, and banks' profits have been slashed greatly, so look for ALL major banks to be implementing changes, and they will ALL have some sort of requirements to be met in order to have those service fees waived.

The bottom line is that checking accounts have not always been free; it is a relatively recent development. If you want to keep your business spread between several banks, that is your decision and nobody will argue with you, but you'll probably find that banks will be more lenient with you if you qualify for and maintain a higher level account by consolidating your finances with one institution.

ummm, No.

Maybe not all banks offered free checking but it's been around for over 20 years.

I've had free checking for over 20 years, the last nearly 15 years with the same bank.

The day they try making me pay a penny is the day I switch

 

[TridenT]

I use Umpqua Bank. No fees here bitches. 😛

 

[Bignate603]

I don't really get this, does USAA put a hold on the funds that your local bank doesn't?

You can put checks into your USAA account with remote deposit on their mobile app, or deposit it at a B&M UPS store where they have a partnership. There is no reason to send anything in the mail now.

IMO all the large national banks like Wells Fargo, Chase, US Bank, etc are pretty much the same. The one and only benefit to banking with them is more locations/ATMs, which can be important if you travel frequently. On the other hand you can expect to get hit with fees at every opportunity they have and the service is always sub-par.

I have been convinced for a long time that the best way to do your banking is to keep accounts with an online bank like USAA, Ally, or even the new Amex or Discover banks where you do the majority of your transactions. They have a lot lower overhead so the fees are negligible and some like USAA will either refund ATM fees back to you or have partnerships with large ATM networks. At the same time you should keep an account at a small local/regional bank, or even better, credit union for cash deposits, getting certified funds, etc. The fees will still be less but the service will be 10x better than the nationals. And many credit unions are on the Co-Op network as well so can avoid ATM fees.

Not everyone qualifies for the mobile app. https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/deposit_at_mobile_main

To qualify for their insurance I thought you needed to have a military connection, while you can get the banking services without being connected to the military.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I don't really get this, does USAA put a hold on the funds that your local bank doesn't?

You can put checks into your USAA account with remote deposit on their mobile app, or deposit it at a B&M UPS store where they have a partnership. There is no reason to send anything in the mail now.

You can't deposit checks over $5000 with a scanner though, and every once in a while it does come up. I didn't know about the UPS store thing, though. Do they have limits there? If not that would be wonderful and I can close my BoA accounts immediately.