I bank with BOA and I’m not charged monthly. But there are different types of account so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them have monthly charges.

You should not be paying any money to keep a savings account in my opinion. They get to use your money and make money off of it. Some banks do charge a fee if the account becomes inactive, meaning it sits for, usually six months, without a transaction, but if it is linked to your checking account, which has many transactions that should mean no fees again.

I actually don’t recommend Bank of America, especially if you have low balances, because they favor large accounts.

What state do you live in?

I have been happy with Wachovia, but they are transitioning to Wells Fargo, and I have no idea how it will be. I also liked banking with WAMU, and recommend First Tennessee if you live in Tennesse.

I’ve never done anything with Bank of America, so I can’t really say anything about them. I’ve had bad experiences with WSFS and my husband had a really bad experience with Wachovia, so we won’t use them for anything.

Right now we use USAA and PNC and we love it. I recommend USAA to anyone that is eligible for an account with them. They are geared towards the military though, so unless you or someone in your family is in the military, you probably wouldn’t be eligible. I used a local credit union at one point when I was living in Delaware and they were really good too. Unfortunately, they started shutting down their branches and it worried me, so when I got married, I closed the accounts.

There are so many options out there these days that the best thing you can do is shop around to see what each bank in your area is offering as far as accounts and interest rates. Don’t overlook the credit unions because they tend to have better rates than some of the banks.

yes

Most Credit Union banks don’t charge at all. Even for checking accounts.
I know Navy Fed doesn’t but I think you have to have a family member already a member to join unless you are government worker of some kind.

@Seaofclouds I have considered opening an account with USAA, why do you like them so much? I think I checked once, and must have been getting a higher rate with my other banks since I did not do it. I do all of my insurance with them. They are so awesome.

I live in California!

My bank account isn’t uge right now, savings and checking has about 100 seperate right now.

Also i heard that TD bank (when it was commerce) was good, I’ve heard that from several people so I assume it still is. I’ve also heard PNC bank isn’t bad. I’ve considered switching. Reminds me of my cell phone carrier (which happens to be T mobile) I’ve had a long time problem with them aswell with just about everything. I only ended up with tmobile and wachovia at 1st and kept em bc my parents have both and have for years and so I started with them both too years ago. But I really need to part ways with both these shitty companies. : )

Does anyone know if Chase is a good bank?

I feel like Bank of America sucks me dry.

@JLeslie I love their customer service and all of the services they offer. They reimburse all ATM fees since they don’t have local branches. They allow you to deposit checks by scanning them or taking pictures of them with your phone (certain phones only), instead of by mail only. We had our truck refinanced through them because they gave us a much better rate than we had. We do all of our insurance through them. One time, my debit card number was stolen and charges were made on my account. I called them and explained the charges to them, they e-mailed me a form to sign. I printed it, signed it, scanned it, and e-mailed it back. I had a new card within 2 days of my call to them and the money back in my account within 4 days. When my husband deployed they were really helpful and told me everything I needed to do to be able to handle things in his name while he was gone. Since it required a special POA, they discussed everything I needed so that we could take care of it before he left. I just feel like they do a great job caring for their customers.

Credit Unions are your best bet. Credit Unions are owned by the people and not private investors. i have always been a member and always will be. no hidden anything at a Credit Union. they are the same as the bigger banks, only a lot more friendly.

@Seaofclouds Yeah, their customer service is so consistently awesome for my insurance needs. I don’t use a debit card. Really, all I look at primarily is the interest rate typically. Although, the customer service counts. At my Wachovia branch the manager knows me and used to call me when great CD rates were happening (because I had asked her too, she never bothered me with unwanted calls) and would help me lock in higher interest rates on my savings, but now that it is turning into Wells Fargo, the interest rates suck. I’m going to look it up on line again though. I’m glad you mentioned USAA, it was off of my radar.

USAA no longer requires a military tie to use checking and savings services. And they are a fucking awesome company.

I’m heavily biased against the big banks. I use a local credit union and USAA. If I didn’t have USAA, I would use a more local bank.

@Casablanca I found this bank https://www.bankofthewest.com/personal-banking/checking-accounts.html looks like they do online and have branches and no fees on checking.

Artisans. They have the little squirrel as their symbol of strength and fiduciary responsibility and honest and integrity. I have all my money safely entrusted in the Artisan’s little squirrels cheeks, that’s how much I trust that littlesibility and honest and integrity. I have all my money safely entrusted in the Artisan’s little squirrel. But the rest of my money, the amounts of it that really matters? Well, that money is safely tucked away in, a hopefully well balanced portfolio of stocks, municipal bonds and annuities. And a house that I inherited from my father that has been fully paid for since 1986. I certainly cannot minimize the blessing and plain dumb luck of that circumstance. I inherited a fully paid for house when my father died three years ago. I am grateful. of course, but I would much rather have my Dad. And just in case you might imaging that I am not grateful enough, I actually walk into my house somedays and kiss the walls and say “Thank You! I am so grateful to have this house to come home to, this house that is mine.” It’s crazy, no doubt about it. But do you ever come home and kiss your walls? Do you ever come home from a hard day grateful enough to kiss the walls when enter your house because you are lucky enough to have a place to come home to?

O.K. I did get a little off track there. I apologize for the preaching and the pontificating.

Credit unions are best.

I rock a credit union. It is nice to be able to walk in and get someone that will fix the banks fuck-up.

I deposited a check once and the person entering the amount fucked up. They put in 7.01 instead of 701.00 and my rent checked bounced. They were super cool and fixed everything asap and the bank manager called my landlord to apologize. And they always delete fees if I call and ask.

Credit unions are better than banks for most people. They charge lower interest on loans. They pay higher interest on deposits.

If you can’t find a credit union, consider a small local bank.

Move Your Money helps you find them:
http://moveyourmoney.info/about-us

I’m with BOA and don’t get charged for having both a savings and a checking account.

@Seaofclouds I’ve been thinking of switching to USAA for banking, and you just may have convinced me. I’m currently with Wells Fargo, and I’m not impressed.

Man, I might just buy stock in USAA tomorrow if a bunch of people in the collective are going to move all of their money there.

For my money, credit unions are better than banks.

Most banks in the US (especially the larger national ones like Citi, Chase, Huntington, etc) are crooks. They don’t care about you, only what money they can make off of you. Their customer service is often located far out of state, and if you have problems 9 times out of 10 they don’t care.

Go with a Credit Union. I’ve had Chase, Huntington, and seen friends use Citi, 5/3rd, etc…. My current Credit Union is 10x better than all of them.

Go with a community bank or credit union. Far safer.

@BarnacleBill Safer?

Can someone tell me how’d find a credit union bank ?

@Casablanca Here you go

”...the Move Your Money project was created to encourage individuals and institutions to divest from the nation’s largest Wall Street banks and move to local financial institutions.”
http://moveyourmoneyproject.org/