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I never go inside the bank so this is perfect for me. I can do all my transactions (cash & check deposits & cash withdrawls) at the atm & bank of america is nearby.
My current bank is chase but they will be charging 10.00 mo starting 2/11 unless i meet their requirements (direct deposit, etc) which i cant.
If anyone has bank of america free online checking can you tell me if their is a min balance required & will i be charged for my checks when i first open the account ?
Is this totally free checking as long as i dont see a teller & i use the atm or go online for all my transactions incl receiving paperless statement via online ?
"Free" is no bargain when dealing with any of the Corporate Vampire Banks (Chase, BoA, Citi, Wells-Fargo, etc.). We had the chance to be free of them if Congress would have let them die -- instead they stole our money and gave it to them.
If you think "free" is a bargain -- Think about this a minute. Can they operate a profitable business by offering and providing any truly "free" service? The goal is that you will be suckered in and over time they will get to knick and bleed you with various service charges, until and unless you get so disgusted with them you fire them. Which can be a pain after you have set up direct deposit of your paycheck and are doing bill-pay with them.
If you want something Free -- here is some Free Advice. Go do business with your local Credit Union. They usually have some minimum membership account to open and then tend to do pretty straight and fair business.
I have B of A "My Access Checking". According to their website, it's free if you either have a direct deposit, or maintain a $1,500 balance. So I guess you could have free B of A checking if you can maintain the $1,500 balance. I use a teller occasionally, there's no fee for that. And I use the debit card all the time with no fees.
B of A is fine, as long as you don't need to deal with their customer service reps, who are malicious idiots as far as I can tell. I stick with this bank because I like their online banking, I like the Shop Safe feature that goes with my Mastercard account, and because the local B of A brick and mortar location is the nearest one to where I live.
"Free" is no bargain when dealing with any of the Corporate Vampire Banks (Chase, BoA, Citi, Wells-Fargo, etc.).
Free is a bargain no matter which bank it is.
Quote:
If you think "free" is a bargain -- Think about this a minute. Can they operate a profitable business by offering and providing any truly "free" service?
Why yes they certainly can. They can use your money to lend to others, and they can collect fees from people who aren't wise enough to properly take advantage of the free offerings. I'm with a major bank and have a free checking account with no fees.
My computer is running a free version of antivirus software. They offer an upgraded fancier one for a fee, but I"ll stick with the free one it does everything I need and has regular updates to the threat library. Whether the company is profitable or not I don't know, but they certainly could be, and it would be by providing a truly free service.
Quote:
If you want something Free -- here is some Free Advice. Go do business with your local Credit Union. They usually have some minimum membership account to open and then tend to do pretty straight and fair business.
I have nothing against credit unions but your advice is silly for the many who don't pay any fees with major banks. All I would get if I followed it would be a different free checking account with far fewer branch locations and ATMs.
If you think "free" is a bargain -- Think about this a minute. Can they operate a profitable business by offering and providing any truly "free" service?
Yes, think about it for a minute. Do companies often over low cost products and services to gain market share and drive business to other more profitable products/services? Oh my...yes they do!
I have paid $0 in fees on my Bank of American accounts since they were open. They have branches everywhere, they have ATMs everywhere, they have a great website, etc Why in the world would I want to use a credit union? I dropped my credit union 3~4 years ago, bad service, bad website, poor product selection, etc. Credit unions are for oldsters.
[qoute]On the third Wednesday of every month, the nine members of an elite Wall Street society gather in Midtown Manhattan. The men share a common goal: to protect the interests of big banks in the vast market for derivatives, one of the most profitable — and controversial — fields in finance. They also share a common secret: The details of their meetings, even their identities, have been strictly confidential.
Drawn from giants like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the bankers form a powerful committee that helps oversee trading in derivatives, instruments which, like insurance, are used to hedge risk.
In theory, this group exists to safeguard the integrity of the multitrillion-dollar market. In practice, it also defends the dominance of the big banks.
The banks in this group, which is affiliated with a new derivatives clearinghouse, have fought to block other banks from entering the market, and they are also trying to thwart efforts to make full information on prices and fees freely available.[/quote]
So much for the free market mantra.....
The article is around 5 pages long, and many of the comments made by people are quite livid to say the least:
The timing of this article was certainly appropriate in my little world because, yesterday, I received a number of envelopes from a U. S. District Court, announcing settlement of a class action suit against one of these banks (identity withheld to protect the guilty...). I got out my spectacles and began wading through the absurd complexities of this settlement and was delighted to run across a paragraph that said that I do not need to fill out a "claim form" and that, because my investment had been identified, I would eventually be receiving a check when all fees and costs have been deducted from the settlement. An estimate was provided. It is a joke. My share of the settlement won't even cover the postage required to send me this heap of paper. My point? The small investor (I certainly qualify) has no chance in a world totally dominated by these greedy thieves with their super computers and their math whizzes and their split second trading. I did have a few pleasant moments two years ago when the "biggest of the big" were dragged before Barney Frank and threatened with the handle of that gavel Mr. Frank loves to wave around. I was deluded into believing that something would be done to rein them in. Now, thanks to the fine folks at the Times, I find that the situation is even worse. The country is being sucked dry by these monster banks and nobody is doing anything to stop it. As Tiny Tim said at the end of "A Christmas Carole", "God bless us, every one."
What needs to happen, is that these banks need to be broken up, for the parasites they are so that they do not pose a risk to the system again.
I have B of A "My Access Checking". According to their website, it's free if you either have a direct deposit, or maintain a $1,500 balance. So I guess you could have free B of A checking if you can maintain the $1,500 balance. I use a teller occasionally, there's no fee for that. And I use the debit card all the time with no fees.
B of A is fine, as long as you don't need to deal with their customer service reps, who are malicious idiots as far as I can tell. I stick with this bank because I like their online banking, I like the Shop Safe feature that goes with my Mastercard account, and because the local B of A brick and mortar location is the nearest one to where I live.
You dont have the free online/atm only checking account. I have no reason to talk to a teller. I mainly need a checking account for deposits & writing a few checks a month (rent & insurance) & paying a few bills online.
I refuse to pay for a checking account & if i have to ill open a free checking acct at US bank.
If i write you a check & you dont have a bank acct chase will charge you $6.00 to cash it even if the check is from a chase bank customer. US bank charges 5.00.
Turns out it would a smart thing, a very very smart thing, to put lots and lots of your money and time into dealing with a Bank of America "free" account.
Don't take MY word for it, look at what thousands of satisfied customers have to say:
Turns out it would a smart thing, a very very smart thing, to put lots and lots of your money and time into dealing with a Bank of America "free" account.
Don't take MY word for it, look at what thousands of satisfied customers have to say:
I swear, some of C-D gets dumber by the day . . . .
I dont have alot of money & i did contact B of A today & was told their is a 12.00 charge for the least expensive checks. Ill pass on that & go to US bank who charges 5.00 for shipping checks. I want a bank in my area & the only choices are chase, citi & us bank. I wont mail my checks for deposit & i want a atm with no charge to use nearby. US bank isnt walking distance but its less then 5 miles away.
Yeah, the posters who pay no fees and are satisfied with their service should immediately jump to a credit union with less branches and ATMs because PhilipT can't get his head around a company making a profit while offering free services but can find a website of unhappy customers.
Makes sense.
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