Choice of Banks

[nocturnaldrifter]

I recently turned 18 and I plan on opening a checking account in a week or two. I was just wondering which banks some of you use and if you like the special benefits (if any) you get with checking accounts or if there are a lot of fees, basically I'm looking for a bank with few fees and that is pretty large (citibank, wells fargo, bank of america, washington mutual) <--- leaning towards one of these.

[TheTimanator]

Bank of Amercia if you travel b/c there freakin' everywhere (just about).

[mrmephistopheles]

personally, i'd stay as far away from BofA as possible.
WaMu is good, Wells Fargo is good.
No experience with Citibank.

[cheez80]

Bank of Amercia if you travel b/c there freakin' everywhere (just about).

+1

if your parents have a home equity line of credit with them, you can open a prima account, which equals interest + no minimum. that's what i'm rocking.

[91CRXsiR]

i like WAMU (washington mutual) they haven't done me wrong yet since 00, but a few friends have been screwed by Bank of America and I know of a few instances where ppl have screwed other ppl through wells fargo.

[rokmplutonium]

+1

if your parents have a home equity line of credit with them, you can open a prima account, which equals interest + no minimum. that's what i'm rocking.

If your a full time college student, you can open up a free account with them.
So i hear.

I personally use WaMu. But plan on opening up another account with BOA

[91CRXsiR]

i almost signed up w/ B of A untill I talked w/ one of thier reps and saw thier plans... I'm limited to how many times I can use thier window clerks per month.. I would have to use the ATM outside (which i rarely go inside anyways but its the fact that they would put a limit on it, so i stayed away)

[Var]

-1 for B of A. They charge you 5.50 a month for checking, plus 2 dollars every time you go make a transaction inside your own bank. That's shady.

[nocturnaldrifter]

yeah ive heard good things about WaMu checking. no fees? its hard to pick, they are very tricky with all their hidden fees and random bullshit

[rokmplutonium]

Then just sign up for WaMu's FREE CHECKING. No hidden fees.
But there is a limited amount on money you can withdraw in a day. And other restrictions. Well, its a good starters checking account plan.

[OMGWTFBBQ]

Bank of America :bowdown: , well not really they're good though

[Ritz S14]

Wells Fargo blows, they charge you for $2 a month for using your ATM card.

WAMU is awesome. If you don't have WAMU, you still can use their ATM FREE!! But your own pank pwns you with a 2.50 charge..

I have switch to Wamu since 01. Love it. Home of the free :).

BUT I once bought a money order from wamu, them bastards charged me 16 DOLLARS FUCK. But this was a $2,200 m/o. Fuck buying them from wamu, everything else is great though. haha

[tew photy]

i used to work for bofa, and its a very lame ass company. they just try to suck people into their goddamn credit cards and fuck people by charging overdraft fees. i got a sawed off stuck in my chest when my branch was robbed last summer, and because i gave the robber the marked bills when it happened i was supposed to get 500 bucks. fuckers never gave it to me! fuck bofa :madfawk:

[SilviaDriver]

+100000 for WAMU. they are the shit. i just wished they offered Credit Cards again.

[RiversideS13]

check if you have US bank around. They have student free checking account and it has very nice internet banking system, that you can trace and record every penny or check you took from your account. Also, you can use the billpay system to make online payment to everyone...i always use that to pay my bills and help me build up a good credit.

[HyperTek]

well my mom has bofa, and had me under her name since 89, so when i turned 18 in 02, i got my own account platinum.. im happy with it.. Im 21 now, and just applied for a student credit card thru them since I dont have credit yet, plan to use it to paint my car and pay it off...

The people that claim so and so bank suck, well thats thier opinion, they probably dont watch thier account or often overdraw which is bad, as long as you can keep at least 100-50 bucks in the account to fall back on, you should be ok.

only thing that sucks is when someone direct deposites into your account, they deduct 10 bucks automatically.

[nistech]

WAMU rocks

[TurDz]

+1

if your parents have a home equity line of credit with them, you can open a prima account, which equals interest + no minimum. that's what i'm rocking.

I have the same. My Dad has BofA, so bascially I get that prima account, no fees for anything, no minimum, wooo hoo!

locations are amazing! I can almost take any exit to a small city and find a BofA on that street.

oo...I'm actually a valued Premier customer now...i think it entitles me to like 6 cents of interest a month, haha

[ALTRNTV]

WaMu. No questions asked.

[autobahNESSA]

check if you have US bank around. They have student free checking account and it has very nice internet banking system, that you can trace and record every penny or check you took from your account. Also, you can use the billpay system to make online payment to everyone...i always use that to pay my bills and help me build up a good credit.


+1 for US Bank. They have treated me well. Any misconceptions get taken care of right away. I deposite the wrong amount they send me a letter showing they corrected it for me.
I got free checking account, no min balance $1,500 daily atm withdrawl limit haha. Most banks are 300 dollar withdrwal limit. Shit I dont even have that amount in my account haha.
Their arent as many locations, although they are growing.
BofA, Wellfargo all try to sell you stuff, friends work at both, they make commisions of selling u accounts, overdraft, line of credit this, and other stuff. I havent been sold anything at Us bank so far.

[ZK]

Bank of America is very expensive unless you have direct deposit and/or maintain a certain min. balance. The upside is that they have ATM locations everywhere you can use... so if convenience is what you are looking for then they are the people to use.

Washington Mutual is excellent as well and has many ATM and bank locations although not as convenient as BofA.

Wells Fargo is kinda between WaMu and BofA. Still lots of fees and other stuff, not as much as BofA and slightly less locations than BofA but still tons of ATMs all over.

Overall, I'd pick WaMu because of the truly free checking. I can live with less convenience. I have both a WaMu and WellsFargo account but usually only use the WaMu one.

[wingsnthangs]

I've been using Washington Mutual for years and have had no problems with them. As advertised, home of the free. I recommended it to my friend who moved here from out of state and didnt have his bank here, so he opened an account and is a satisfied customer as well.

Granted, they probably dont have as many ATMs around, but if you use Yahoo Maps, there's a new toggle that locates WaMu banks (ATMs too?) instantly for you.

[KingKong8247]

Ive been thinking of switching banks Whats WaMu, Washington Mutual? Havnt seen many of them in Jersey.

Ive been using Wachovia. If you show them your in school you get a free checking account with online banking and all that free. Just be careful not to go over your limit too many times. I just got charged 155 bucks cuz Ive gone over too many times. Its my fault but what can you do and its the reason Im looking for a new bank.

I was thinking of BofA since they are everywhere and I just saw a commercial they started free checking and online banking So Ill let you know if thats up yet.

Any tips on what to ask to find out about them hidden fees?

[Var]

WAMU= Wahington Mutual

NOTHIN at BofA is free. THey are fuckin shady i tell you!. I use Wells Fargo for my business account and i have no problems with them at all.

[91CRXsiR]

about the WAMU ATMS.. heres and thought....

if u have B of A u can use BOFA ATMS FREE AND u can use WAMU ATMS FREE

so you have double the ammount of free ATMS.. sound about right?

still woundn't goto BOFA though..

[Salty_X]

I use both BofA and Wells Fargo and have never been charged any fees at either bank.

[Teb74]

Had Wells fargo before, no problems at all with themany. But I switched a few years ago to Wamu, since they've opened more locations that are close to school, work, home etc... No problems whatsoever. Definately WAMU everything is FREE! I have had friends with B of A with previous issues/complaints... Goodluck!

[chlatboy]

NO complaints with B of A. Plus like said before, they are everywhere!

[enen11]

i'm not sure if anyone went over this, i skimmed over everyone's comments. my friend was telling me a while ago, probably a year ago she had problems with bank of america?? i think but i'm not sure. if you have a savings, probably a checking account too with them you have to have a certain amount in it. if you are below they will charge you. i think she said she had a little under 200 and so she had to close her account because she quit her job and wouldn't be able to put money in it for a while.

I'm very pleased with WaMu for the past 2 & 1/2 years i've been with them. most my family & friends are with them. there are no problems if you don't have any money in your account, checkings or savings. plus if you make good enough money but have no habit of saving any of your money, they have a system were they transfer a certain amount, your choice of how much, every month (date you choose) from your checkings into your savings. now i find this pretty useful since i'm horrible at saving money. but could be useless to other people. plus free checking, which is a major +++

[driftracer]

I too have bank of america and I have no complaints with them. I only have several checking accounts with them however, their saving accounts yield next to nothing, so I don't use them.

Instead it's easy to link ING or some other online bank savings to your checking. I am not charged any fees and there are free checking for students and regular checking accounts, you just have to get the right ones.

There are service fees for those who want to transfer funds back and forth account to account, which is understandable. However, I have not been charged any fees for using Bank of America.


B of A has recently becomed the largest or will become the largest creditor in the U.S. with the merger that just took place, so we'll see how customer service will be affected by that.

Anyhow, I think B of A is a good bank.

[enen11]

plus they only charge you 22 bucks i think each time you go over. plus no charge when someone else deposits/tranfers money in account

[enen11]

but ING is good to start up a savings account. i don't know what fees or whatever they have but they % on savings is higher than any other bank

[DrIvEsldEwAyS]

I have a savings and checking with BoA. and no problems

[matchgrade]

I know we as consumers don't see much beyond the service fees or lack thereof, but if you're interested in corporate responsibility, here is some dirt on Bank of America (both pre- and post- merger with NationsBank).

http://www.sfweekly.com/issues/1998-12-23/news.html

I have been with Washington Mutual since 1992, back when it was Great Western (pre-merger with WaMu). No complaints, but I haven't tried digging about them.

[cali240sxdrifter]

I got a Student Savings and Checkings with BofA, they are awesome and have had no problems with them

[aznpoopy]

wamu +1

i've had them for like 3 or 4 years now