Which New York bank should I switch to?
- Thread starter Ross Bergman
- Start date
I just spoke to Bank of America this afternoon and here's what they told me I now have to do:
Go online and open up a NEW checking account before their promotion expires. This checking account will actually be free. (Which I'm sure will eventually change... just like my current one did.) When I explained to them that I have things linked to my current checking account (automated IRS payments, PayPal, utility bills, etc.) they said I'll have to manually change that with each of those people. Even though this is a pain in the vagina, I think I'll actually do it. It's probably a good idea to occasionally do that anyway to safeguard from future identity theft.
http://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/checksave/index.cfm?template=check_myaccess
There's another "free checking account" that they offer, but it requires a minimum balance of $500 or there's a $12.95 penalty. This would be an even worse option because I don't think I've ever had more than $500 in my personal checking account (except for October of last year when I had to temporarily move $500 into that account so I could wire it to Furf in Dublin).
Go online and open up a NEW checking account before their promotion expires. This checking account will actually be free. (Which I'm sure will eventually change... just like my current one did.) When I explained to them that I have things linked to my current checking account (automated IRS payments, PayPal, utility bills, etc.) they said I'll have to manually change that with each of those people. Even though this is a pain in the vagina, I think I'll actually do it. It's probably a good idea to occasionally do that anyway to safeguard from future identity theft.
http://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/checksave/index.cfm?template=check_myaccess
There's another "free checking account" that they offer, but it requires a minimum balance of $500 or there's a $12.95 penalty. This would be an even worse option because I don't think I've ever had more than $500 in my personal checking account (except for October of last year when I had to temporarily move $500 into that account so I could wire it to Furf in Dublin).
Bank of America has been having major problems this year, one of which was a massive layoff I believe. The company's in scramble to keep money mode, which I suspect is one reason that they raised interest rates on their card by 100%. Fuck them. Customer service are assholes, the fees are out of control.
I use Wachovia, have since I lived in NC. Free checking, great website, great phone support, easy to open accounts. Deposited checks clear in a reasonable amount of time and there are a decent amount of ATMS in the city (not as many as Chase though). Plus they refund $5 for every $20 you spend on other banks' ATM fees for the month.
Downside is they require a minimum of $500 to keep a savings account open. To beat that I just opened another checking account for vacation savings.
I use Wachovia, have since I lived in NC. Free checking, great website, great phone support, easy to open accounts. Deposited checks clear in a reasonable amount of time and there are a decent amount of ATMS in the city (not as many as Chase though). Plus they refund $5 for every $20 you spend on other banks' ATM fees for the month.
Downside is they require a minimum of $500 to keep a savings account open. To beat that I just opened another checking account for vacation savings.
One of the ways that Bank of America cut corners at the Somerville, NJ branch is by only putting people who don't speak English behind the drive thru. Nor do they know which button to push so I can hear their microphone. Luckily, my friend who knows how to read lips was able to translate for me.
As irony has it, when I still had direct deposit, my checking account was free. But once my workplace switched parent companies (and no longer offered direct deposit) that's when my fees started.
As irony has it, when I still had direct deposit, my checking account was free. But once my workplace switched parent companies (and no longer offered direct deposit) that's when my fees started.
Hsbc
I've been using HSBC since 1999 and haven't had any issues. Only thing I don't like is the account balance doesn't update real time. I'm not sure of any bank that does. Balances might be a day or two off at times.
HSBC has:
Free interest paying checking.
Free online only savings with perhaps the highest interest rate available (better than INGdirect, E*trade and most others).
I've been using HSBC since 1999 and haven't had any issues. Only thing I don't like is the account balance doesn't update real time. I'm not sure of any bank that does. Balances might be a day or two off at times.
HSBC has:
Free interest paying checking.
Free online only savings with perhaps the highest interest rate available (better than INGdirect, E*trade and most others).
It happened, so I'm executing my Bank of America Exit Strategy.
Somebody recommended TD Banknorth to me. They have only two branches in NYC (depositing checks would be a little annoying), but they refund all ATM fees (I guess this makes sense --- it probably costs them less to refund the fees than it would to build a network of their own ATMs).
This sounds too good to be true. Is it? I tried to Google for "TD Banknorth sucks" and all I found were complaints by people who overdrafted their accounts and then were upset that they were penalized for not paying attention to their account balances.
Somebody recommended TD Banknorth to me. They have only two branches in NYC (depositing checks would be a little annoying), but they refund all ATM fees (I guess this makes sense --- it probably costs them less to refund the fees than it would to build a network of their own ATMs).
This sounds too good to be true. Is it? I tried to Google for "TD Banknorth sucks" and all I found were complaints by people who overdrafted their accounts and then were upset that they were penalized for not paying attention to their account balances.
Almost every major bank will refund just about any fee. It's all a matter of how long you want to wait on hold when you call them... and how many people you're willing to be transferred to. I had to deal with utter retards this morning when I called Bank of America. So I simply called back a few minutes later and the first person who picked up was able to reverse over $70 of bullshit fees from the past month. I think it may also have to do with which call center you get.
When I was a kid, I always wondered why my father would spend even one second of his life calling up to complain about matters of just a few dollars. Now, as an adult, I understand it. And in a way, I'm probably much stingier about getting nickel'd and dime'd than he was.
I'm always fascinated by the fact that there are certain industries where all of us assume the companies are corrupt and, therefore, just accept it. (Car dealerships, auto mechanics, insurance companies, concession stands, etc.) If enough people put their foot down, things eventually change. Back the 1970s, the only way to make an affordable out-of-state call was to place it after 11 PM on Sunday night. Now I can call anyone anywhere in the continental US any time of day on my cell phone (or through Vonage) and it's free.
When I was a kid, I always wondered why my father would spend even one second of his life calling up to complain about matters of just a few dollars. Now, as an adult, I understand it. And in a way, I'm probably much stingier about getting nickel'd and dime'd than he was.
I'm always fascinated by the fact that there are certain industries where all of us assume the companies are corrupt and, therefore, just accept it. (Car dealerships, auto mechanics, insurance companies, concession stands, etc.) If enough people put their foot down, things eventually change. Back the 1970s, the only way to make an affordable out-of-state call was to place it after 11 PM on Sunday night. Now I can call anyone anywhere in the continental US any time of day on my cell phone (or through Vonage) and it's free.