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Thread: Bank Recommendations.

  1. #1
    God/dess
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    Default Bank Recommendations.

    Ok I'm looking to open up a new bank account in the U.S and as I am not familiar with any of your banks, I thought I'd ask you guys which banks you would recommend.

    My SO and I have a joint account with Wachovia and they are OK. I have heard that the Bank Of America is a reputable Bank? Other than that I am clueless. I looked online but it was kind of overwhelming.

    Cheers.

    Seraya.


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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Bank of America is good. I have a checking and credit card account with them.

  3. #3
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    I've been happy with Wachovia for both banking and brokerage. Their fees are a bit above average, but their customer service is impeccable and their screw-up factor has been zero (so far)

  4. #4
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie
    I've been happy with Wachovia for both banking and brokerage. Their fees are a bit above average, but their customer service is impeccable and their screw-up factor has been zero (so far)
    I agree. When I used to bank w/ BOA I was charged for an overdraft when I had automatic overdraft protection, and I payed for that feature. I changed over when they wouldn't credit me for the fees. I had to pay them (40$) for their error. Since I bank w/ wachovia, I haven't been disapointed. I also have an account at the credit union ( ) in florida. It's a co-op bank, to put it simply, and the intrest is higher (for checking and savings). They also have good customer assistance, but they are only in florida (every state has a credit union). I would check out both options.

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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Yes I have to agree that Wachovia do have very good Customer service.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lola Rose
    ( http://www.suncoastfcu.org/) in florida. It's a co-op bank, to put it simply, and the intrest is higher (for checking and savings). They also have good customer assistance, but they are only in florida (every state has a credit union). I would check out both options.
    What is a co-op/credit union bank? Is it a smaller bank who operates under or is affliated with a larger banking company?

    Seraya.


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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    a credit union and co-op i assume are banks with restricted memberships, e.g. only for employees of a particular company. they tend to give higher interest and better loan rates. I assume this is becuase they do not have to pay taxes.

    If you're opening a checking account just look for a bank which offers free checking and is located conveniently. In my city I know washington mutual offers free checking and they are close by for me. I think bank of america only offers free cheking if you direct deposit your paycheck with them.
    i think all banks in the US are reputable. I assume all banks are fdic insured for the first $100,000 in each account.

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Quote Originally Posted by space_Cadet_28
    i think all banks in the US are reputable.
    NO. Some will make "errors" to your account which conveniently result in fees which they will NOT credit you for. I don't like Bank of America, Bank One / Chase for this reason. I now have USBank for checking, savings and credit card, and I like them very much. Their customer service has been good and haven't had any screw-ups. They also have some good promos on CD rates. Although not sure if they have branches in NY - they're all over the west.

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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Stay the hell away from Bank of America, if you are someone with more than $1000 in an account, they will find away to charge you bogus fees. Then again, they probably screw over everyone. There was a big class-action suit against them several years back! You've been warned sweetheart, they are leeches, and they don't give a shit!
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  9. #9
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    NOT a threadjack, but I got a suspicious e-mail from "Bank of America" stating I had a problem with my account. Uh, I don't have an account with them. Is this really B. of A. trying to rope me into their business ("parasitic advertising") or did someone steal my personal info & start banking at B. of A.? Beware, people!

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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    MM, it's probably just one of those phishing emails, where they send a link to a fake login page that looks just like the real bank's account login page (or some other bs tactic) to get you to give them your login/account info. If someone falls for it, they can clean out your account(s) because you gave them your info. I've gotten this kind of thing with the names of banks I don't deal with too. I think the thieves are getting their names from some mailing list

    Never log in to your bank accounts from an email link. Never put your info on a page linked from an email. It's thieves. ONLY log in to your accounts from the real bank's url, which you type into your browser.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

  11. #11
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    a credit union and co-op i assume are banks with restricted memberships, e.g. only for employees of a particular company. they tend to give higher interest and better loan rates. I assume this is becuase they do not have to pay taxes.
    Well, almost. Credit Unions are 'non-profit' local financial institutions which are 'owned' by their depositors rather than by stockholders ... thus the amount of extra interest required to fund stockholder dividends at commercial banks is directly credited to credit union 'members' instead (translation = savings and CD rates are fractionally higher, and loan interest rates are fractionally lower for credit union 'members'). On the flip side, services and products offered by credit unions are usually very 'stripped down' compared to those available from commercial banks, because Credit Union management tends to keep staff levels to an absolute minimum so they can pay maximum interest rates instead of extra salaries (although there are some exceptions).

    yes by their charter Credit Unions must limit membership eligibility, and many originally started out being 'sponsored' by a single corporation. However, Credit Unions quickly recognized the extra financial risk this restricted membership involved (i.e. if the company decided to outsource the credit union is bankrupted since all of it's members would lose their paychecks at the same time), most have widened membership criteria to the point where "restricted only to persons living in the City of New York" allows virtually everyone to join a credit union if they choose to. In fact, in New York City there is a credit union that limits its membership to actors / performers ! Credit Unions will usually bend over backwards to allow anyone who approaches them to become a 'member' if they remotely meet the credit union's charter criteria.

    Credit Unions do have federal deposit insurance and in general are bound by the same sort of banking oversight regulations as commercial banks. On the negative side, checks drawn on credit union accounts are usually greeted with an element of doubt by companies outside of that credit union's service territory, meaning it may take some extra days for credit union checks to clear.

    See for more details, and with only a state or city entry will find all registered credit unions in that state or city.

    Disclaimer - In a 'previous professional life' I was actually on the board of a small credit union.
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    Last edited by Melonie; 09-16-2006 at 05:14 PM.

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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Returning fees at large banks are based on how profitable you are as a customer. The less profitable you the less you will get.

    I am a huge advocate of credit unions. Melonie is correct, from my experiance, except for a few points. Credit unions have come along way in the past twenty years. They have all the benefits of a large bank and their customer service is usually better. They are not in the business to make money but to help their members. They will return fees, take responsiblity for errors, and take the time to educate you about the process. Some credit unions have credit cards that have fixed interest rates without a default rate.

    Most credit unions now have community charters. That means that if you live or work within their community you can join. Checks drawn on credit unions are not seen any differantly than any other check by a financial institution. The only reason it would take a credit union longer to clear is because many credit unions still clear their checks the old fashioned way and not electronically.

    Not all banks are FDIC insured. Make sure that you look for some kind of insurance. Credit unions are insured by the NCUA.

    Visit and call around to differant banks or financial institutions. Ask for fee schedules. If the fee schedule is more than one page keep looking.

    Disclaimer I have worked for a credit union for three years and I currently work for a bank.

  13. #13
    Veteran Member azcustomer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Consider where you will be banking and the locations/access to ATMs as well. IMO, BOA sucks, so does Chase. I'm generally happy with Wells Fargo and most of the investment vehicles also have full service banking (e.g. Schwab).

    I've heard consistently good things about Wachovia and US Bank. Stay away from Washington Mutual.

    And many credit unions waive fees for using other bank's ATMs (or just get cash back at the grocery lane.)


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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Bank of America is good, I tired to open an account with them being in Canada, they walked me threw the process until they realized I was just a canadian citizen, then without even being a customer with them they were still calling me by my name, and When I am on photo/video shoots the company writes me cheques from BOA and I have no problems cashing them in my canadian bank account.
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    I use Bank Of America. I adore it. I get free checking when I use direct deposit with my two paycheck jobs. I've had some problems with their online account services, but nothing massive.
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  16. #16
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Heh. Want advice on banks? DON'T GO TO CITIZENS BANK. I am angry with them right now and as soon as my upcoming checks clear, will be closing my account outright with them to spite them. Their customer service, especially on their 1-800 phone number operators, really sucks. They ran my credit without my permission for simply changing my checking account number. When I called to confront them about why they did this when they told me up and down that they would NOT create a hard inquiry, they adamantly denied doing such a thing even though I had my credit report in my hand, showing a hard inquiry from Citizens Bank. I later applied for a credit card and they did the same thing again! They ran an inquiry for "Citizens CC"(CC = credit card) which was a legit inquiry, but then ran a second inquiry under "Citizens BK"(BK = bank). Then they rejected my application for asinine reasons such as "not enough credit history," and told me some contradictory reason such as my revolving balances being too high even though I PURPOSELY paid them down to 5-20%. Did I mention that my FICO score was a good 40pts higher than the average score they approve apps for? It's because of them, that they mucked up my credit with inquiries and did not accomodate a good customer. When I called their credit department to argue with them about it, the people were extremely rude and I was scolded for "bad language" because I used the (gasp!) words "garbage" and "freak." Way to make me feel like a child for using language that isn't even obscene or cursing! I've been loyal to them despite the horror stories, outrageous fees they're known for charging, etc. I only overwithdrawaled one single time(due to simple math error), by a "whopping" $1.41, and they gave me a $35 fee, which technically is usary. I was humble(aka STUPID) and paid the fee because I acknowledged the -$1.41 to be my math error, and they didn't even appreciate my loyalty to them.

    I am writing this to turn people off from Citizens Bank, which I have determined to be one of the WORST banks ever. Also, they rejected my online job app a few years ago before I even finished it, for no good reason at all. Ever since they turned me down for a job, I shoulda known that they were "bad news." If I'd avoided them like I boycotted all the other companies that dissed my job app(Commerce Bank, Boscovs, Walgreens, etc), I wouldn't have all these unauthorized inquiries that I have to dispute now. Also, I had a friend who overwithdrew his account a few times, partly because some AC heroin whore(who he thought was his friend) stole his ATM card. Instead of Citizens allowing one overwithdrawal to go through, and then declining further transactions, they let the stolen transactions go through and charged higher-than-average fees for each one. My friend was like $300 in the negative, but $200 of it was in fees! Usary. I know it is his fault for not keeping track of his checkbook balances and hanging out with a no-good heroin whore, but my point is most banks do not charge as many fees as Citizens. Overall Citizens has made me feel unappreciated as a good customer, and I feel that my relationship with them has been as beneficial as my friend's relationship with the backstabbing heroin whore was.

    I heard that small town banks are pretty good, because they charge less in fees and are friendlier. I'm going to try a bank called Third Federal, because they have good hours(better than Citizens), free checking, and high rates on CDs. Despite the horror stories about Bank of America, I might check them out, because I have a car loan with them so I will probably be treated more respectfully and be offered more products than Citizens Bank. Credit unions are good too, but some of them charge you like $15 or so to open a checking account and get your first round of checks.

  17. #17
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Checks are almost always free (1st box) at a credit union.

  18. #18
    Featured Member Katherine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bank Recommendations.

    Bank of America screwed me out of over $800 dollars and I've been in this messy paper fight with them for over a year now.

    If you live in the northeast, I'd use M&T Bank. They're by far my favorite for the NE states...

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