Ditching my Bank. (1 Viewer)

[Matthew Todd]

I had finally had enough of that, so I finally got overdraft protection on both my checking accounts. In both cases, it was free, and if I ever am overdrawn it costs me about 21 cents (interest) instead of $21.

Matt

 

[Eric_L]

Phil - Please cut up the debit card today. Burn the pieces. bury the ashes.

Instead use a credit card and pay the balance every month.

Why? Because, if your credit card is stolen and used fraudulently it will not cause your checks to bounce.

A bank may replace the stolen money on your debit card, but what will you use for cash while you are waiting? Also, very often a bank will NOT reimburse you for overdraft fees - even if due to a theft. How will your checks clear if someone stole your money via a debit card?

If your credit card is stolen and used fraudulently, your checks will not bounce. While you wait for the credit card to credit your account you still have cash in the bank, which you can access safely with your ATM card.

Please, everyone. Ditch your debit card.

 

[Philip_G]

My debit card has the same protection my visa credit card has :rolleyes
Yes, I asked when I opened the account. You need to do some research before making claims such as these.

http://www.usbank.com/personal/produ...ckcard_ps.html

here, if you're too lazy.

 

[SethH]

I think the point he was making is that even though the money will eventually be returned it is not the same. If your credit card is stolen and they blow the entire credit limit you are not out of any of your disposable income. It will likely take the card company a couple of weeks to make things right, but you're not out anything. With a debit card someone could blow your entire back account in one day and you're left with no money at all. If it takes the bank a week or more to fix it you could really be screwed. While I also use my debit card on a regular basis, you should not accuse him of making an incorrect point. 99% of financial planners will strongly advise against debit cards.

EDIT: I see now your post says credited in 1 business day. You must realize that every bank may not be this easy to work with. Also, you may not find out until one or more checks have already bounced. Or you may find out at the grocery store trying to pay for groceries with a debit card that gets denied.

 

[JustinCleveland]

Seth,

Why do you think we rave about US Bank so much? We love it!

 

[ThomasC]

Another pleased US Bank customer here.

 

[Philip_T]

Well, I just went to USBank to try and open an account today, but they were too busy, and we had other things to do so we grabbed some brochures and left. I noted on the online bill pay brochure that the 1st two months are free, but then they charge 4.95/mo after that. Is this new? I thought the on-line bill pay was suppose to be free.

 

[MarkHastings]

LOL - Sorry Dave, but that's one of the funniest things I've ever heard.

Seriously, I sometimes think it would be easier to store my money in my mattress, away from the damn banks.

 

[Philip_T]

Just an update, we set up our new checking account as USBank yesterday and the online bill pay is free as long as you dont link it to any other money software. Checking is free as well. I don't know why I let my old bank get away with charging me over $150/yr in fees with better banks like USBank ready to handle my account for free. Thanks to those who recommended them.
Phil

 

[DaveF]

I guess I'm a rare bird. I've had no bad experiences with my banks over the past ten years. They've been good to me and given me almost no troubles.

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't understand how those banks that charge fees stay in business. Around here there are so many that offer free checking, there's no reason for anyone to pay any fees for a basic checking account. Hell, I even have free checking, no restrictions, that even pays me interest.

Yet the bank I left a few years ago (after they merged with my bank that offered a nice free checking account), expected me to remain with them and be perfectly content with the fact that they were going to charge me nearly $10/month in fees for the same account/services. :rolleyes

 

[SethH]

Hi, all this enthusiasm about US Bank got me curious, so I went to check it out. Now don't get me wrong, from all of you guys it sounds like they have incredible service which is a very important thing. My only problem with it is that according to their intest rates page I would have to have $100,000 in an "Elite Checking" account to earn 0.6% interest. I'm a college student and currently have under $1000 in my accounts. At NetBank I pull in 0.99% on checking and 1.7% on savings. I realize that interest rates are so low right now, that none of us are making much of anything on any of these, but my savings is still almost 3 times as much as the $100,000 account at US Bank. It's also worth noting that since I have less than $1000 I would make no interest at all at US Bank.

So, once again, from what you guys have said they seem like a great bank. My question is: am I missing something?

 

[ChrisMatson]

With any interest rate less than 3-4% you lose money relative to inflation. If you want to use money to make money, don't put it in the bank.

 

[Philip_T]

Seth, I would have to answer by saying that having checking with interest is just frosting on the cake. Sure it may be a miniscule rate, but for what I keep in checking, the defference between .99% and .06% or whatever is nomimal. If I wanted my money to gain higher interest, I'd invest it elsewhere as Chris mentioned, like in Silica . I could make a fortune selling it to HTF members, but thats for another thread.

 

[Philip_G]

Damn, USbank used to give $20 to you for referring a new member. Had I known you were going to switch I would havetalked you into it

 

[SethH]

Well, this is normally true, but according to all the finance professors I've talked to at my school, the inflation rate over the past two or three years has been almost exactly 0.00%. That's slowly starting to change now, but you're really not losing money quite yet. Anyway, I see your point about investing elsewhere, but this is also the money I use on a daily basis (rent, utilities, food, etc). I'm not trying to turn it into millions or anything, but I feel like it should be getting a little something. And I'd much rather be pulling in the ~1% than the 0.00% I'd get with USBank. It is cool that they offer $20 for referring someone though, and little things like that can certainly make a difference. If I ever have a change of heart I'll let one of you guys know.

 

[Joe Szott]

Phillip,

I don't know your comfort level for online banking, but I don't think I'll ever go back to a B&M after using it. We have our money at a California CU that does awesome online banking (so why fix something that already works?), but I would consider online options if I were you. Online billpay is genius and many of them offer free wire transfers, great interest rates, ATM refunds, and excellent custoner service (at a bank, what?!?)

One we have been looking at for our S-corp is www.everbank.com They seem really solid and are fully FDIC insured. CHeck it out, look at the FAQs, etc, but you might be surprised at what they have to offer.

Best...
Joe

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Many traditional B&M banks now offer online banking services, too. I've been a Bank One (formerly NBD) customer for over 25 years. I have zero service charges, including online banking and bill payment (integrated within my Quicken record keeping), and they have free ATM machines in convenient locations for me.

Between direct deposit, online banking/bill paying, ATMs, and banking by phone I've probably only been inside a real bank 4 or 5 times in the past 15 years.

 

[Citizen87645]

Any U.S. Bank customers know what the fee is for overdrafts? I pulled some money from the ATM and saw I pulled too much (obviously this is not my primary checking account). I don't have the overdraft line of credit as far as I know. I'm hoping it's not going to be excessive.

 

[Philip_G]

it's not too bad, 25 dollars or so.
If you have a savings account I think they'll pull over from that, I have a line of credit for little oopsies like that.