A question

[elephantgiraffe]

Starting next month, my bank, Chase, is going to start charging $12 a month for the free checking account that I opened with Washington Mutual back in 2004. When Chase took over WaMu, I stayed a customer because it is a convenient bank to have in NYC. I pass five branches on my commute from home to work. There are a couple ways to get the fee

Comments

A credit union would be best

[polyanarch]

But you'll never find one that is both in NY and S. Wisconsin. I can't even find one that is both in Chicago and Madison -much less the rest of WI or the nation.

My bank used to be First Federal before they were bought out by Associated Bank. I like them only because they have offices both in Madison and Chicago, but they've gotten rid of free checking too. I have to either keep a minimum balance or meet other requirements -one of which is extremely odd. If I make 3 or more electronic transfers a month I get free checking -WTF? They want to keep the volume of manual transfers DOWN and people who make 3 or more electronic transfers must rarely do manual ones I suspect.

I have a hard time wrapping my mind around something that they charged big money for just a few years ago and now they now think is a good thing and not only to give away free -but require you to do to get free checking.

Free checking has gone away in most banks. You'll find it hard to get it in any bank but a credit union.

[kizlj]

I rant about this constantly on my blog. My requirements: No monthly maintenance fees, no minimum balance requirements, no fees for using outside ATMs.

I've found nothing local that works.

I switched to Charles Schwab Investor checking, which is fine; the other, better option I've found since is USAA. (You don't have to have a military connection to open a checking account -- it's available to anyone.) Both meet all those basics and also refund some (all, in Schwab's case) the upfront fees you pay at outside ATMs.

My main gripes about Schwab are a) the interface is ugly and b) transferring money in from outside accounts takes a few days. But all the basics work fine.