10-06-2011, 02:03 PM
Gene,
I still have an older Bank of America checking account that doesn't incur monthly fees. It was grandfathered in and they haven't changed anything about it (yet). However, the regular checking account you described isn't a "direct deposit" free checking account. No such animal. It's a regular checking account whose monthly fee is waived if you have something directly deposited into it, i.e. paycheck, social security check, etc.
To everyone else,
Credit Unions may be good for some but they are absolutely not a viable choice for many people. As I said in the following thread:
One of the reasons people choose a regular bank be it a small regional bank like New York Community Bank or a national bank like Bank of America is convenience. Convenience for deposits. Convenience for customer service. Convenience because there are ATMS in a large number of locations. Convenience because its online banking system offers lots of features and is easy to navigate. You get the idea.
For me, I've yet to find a credit union that has a branch that is convenient enough to my office, my wife's office and our home justify becoming a member and opening an account with them. So, for my wife and I, credit unions aren't viable for a primary checking or savings type account due to inconvenience. I'd consider a credit union for a secondary account, though. That way, the inconvenience becomes a non-issue since I won't need to do anything with the account on a regular basis, just once in a long while.
Robert
I still have an older Bank of America checking account that doesn't incur monthly fees. It was grandfathered in and they haven't changed anything about it (yet). However, the regular checking account you described isn't a "direct deposit" free checking account. No such animal. It's a regular checking account whose monthly fee is waived if you have something directly deposited into it, i.e. paycheck, social security check, etc.
To everyone else,
Credit Unions may be good for some but they are absolutely not a viable choice for many people. As I said in the following thread:
One of the reasons people choose a regular bank be it a small regional bank like New York Community Bank or a national bank like Bank of America is convenience. Convenience for deposits. Convenience for customer service. Convenience because there are ATMS in a large number of locations. Convenience because its online banking system offers lots of features and is easy to navigate. You get the idea.
For me, I've yet to find a credit union that has a branch that is convenient enough to my office, my wife's office and our home justify becoming a member and opening an account with them. So, for my wife and I, credit unions aren't viable for a primary checking or savings type account due to inconvenience. I'd consider a credit union for a secondary account, though. That way, the inconvenience becomes a non-issue since I won't need to do anything with the account on a regular basis, just once in a long while.
Robert