FYI Bank of America users...Follow

I know. I use my debit card daily, several times a day. I was saying that using a credit card instead isn't an option for me. I'll just have to get hit with this fee.

FYI, don't ever leave the US. You can't use that anywhere else.

Gotcha. It is a bit of a **** move by the banks. I mean, it's not like they're not making sh*t loads of money on the over night markets with your savings or anything.

National mega-bank finds another reason to ***** customers over. Film at 11.

This is why I bank at a smaller local bank. I'm disappointed that they're being bought out by Comerica, so it'll be my excuse to go to either USAA online checking or a local credit union. I know they'll start adding maintenance fees when the rebranding is complete, so I'll ditch before that happens. Moving my direct deposit over will be a bit of a pain, but I'd have to do that anyway so I might as well get it over with.

Debit card fees still don't really affect me since I usually use credit cards unless there's a cash or debit discount (sometimes smaller businesses will cut you a bit of a cash discount if you ask! :D), and am particularly **** about my finances. It's just the principle of the thing. I have several linked accounts with Amex savings, and I separate each general budget item into separate accounts. Every week I transfer my accrued expenses for the week to my "to pay card" savings, which is then transferred to my current local checking account about 5 business days before my cards' due dates. Their transfer times are very quick and are usually available in my checking account the next day, but I still like to plan ahead.

Also, every time I've spoken on the phone with them about an account issue, their customer service reps have been very helpful and polite. Amex is known for their good customer service for a reason.

Edited, Sep 30th 2011 9:30am by Sweetums

I suppose if you don't pay attention to your spending, you might from all of the interest on a non-zero balance. There are also some people who like to justify unbudgeted purchases with "I'll just pay later, when I have the money!" Some people, regardless of the payment method, will go to a store to waffle about a $2 purchase for 30 minutes, and then leave empty-handed *cough*.

Then again, my bank never charged overdraft fees when you go into the negative using your debit card.

Edited, Sep 30th 2011 9:41am by Sweetums

If you're only going with one card, I like the Dividend Platinum Select, even if it's from sh*ttybank. If you're a college student it's ridiculously easy to get the student one, and the credit limit is high enough to be usable as a main card while still maintaining a good credit utilization ratio. It's also ludicrously easy to raise it: I went from $4000 to $5000 in one fell swoop without even having a hard credit inquiry. It can easily cover something like an expensive car repair if you don't keep your emergency fund in your checking account.

Only do this is you can pay off the balance immediately since rewards cards always have astronomical interest rates!


You really do not want to do this, because this could max out your credit card which really hurts your score. The ideal ratio is apparently around 30% of your credit used.



Edited, Sep 30th 2011 10:24am by Sweetums

First I've ever heard of it and it's certainly not been my experience.

My only card is an Amex and I've never actually had cause to talk to them. But I've been very satisfied with it; good rewards, and I pay it off each month so I never worry about the interest.

My main issue is the rare time I'll go to a gas station that only accepts Visa / Mastercard

Minus local gas stations around here. They ride those razor margins.

Several people have answered, but it bears repeating IMO. When someone has a debit card, they always know that they are limited to the actual dollars in their account. If they hit that limit (or overdraft a bit), they can't use the card anymore. A credit card has a limit that is disconnected from the money the person actually has. It's shocking how many people who don't have more than a few hundred dollars in their bank account at any given time, upon receiving a credit card with a $5k limit really do think "I've got $5k I can use to buy stuff!".


Oh. And as to how to avoid the charges? I believe if you maintain more than $50k in your accounts, etrade will waive all their charges. And they offer much better checking and savings account rates *and* offer credit and debit cards (VISA IIRC). So now you've all got a great excuse to start investing online!

You get that these retailers won't budge their prices despite now making more money per purchase. Just like the fantasies that if we just removed this regulation or that rule, businesses would fall all over themselves to pass those savings along.

Of course you don't realize that, you Pollyanna little puppet

There's also the "I can buy this more expensive thing because I'll get more rewaaaaaaaaards."

Also, the "premium" checking accounts who already pay additional fees will be exempt. In our case, we have a Crown Checking account with BoA because of our mortgage - normally $50 a year or something. We also have a deal where we pay our mortgage out of that checking account via automatic debit, and they give us an extra $25 credit each month on the mortgage. So they're paying us for that checking account. We're considering just using that as the primary checking account if WF decides to slap its former Wachovia people with the fee.