BOA Keep The Change saving feature

Have you watched the TV commerical BOA has for Keep The Change?
Maybe I wasn't paying much attention, but I thought this was a standard
feature if you opened a saving account.
It isn't. You need to sign up for it.
Just curious if anyone has seen the commercial and what impression you had.
Bonnie

[sakigt]

No, I assumed you had to ask. People would freak out if you did that.

Back when I worked at a bank people were angry that their overdraft protection automatically drew from their savings account, saving them the $25 fee. You just cant win with some people.

[Bookie]

I'd go nuts trying to balance an account where the bank skimmed of odd change.

[poundwise]

Gimmicky at best.

To net it: Your purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar and the excess amount -- from 1 cent to 99 cents -- is debited from your checking account and deposited into your savings account.

While it may sound good at first, there are several catches. First and foremost, the savings account your money is deposited into has a dismal rate. No, not dismal. Absymal. So don't get carried away by the 'money into your savings account' angle. It's not much of an account.

But, someone will note, BOA matches your contributions and so that is surely worthwhile. Maybe. As a promotion, BOA will match your 'change' at 100% for the first three months. Sounds good. Unfortunately, after that period, they only match at 5% and, ultimately, all of this wonderful stuff has a $250 limit per year. (Which leads people like Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money to write, "...you'd have to rack up at least 5,000 transactions a year, or about 14 a day...")

I'd say that if one already has a BOA account and wanted to trouble with keeping up with 'rounding up for change', etc. then one might do this based on the notion of 'why not?'; otherwise, it seems much ado about nothing to me.

[Broken Arrow]

I think it would work best for people who are not into saving, or want some no-brainer method of having some kind of savings.

However, it would not work for many people on here, including me. I need to know everything down to the last cent, and this "feature" would drive me insane.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

this "feature" would drive me insane.

Same here. Besides, this is only on debit card purchases. Since I don't use one, it didn't appeal to me, even though I do bank with BOA. I think it's much better to use my rewards credit card for all purchases.

[Diolla]

It would drive me nuts too.

I don't get a match but I already 'Keep the Change' it all goes into a jar on my dresser each night. When the jar is full I cash it in.

One of the 'perks' of using cash.

[PRICEPLUS]

I go with poundwise on this one. It is much ado about nothing!

[jodi]

Ok, the voice of dissent

I like the program. It started at a time when I was shopping around for a local bank anyway (my old credit union was 45 minutes away with no local branches) and there was a BOA just down the street from my job. Keeping track of the change is easy - instead of debiting $23.36, for example, I subtract $24 from my checking. I dont keep track of my savings account on paper (I log in every day to BOA website instead). Easier math! (I still keep track of the actual purchase amount in the debit column, but use the rounded amount when I do the math).
As for their match, I tried to take advantage of the three month match. I used the card every time I got gas and always got $.01 (for example, $22.01) to get the maximum match. After a few months, though, I realized it would have been a lot easier (and probably more lucrative) to just sign up for an account with a $50 bonus. I did get $35 (or was it $60?) for opening the account with a referral and for signing up for a cc.
In short, it's an okay program. The savings rate is horrible, but I keep most of my money in a higher-paying HSBC account. The amount I have in BOA is minimal. It works for me, but mostly because the banks and ATMs are conveniently located in my town.

[jodi]

I did have to specify the Keep the Change program when I opened the account

[cicy33]

I guess I was ahead of my time! For years I have already done this with my own checking account. I used to round every check or debit to the next dollar. then I would usually end up with $50 or more extra dollars a month saved. and I never felt it cuz I always deducted the full amount. There have been times that it has helped me when I have run short or a deduction came through before I was ready or an unexpected debit. Like when the newspaper deducted the cost 3 times in one month due to a "computer error" sure it was put back but if I hadn't had the cushion then I would have been in big trouble. Usually every few months I would balance correctly and then I would have a little something to spend if I wanted.

[Tree0164]

I do this and saved $800 in my saving accounts in the last 12 months. It is money that I probably have spent.

[lillyb]

I do this with my checking, too. Have been for years. It's caught any errors I may have made, and unexpected expenses towards the end of paydays, etc. We've even used this to help pay for part of vacations. We accumulate about $500 a year this way. I act like it isn't there and don't spend it, but something comes up I'm sure glad I have this buffer.

[jodi]

Originally Posted by Tree0164

I do this and saved $800 in my saving accounts in the last 12 months. It is money that I probably have spent.

Wow - that's $66 a month, or (assuming a maximum of $.99 you would earn from each transaction), well over two transactions every day. Probably more like 4 or 5, since you would usually accumulate less. Wow. I think I average only $5-10 a month in "savings".