Free Checking ?

Is there really such a deal as free checking or do all of them have a catch?
I have a checking account at BOA and it is free if I keep a balance of $750.00.
If I don't it is $8.00 a month.
I have a sister in another state who says some banks in her area have a much higher requirement and they charge $15.00 a month for a checking account.
I'm curious about different banks checking accounts requirements and fees.

[LuxLiving]

I pay zero for my checking account w/no minimum balance. My kids have student accounts and they pay zero as well also no minimums.

The Hubster is older and so our joint checking account is free because of that Senior discount thingy.

I think you just need to shop around...who says it has to be local anymore?

[Ima saver]

All of my checking accounts are free! I do have to pay for checks.

[MonkeyMama]

Try credit union.

Mine is completely free checking.

The only catch is no interest. They have an interest-checking option but you have to keep a minimum or pay fees.

I also have a savings that is $1 minimum balance - at the same credit union. The interest is okay for short-term things. I like the no minumums,

My husband always preferred his high-minimum interest-bearing checking but I made him close the account FINALLY this year - it was like a $50 fee every time he dropped below the minimum or had an overdraft - drove me batty. All for 0.1% interest or so it seems - did not come out ahead. His was credit union too - have to shop arround...

I use my checking account more as a conduit, so I don't mind foregoing the interest. Money goes in and goes directly to the bills and high-interest savings.

I am not sure if banks really offer this option but credit unions do.

[disneysteve]

My checking is free, but I honestly have no clue if there is a minimum balance. If there is, I have never dropped below it as I've had this account for over 15 years and never paid any type of fees. I'm with BOA now, though the name of my bank has changed 5 times over the years. BOA is just the latest sign on the wall.

[PRICEPLUS]

I have direct deposit from one job and thus I have free checking. With the electronic transfers I believe the bank makes the float. I also keep a certain amount in the checking so I don't have to worry anyway!

[Ima saver]

My checking is free and I do earn interest, but very little. I don't know if I have to keep a minimum or not. I need to find out about that, thanks!

[aurielle]

DH and I have accounts at Wamu, their checking is free with no minimums but our savings account has a $300 minimum or its 3 bucks a month.

[jodi]

My BOA checking is free with direct deposit. My credit union before this was free too. I left Key Bank years ago because their fees drove me nuts. There are enough free deals out there that I will never pay a checking account fee again.

[Mathew Green]

My checking account at Wells Fargo is free. I didn't even buy any checks from them. BTW bankers look at you real strangely when you open an account and tell them you only need the free starter checks, because you're going to order your regular checks from a company that sells them at a reasonable price!

I haven't paid a per check or monthly checking account fee in years. There are plenty of big-name banks that offer free checking with no catch at all or only minor requirements: For example, one account limits you to 15 debits/checks per month. Another requires a direct deposit at least once a month (but that could be a transfer from your online savings account). Another charges a monthly fee for paper statements, but the account is free if you receive your statements online. There are lots of options out there, you just need to look around and not be taken in by the 'Free' offers that have an unacceptable requirement attached.

FWIW, the main catch on my Wells Fargo free checking is that you have to pay a fee for 'electronic bill pay' (where WF makes the payment to some other company), but that doesn't bother me at all because I will never use that service, and all other ACH transfers (where some other company transfers money to or from your WF account) are FREE. So all my utilities, mortgage, credit cards, and transfers to/from my online savings account are free transactions because I initiate them on the website of the company getting/transfering the money.

One final caution, be sure to get everything in writing when opening any bank account, buying a CD, and so on. They can and will mislead you (aka LIE!) and omit important information if you don't insist on seeing the actual terms in cold hard print. Just one example: Many years ago when I wrote very few checks and usually had almost no money in my account, I moved and opened a checking account at a bank closer to my new home. I had always had a 'regular' checking account (small monthly fee of 50-cents and 10-cents per check, or something like that) so when they asked if I wanted a 'Free' checking account and explained it required a minimum daily balance I told them, "No, I'm not interested in that. I just want a regular checking account." Guess what I ended up with!?! That bank had changed it's terminology and was now calling the 'free' account 'regular' and the no-minimum-balance account something else. Needless to say, I complained loudly and closed the account as soon as I found out what they had done (losing not only the higher-than-normal monthly fee they had charged me but also the cost of my checks!) What really chapped my hide was that I had told them flat out that I didn't want that kind of account, but the fact I had said I wanted a 'regular' checking account allowed them to ignore everything else I had said during the application process. So, caveat emptor -- Buyer Beware!!!

[lrjohnson]

My checking is free at my Credit Union. For a long time I had a $4 a month fee but they stopped charging me; I think it's an optional fee that they can waive, and perhaps my longevity helped. I think that if I had aslked earlier, it may have happened earlier. I'm ninety nine percent sure it's not tied to a minimum, because the amount in checking is usually a low amount (no interest) and I move money to savings, and when I took a very large portion of my savings out of the creit union account and moved it to ED and ING for better interest, I didn't get hit with a returning fee.

My credit union is so crazy fabulous I actually wouldn't mind paying the fee-excellent customer service. (For example; I ordered checks from a different company, and either I or the company made a mistake and printed the account number wrong. The CU called me and said, "we've been hand clearing all these checks, we'd like to pay for you to get new ones." They refunded what I had paid the other company and gave me free checks. And I have othyer "I love my CU" stories.)

[autoxer]

My checking account is free, no minimum balance and they reimburse all ATM fees. TDBanknorth

[tinapbeana]

i have to agree with others and say check out your local credit union/s. biggest advantage to them (at least around here) is that they are member owned not-for-profit entities, so they usually have lower/no fees and higher interest rates for savings, MMAs, even checking. once you build a relationship you can (if you choose) have other banking there as well, such as home/auto loans, CCs, etc. i like keeping my money local (as opposed to paying fees that will eventually get sent to where-ever the BOA corporate office is), and having not just tellers but management as well who knows me.

[Snoopy2645]

I have free checking & free checks & overdraft protection I dont use atms so no clue what that policy is when I moved here I live so close to the bank I figure I dont need one I do have to keep a minimum in my cds or savings to qualifiy & my account is grandfathered in so I would never get it again if I close it up.

[tabbycat31]

my Wachovia checking is free. I opened the account in college (when Wachovia was First Union) and they still have me as a college student in their system

[Reldon]

My Wamu account is free. I don't have a savings account there so I do not know if it requires a minimum requirement.

[greedy4chips]

Associated Bank- free checking, no minimum balance, we rarely us ATM cards and when we do it is almost always at their banks.

[Broken Arrow]

My checking is with my brick & mortar credit union. It pays a nominal interest, but also charges $1 a month. The checks are free though. Too bad I rarely ever write them. I'm tempted to change, either to something mentioned here or to another credit union, which I am also eligible for.

The only thing that's making me think twice is the fact that my credit union also has some of the lowest loan rates I have ever seen, even when compared to this other credit union I am eligible for. I need a loan like I need another hole in the head, but... it may come in handy someday right?

Or should I change? I can't decide. I also would have to untangle all of my bills, and reroute it to the new checking. I mean, $1 a month isn't that bad, is it?

[Homebody]

We also bank at Washington Mutual, three free checking and yes we have a savings, but if you ask they wave the $3.00 fee. They reverse ours all the time. Two of our three daughers also have free WAMU accounts.

With their new account, can't remember the name, everything including checks and internatioinal wire transfers are free.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

The only thing that's making me think twice is the fact that my credit union also has some of the lowest loan rates I have ever seen, even when compared to this other credit union I am eligible for. I need a loan like I need another hole in the head, but... it may come in handy someday right?

Or should I change? I can't decide. I also would have to untangle all of my bills, and reroute it to the new checking. I mean, $1 a month isn't that bad, is it?

hey, BA: can you have just a savings account at your credit union, and if so is there a fee? if you can and if there's not (does that make sense?), then have just a savings acct w/ your current credit union and get another acct somewhere else for checking. that way, you still have a relationship w/ a bank offerin great loan rates should you ever need it.