What's a good bank to use?

Wells Fargo lost $50,000 of mine for several days, then wouldn’t admit their mistake, so I changed to U.S. Bank.
I am very happy with them.

Here is my banking history.

I started with Bank of America. Everything was great until one day when shit went horribly wrong. I deposited my paycheck in the ATM and everything should have been fine. But it wasn’t. The receipt showed I keyed in the correct value of the deposit. But when the person sorting the shit out in the morning keyed in the value they made a typo. They missed a digit so it adjusted my balance to what they keyed in. Hello bounced rent check.

Getting this fixed was a fucking nightmare. But I stuck with BofA.

And then a few years later I fucked up and made a deposit but instead of sticking a check in the envelope I stuck in something that was similar to my check but not my check. It was during my lunch break and I was busy and stressed. So the next day I go to the ATM to pull out money and my account was closed. Here is the thing. I had a few grand in the bank and the accidental deposit was only a few hundred.

So I call the bank and they say I can only fix this at the branch I opened my account at. Here is the rub. I moved and now I have no cash and can’t get to the branch I opened my account at.

I was very pissed off and I asked if I could just go in to a local branch and close my account and get my cash. They said that would work.. WTF?

So I closed my account and then the next day at work asked the HR person at work about about my banking options since I figured I should see if I can direct deposit my paychecks. So she had me open a account at Portland Teachers Credit Union. They were fantastic. Easy to set up and direct deposit took no intervention from me.

And a few years later I messed up at the ATM. I stuck in a check at the atm and left off the cents. So 1600 became 16. Again this was when I had a pending rent check. But I called in and told them what happened and they trusted me and adjusted the deposit. Hello happy camper.

The moral of the story is fuck bank of america. And find a credit union. I have been using Portland Teachers Credit Union (now OnPoint) for about 18 years and they are all kinds of fantastic.

You’ll get some of the best interest rates with Ally if you don’t mind using an online-only bank.

What will you use your bank for? Tell us more about what you will want from your bank in the future? Do you want to buy a property? Do you need to establish a savings record? Do you need a credit card? How you will use your bank may influence the best choice for you. I never go to a branch. I do all my banking online. I have a credit card with a different bank to my day-to-day financial institution. I use my account to deposit my pay and as a holding account for my money through which to pay bills. I transfer funds to different places for investments.

Personally, I use a credit union. I’ve found them to be efficient and they have the most flexible terms on their home loans. Check out the fees too. How much will they charge you to use an ATM? Can you use other banks ATMS and what are the fees? How many free transactions a month do you get? The fees they will charge you are really important. It can drain your finances. And see if you can set up a high-interest, low fee savings account. As you build up some savings, find a good financial advisor (not connected to a bank – an independent one), who can advise you on the best way to invest your savings.

Remember, you aren’t tied to a bank. So if you try one and find they don’t work for you, you can change.

Oh my how did I forget this.

If you do a overdraft you will be slammed with something like a 35 dollar fee. So yeah, if you ride that fine line into the red you can buy that candybar for a dollar and your bank will approve it. But if you only have 90 cents in your account hello 35 dollar fee.

Your bank legally has to turn off overdraft protection. But you have to specifically request it.

With it off your bank will see you don’t have the cash and reject the transaction. Overdraft fees are a billion dollar industry.

First, @VirgoGirl826 – consider a credit union, not a bank. Fees are usually lower and service better.

Second, if you can’t find a good credit union, then go for a Community bank, not a huge national bank. Again, the smaller community banks tend to be better at customer service and fees.

If nothing else works, go for a national bank. But I urge you t use one of the smaller alternatives.

What part of the country are you in?

@elbanditoroso I’m going to school in Nashville, TN but I’m from Louisville, KY and right now it looks like I’ll end up back in Louisville after I graduate

Credit union

I mainly use a friendly credit union now and am well-pleased.

I have had some negative experiences with Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

Banks are generally mainly in it for the money, for themselves. Annoying fees, penalties, changing policies, and attitudes.

Some Credit Unions have a much more benevolent philosophy, policies, behavior and attitude.

I use a local community bank, go into it almost every week and always have had a lovely experience with them. Do my online bill paying through that bank as well.

Don’t ever use a major bank. They could careless about you and may open unauthorized accounts in your. AKA Wells Fargo. Find a good credit union like Golden One. The pay money for everything you save at the end of the month. It’s like interest. My credit card is at 7.79% and my auto loan is 1%. You can’t beat it with any bank.