<p>Not a big fan of B of A, but there's a B of A ATM on Ds campus, and therefore no ATM fees to worry about.</p>
<p>Researching their website I found they have a student checking account that has ZERO monthly fees for 5 years (as long as you're in school; but still has overdraft fees, etc.), with no minimum balance required, and (here's the best part) IF you open your account online, they'll toss $50 into the account in 50 days.</p>
<p>The account comes with an ATM/Debit card too.</p>
<p>Too good to pass up (except still not a fan of B of A).</p>
<p>There's a link on their site to see if there are walk-up branches/ATM's in your school's zone, so that might help with the decision making.</p>
<p>I use it and I'm satisfied with it. I really dislike BofA and I've considered changing to interest checking accounts, but its online stuff is pretty good and it has many ATMs.</p>
<p>Don't use BofA savings though - the rates are terrible. You can get 5% or so with online savings. If anyone wants an ING Direct referral ($25) PM me.</p>
<p>How is a zero monthly fee account impressive? So many banks offer that.</p>
<p>Make sure you read the fine print on that free $50, it probably requires either a minimum starting deposit or a minimum balance/number of transactions during those 50 days.</p>
<p>I didnt realize some banks still charged monthly fees either
There probably will be some sort of fair where banks will try and sign up students- they may offer anything from free pizza to waiver of ATM fees ( all my D had to do, was call them up, and they waived the fees since they didn't have an ATM on campus)</p>
<p>Be careful. My son has a free student checking account at B of A. When the first statement came in, it showed a bank fee of $3.95 fee. I went to the bank and spoke with a representative. I went into the bank 7-10 days later and asked if the fee was removed. The computer still showed the $3.95. The same representative said that she would put in a call and then let me know the results, b/c it should have been deleted. I am still waiting for the bank's rep to call me! If the second statement still shows these fees I may just close out our accounts. I am angry.</p>
<p>DS is going to school long distance. BofA is the most convenient. We are going with their keep the change program. They round up any ATM charges i.e. $6.19 rounds to $7.00 and they put the difference $.81 in the savings account. They match it so instead of 81 cents you get $1.62 in savings. Figure it will make it easier for the boy to balance and will force some money into savings...I have no prior experience wtih BofA but around here the banks charge a monthly fee if you don't keep a healthy balance so...</p>
<p>northeastmom: I am abundantly aware of how notorious B of A is in feet dragging when it comes to them fixing a mistake or crediting an account. I'm not happy with them for many reasons, and will therefore be sitting like a vigilante over the account! </p>
<p>However, due to the location of Ds school, and relative lack of ATMs in the immediate area (none! save for B of A on campus) I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. </p>
<p>Perhaps my wily charms can convince another area bank to waive all ATM fees, in which case I may concede.</p>
<p>^Oh, so I am not the only one with this problem! My son has money in the account that we opened for college. He has not even written one check, so they are working with his money, and they are charging him a service fee. He has more than a typical minimum for a checking account in there. What is their problem?</p>
<p>The only reason that I opened this account is that we have a branch near us, and near him, so I could get money to him quickly in an emergency. S has a credit union on his college campus. I really could drive 15 minutes to a credit union near us, not the same credit union, but it acts as service center for this credit union. This is another avenue that we could take, but I see potential problems that could happen conducting business this way too. My S, BTW, can use the credit union's ATM on campus, I believe, one time per week without incurring a fee.</p>
<p>Our kids both have B of A college student accounts. So far (knock on wood) they have had no problems with them. Their accounts include checking, savings, debit/ATM card, credit card, online banking with no fees.</p>
<p>I have a Bank of America student account, and haven't had any problems with it in the last two years. I was actually surprised by how many people at my school have the exact same Bank of America check card - it turns out that BoA is one of the few banks that has locations whereever everyone lives and in Baltimore (they have an ATM on campus and a full bank a block away)</p>
<p>BofA randomly charged me for my checking account (i opened one when it wasn't free, but was free if a parent also has an account, which mine does). I called them and they quickly removed the charge, but couldnt figure out why they charged me. I hate bofa, but the convienience can't be beat</p>
<p>There are some banks that will reimburse your ATM fees. Mine reimburses all my ATM fees (upto $20/mo) until I am 22, then reimburses $5 a month after that.</p>
<p>Try a local credit union instead of a big bank. They may waive ATM fees or refund them to you, as well as having good benefits.</p>
<p>My account at my current bank offers:
-free checking
-free e-bill pay
-free debit card
-10.5% interest on a Visa gold card
-$100 minimum deposit certificates
-loyalty checking benefits that offer premium rates on loans and other services the bank offers.</p>
<p>No regard is made to your student status, so interest rates are low and the bank is local so very friendly and accessible.</p>
<p>We have Banknorth up where I go to school so I have a simple checking account there just for the convenience of depositing checks, otherwise, all money goes through my local credit union account.</p>
<p>We already bank with BofA. But what I see on the website is that it is free if you make a monthly direct deposit (for 6 months? forever?) and free for 5 years if your parent banks with BofA. It's $3.95/month without direct deposit.</p>
<p>I haven't spend a long time exploring the site and may have missed other account options, but that's what I saw.</p>
<p>Interesting. H opened up account with S, so I don't know the rules, but he was told that the student checking account is free. We do some banking there, but perhaps not for long.</p>
<p>been a BofA customer for many years, and only had one problem when we had to close our account since it was used fraudulently. Opening the new and getting old checks to clear was a pain, but other than that one instance (in cases of fraud, they HAVE to be vigilent), I recommend them highly. Since I used to travel a lot, it was always nice to find a BofA atm in a city where I was doing biz.</p>
<p>Son had the free College acct w/BoA for two yrs. Fortunately no problems, only atm on campus was BofA. This summer he added me to acct so I could speak w/bank if necessary while he was out of state. Because we (parents) have a prima acct son was able to change to free prima and better interest rates w/his savings acct. Son wanted to be "independent" 1st 2 yrs, acct is still his but he no longer has need to be only person with access. I can now transfer money into his acct over the phone instead of standing in line to do it in person.
I have noticed that B of A seems to be nicer to customers as the money in acct increases. A co-worker made a terrible addition error on line last week, bank refused to give he any slack on overcharge fees. They were quick to tell her she should have a BofA Visa to take care of future mistakes. She had the funds to cover the checks but they were in the credit union (better interest rate). She realizes it was her fault and called immediately.</p>
<p>i've never dealt with a major bank.. i have an account with my local credit union. i have free checking, no fees,e-statements, free bill pay, free debit card, can get their credit card if i would like to, also i got a lower rate on my car loan for already being a member. works for me.</p>
<p>Yes....DD has to transfer $25 per month into her savings account. BUT it does not have to remain there. It's not a big deal. She just has it automatically put into her account. BTW...when DS did a study abroad in London, there was a bank there which gave free ATM transactions to B of A ATM card holders. That was quite a nice perk.</p>
<p>BofA has worked for our family--been banking with them for years and haven't had any problems. I do most of my banking online or at an ATM machine. </p>
<p>D has a free student account, ATM card, VISA card. And because BofA is gobbling up banks all over, she has access to free ATMs in both CA and MA. I don't have a savings account with them--agree that their interest rates on deposits are abysmal. </p>
<p>But the best thing for me is the ability to easily transfer $$ into D's account in case of emergencies--I can do it online. And every now and then, she transfers $$ into mine.</p>