<p>Credit cards have a $50 limit if you lose them. Debit cards don't, do they?</p>
<p>My parents signed me up for Comerica's student banking package (just checking, my savings are in a credit union) when I turned 18 in January, but since they have no presence in Cleveland I'm currently looking to switch. Here's what I find important:</p>
<ul>
<li>Presence on campus - both ATMs & a branch if possible</li>
<li>FREE checking, savings, ATM usage, debit card, online banking, direct deposit (for jobs), etc.</li>
<li>Nice rates on CDs and savings accounts</li>
</ul>
<p>I usually pay for things with my credit card (currently my card's through the bank, but I'll probably be getting an Amazon.com one soon instead, for the rewards), and make sure to pay it off in FULL every month, so I'm at least doing something to build my credit rating. I haven't ever used my debit card, but I might when I need to use the ATM in college. I have actually written several checks, I think they're handy to have around as long as you understand how they work.</p>
<p>My parents trust me with my money, they won't be sending me anything during the year.</p>
<p>Mathmom--Yes, I believe you're right. I know of one consumer guru who says one should make purchases with credit cards rather than debit cards because of that protection feature. Also, if there is an error--say, an overcharge--your money is tied up/gone until the error is corrected, whereas with a credit card one can question the charge and isn't responsible for payment until the research/correction is completed. It's unlikely that a debit card, if lost, will be used because of the privacy of the PIN number, but it is possible. If a credit card is lost and that is reported to the bank promptly, only the first $50 of fraudulant use is charged to the cardholder. I believe some credit card companies will even 'forgive' that amount if you are a 'good' customer.</p>
<p>We opened up a B of A account for my D for college simply because there's a B of A branch in our town and at her college. She has a debit card, checking account and a savings account. She has overdraft privileges from the checking account to the savings account. She's in her second year and that has worked out great. She is studying abroad this upcoming semester and it looks like B of A has an arrangement with some European banks so that she can use their ATM's without incurring a fee.</p>
<p>We just recently got her a Citibank credit card that has a reward point program for balances and reward points for on time payment and good grades. Now that she has a credit card, we're looking at switching her debit card to a plain old ATM card just for the reasons pointed out by Beil1958, because your liability for fraud on a debit card is much higher than with a credit card.</p>
<p>Our second D is off to college in the fall at a different school and we're also opening up a B of A account for her because there's also a branch near her school. B of A has the most extensive branch network in the U.S. We were not a customer's of theirs until we looked into what to do about bank accounts for our college students.</p>
<p>I'm an incoming freshman, and I wanted to open up a bank account for the fall. I haven't read all the posts in this thread so I don't know if anyone's mentioned this or not, but for those who have accounts with Chase, what do you think of it?</p>
<p>lsp: Your S or D is going to Tufts I believe. They have a B of A on campus that has worked well for our D. We set her up with a checking, savings and the student debit/credit card (with a cool Tufts logo). The savings works as overdraft protection as does the cc, but goes from savings first. D already had a Wells Fargo acct, but unfortunately Wells is not in Mass. We kept that acct, since it is linked to ours. When we need to give D $ for anything, such as books, we just go online, transfer $ from our acct to her Wells acct. Then she can write a check to herself and deposit it in her B of A acct. This way, I don't have to go into B of A to deposit $ for her, there is no delay at all and she gets in the habit of depositing checks as if they were a "pay check". D is very careful about using a cc. Last year, she mainly uses her cc to buy books and other college related items that we agreed to pay for. Toward the end of the school year, we ended up also getting a Jet Blue card in her name (and ours too), so she can make flight arrangements and get points. She gets the points for all of our purchases too as the primary card holder....our cards are just secondary cards on her acct. We let her pay the bills but reimburse for airfare home thru the Wells acct and anything we purchase on the Amex. She has already earned a free round trip flight, so we are going to have her use the Jet Blue amex card to buy her books, etc for the points. She can use her B of A card for anything she wants that we wont be reimbursing.</p>
<p>Thanks, blucroo-- yes he is going to Tufts, so Bank of America seems to be the way to go. There's actually a branch in our town too, so that makes it even easier. H. also wants him to get a low-limit credit card to get started on a credit rating. </p>
<p>Thanks, everybody!</p>
<p>you can't go wrong. If you open a BOA my access account, you might even get free $100. (sorry this offer does require a credit card through them)</p>
<p>If you open Wachovia, you could get $50</p>
<p>The only bad things about BOA is that, you can't ACH transfer out. Wachovia can't pull or push transfers.</p>
<p>If you want all nice features Schwab (talk to Chuck people) might be the best with 4.25% interest and no minimums.</p>
<ol>
<li> Joint checking account, me + son.</li>
<li> Online banking, so I can keep track of account, transfer funds as needed. </li>
<li> May have to use B of A so we both have a local branch.</li>
<li> Debit card for purchases. Caution: Purchases up to a certain amount do not require signature or pin, so a lost or stolen card can be used for many small purchases. Ever see that guy at the gas station offering to pump you $25 worth of gas for only $20 cash?</li>
</ol>
<p>We just opened an account for my d near her college. There are no branches of our bank near her, nor of the on-campus banks near us. We were visiting her college town so decided to go to the bank rather than wait until orientation. And are we glad we did!</p>
<p>We initially tried to open a college checking account for her, but couldn't - she's not yet 18! So, after major consultations with various managers, the bank finally came up with a solution: I had to open an account in my name, and she got a "high school account" linked to mine - she'll get an ATM card, but not a debit card - under 18's aren't allowed to have the VISA or MasterCard logo on a debit card. They waived all fees on my account. Then, when she turns 18, they'll transfer my money to her account (yes, with my permission, since I'll probably have to give her more than that anyway!), close my account, and "morph" hers into the college account.</p>
<p>So for those of you with 17 year old college students, be aware that there may be difficulties!</p>
<p>I had similar problems, Chedva. I was able to get a checking account at my local bank before I was 18 since I went to a branch that I used to work at and, uh, neglected to remind them that I was under 18. There were issues with issuing my debit card, though, and even though I got it before I was 18, I was at school for months relying on cash and checks (I had cancelled my ATM card when I thought I was getting a debit card). It was miserable. There are no banks in common between my school and home, either. Of course, now that I'm over 18, banks can see that I actually have made and saved a pretty good sum of money, so I went straight from having to jump over hoops just to get a basic checking account to being able to get very nice accounts with lots of great perks. Being a few weeks older obviously makes me deserving. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Jeez, Chevda, where do you live??? (Or rather, where is she???)
Both my sons have had their own checking accounts since they were 16 (I got tired of cashing their paychecks- LOL).</p>
<p>They are the primaries, but we have always held the accounts jointly in my name too. It's always a good idea for single people to have someone else on the account who can "get to the money" in an emergency.</p>
<p>If the account is joint, Doubleplay, your sons would of course be able to have the accounts. </p>
<p>Rules and conventional regulations have also changed in the past few years in many banks, so even if your sons were able to get independent checking accounts at 16, they may not have been able to a couple of years later.</p>