<p>MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE RULES ABOUT THIS. You can only legally transfer money from your savings to checking account 6 times a billing cycle (the opposite, as many times as you want). It’s a law. The first time, you’ll get a slap on the wrist or fine depending on your bank, and the second time, the government will freeze your account(s).</p>
<p>My bank teller at home has chastised me a few times for getting close to the limit. I was trying to be responsible and only transfer as much as I needed, but I could’ve lost all of my money doing that too much.</p>
<p>On topic, I have Wells Fargo and I’ve had nothing but good customer service. I also have a “teen” or “college” account–I forget which–with text message & online banking, a small rewards system, and no checking fees.</p>
<p>^yes I mentioned the 6 times a month I believe rule previously</p>
<p>I don’t know. Maybe I"m the only one who doesn’t have any problems with my BOA account haha, but then again I don’t know many college students who keep a running budget of what they spend their money on.</p>
<p>Just so you know, this is actually standard banking practice. Checks have one business day to clear. For example, I’m working at a bank right now. If someone deposits a check right now, it won’t clear or be available until midnight tonight. So if they purchase something for $40.01 and their current balance is $39.00, they will be overdrawn. This happens everywhere. Cash, of course, is immediate, as well as direct deposits. If a check is a payroll or government check, you can ask that it be made available for immediate credit, but that is the teller’s discretion.</p>
<p>ATM fees range from $1 to $5. The ATM itself can charge you, and then YOUR bank can charge you. Be careful. Some banks refund ATM fees, and sometimes there are fee-free ATMs (but like I said, if the bank charges, it will charge you).</p>
<p>Just so you know there is a new federal regulation change to Reg E that affects only debit card and non-recurring automatic debit transactions (not checks or recurring electronic debits). This regulation will allow you to OPT IN or OPT OUT of overdraft fees. If you opt-in, if you account is overdrawn, the overdrawn item will be paid (that is, your grocery bill at Walmart when you spend more than you have) and you will be charged a fee. If you OPT OUT, your card will be declined but you will not be charged. HOWEVER, because of the pending and posting system of banks - and the frequency with which the STAR system (the debit card system) is offline - even if you OPT OUT, your account can be overdrawn, BUT YOU CANNOT BE CHARGED.</p>
<p>As a teller, I strongly recommend that you opt out. Obviously, overdraft fees generate a lot of revenue and your bank will encourage you to opt in. All of the employees in my bank are lamenting that we are supposed to encourage our customers to do something very stupid.</p>
<p>^ also, a lot of banks are required to make credits available on good faith. If you deposit 2000 dollars and you’ve had a good history with a bank, you can immediately withdraw 2000 dollars without having the check cleared. This actually is a practice which has been exploited by a lot of scams.</p>
<p>I am not sure who this applies to (possibly credit unions), though it isn’t in affect here. I know that we can no longer hold a check except for in the event of very specific circumstances, in which case we can hold the check for 2 or 7 days or 5 or 9 days (new accounts). But yeah, scams are not difficult these days.</p>
<p>Also, if you get paid on a Friday and deposit your check after 5:00pm, good luck having money until Monday, because the bank has 1 business day to clear your check.</p>
<p>And since Saturday and Sunday aren’t business days (even if the bank is open on Saturdays), you won’t be getting your money until Monday at 5:00pm.</p>
<p>Every bank “turns over” (starts a new business day) at a different time. We turn over at 2:00 pm every day, so everything after that is on “next business day.”</p>
<p>Oh, I guess I should be counting my drawer… being a teller is boring business!</p>
<p>I use Chevy Chase, though if you’re in NJ that doesn’t even work for you because I’m pretty sure they only have branches in MD, DC, VA, and maybe Delaware. They haven’t screwed me yet, though, so that’s good.</p>
<p>This should definitely be the case for government and payroll checks. However, unfortunately I understand the banking reasons behind it - it takes time to determine if a check is going to draw (rather than bounce), if it is forfeit, if there is a stop payment, etc. Banking is still very much in the age of paperwork, although there has been at least some improvement.</p>
<p>"MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE RULES ABOUT THIS. You can only legally transfer money from your savings to checking account 6 times a billing cycle (the opposite, as many times as you want). It’s a law. The first time, you’ll get a slap on the wrist or fine depending on your bank, and the second time, the government will freeze your account(s).</p>
<p>My bank teller at home has chastised me a few times for getting close to the limit. I was trying to be responsible and only transfer as much as I needed, but I could’ve lost all of my money doing that too much."</p>
<p>If your bank will allow you to keep doing that until your accounts get frozen and you “lose” your money, that is ridiculous. At my bank I have gone over the limit two or three times and all that happens is I get a warning letter saying that if I do it again they will convert my savings account so that it doesn’t get interest anymore and then I can do whatever the hell I like with it, which isn’t a particularly strong penalty.</p>
<p>Charter One is my preferred bank, but I have a Bank of America checking account for school as there isn’t a Charter One there. I don’t have any problems with it, and I was able to get a secured credit card through them, which isn’t something many banks are still doing.</p>
<p>I recommend going the checking + online savings account route.</p>
<p>For the checking account, try to find a bank close to your campus that still offers “free” checking. Pick an online savings account at ING Direct, HSBC Direct, Ally, and so forth because their rates, while lower than what they were pre-recession, are still MUCH higher than what Bank of America and the like typically offer.</p>
<p>Online savings accounts are not scams. They can offer higher rates because they have no physical branches and hence significantly less overhead than conventional savings accounts.</p>
<p>Be careful with Ally. When you open an account, they run your credit and if you don’t have any credit history, they won’t allow you to open an account. I tried to open two accounts there (savings + checking) and was denied.</p>