I have a wells fargo account and a sf fire credit union account. I have been thinking about moving all my money to the cu, but honestly have not had any issues with wf. I highly suggest a credit union. I can use any atm (even in other countries) and they will reimburse me the fee. WF recently changed their fees on their accounts and the checking account I had was going to incur a $15 fee, so I switched it to a different checking account that is free and has everything I need.

 

Well BofA just started charging $5 a month to use your debit card

Re-post

 

+1 on this

 

This
and this.



My wife and I have both had BofA accounts and both of us HATE them. Terrible service and they do some weird ****.

I personally have had Golden 1 CU for well over 10 years and LOVE them.

My wife has Safe CU and she loves them too.

Either of those would be a good choice if you had them in your area. I know Safe is pretty small but Golden 1 is pretty big.

 

I've been with my credit union (Keypoint) for a long a$$ time for my primary banking and for a good reason. No bank has done as well for me. I do now use Chase also though, and I have been pretty satisfied with them, though they do have too many charges like most of the other big banks.

 

If you ever want to hear an extremely long story about how Chase ruined my credit, feel free to hit me up at VJJ.

F*ck Well's Fargo, another story.

I've been using Commonwealth CU since '99 and then got morphed over to Provident CU. Both have been amazing, great loan rates, and at my branch all the tellers and managers are really nice and remember you.

 

Use to work for BofA for 4 years. They have pretty decent alternatives for both people who are working and those who are not working.

If you got a job and can get direct deposit of at least $250 per month then your account is free.

If you don't have a job you can set up paperless statements and use ONLY the ATMs for your deposits and withdrawals then your account is free.

I wouldnt worry about that $5 debit card fee. YOU DONT GET CHARGED FOR USING YOUR DEBIT CARD. It's for the people that don't take care of their cards and are losing them all the time. It is a $5 replacement debit card fee that they are starting to charge for just like how the DMV charges $10 for a replacement license. Treat your card like its money and you wont lose it.

Chase isn't bad either but they have a lot more requirements on their accounts in order to not pay any fees.

Credit unions are awesome if you have a loan with them or need to get a loan with them. They also traditionally have higher savings interest rates if your looking to save.

 

I'm just going to skip everyone else and their comments and tell you the right answer.
Get an account with a Credit Union.
There are so many upsides to Credit Unions that it really is quite remedial of an idea to go with any other "bank".
I use Golden 1 and they are amazing.
Safe is also great.
I'd never make an account with BoA or WF.

 

They all suck.. I closed my BofA and Wells, Both made me wait a week to get funds to cover my accounts after I closed them. Chase sucks just as bad. They charge people for cashing checks drawn from their bank. That is retarded.
CU is the best way to go if you can swing it. But make sure they are FDIC, if not. you can loose out if they fold.

 

I've had, in this order:
BofA, Citi, Chase, and WF - suffice it to say I don't use ANY of them any more

big banks

my main now is Bank of the West - free checking
my CU is Patelco

I would recommend both of those

to the US Bank branch manager, I'd like to take you up on that no-fee offer

 

Avoid corporate big banks at all costs (chase bofa ect) anyone that knows anything about banking will tell you go with a local credit union.

 

For all the Northbay cats, I'd say Redwood Credit Union is the best bank i've ever dealt with. None of that "hold your check for 24 hour" BS and only provide you with a minimal amount when you deposit like WF does. It's instant cash and for the FULL amount! Also, for anyone who has dealt with fraud, WF makes you sign a bunch of papers and takes weeks and multiple phone calls to resolve, RCU resolved my case in less than one hour, no paperwork involved.

To sum up this thread, CU's own.