Master Your Card

I thought I’d try something a little different and add a bank and credit union review, sort of like the credit card review that Jonathan did with the Amex card. Each week I’ll pick a bank or credit union and give a review of their services and fees - you guys are welcome to throw suggestions out there for ones you’d like to see reviewed!

The areas of the review are as follows:

1. Checking
2. Savings
3. CDs
4. Cool Features
5. Customer Service

This week’s pick: Bank of America

Checking Accounts

Bank of America has four main checking accounts - MyAccess Checking, CampusEdge Checking, Bank of America Advantage Checking, and Regular Checking.

MyAccess Checking:

The minimum opening deposit is $25, no minimum balance required thereafter. According to the website and their phone representatives, the online offer does not require direct deposit, but if you go in person to open the account, direct deposit and other service fees may apply. This is a non-interest bearing account.

CampusEdge Checking:

Same as the MyAccess, except it’s for students - high school and college. Students are also eligible for a “Stuff Happens” card which allows the owner to waive one fee assessed to their account. Once the student is no longer in school, the account converts to a MyAccess.

Bank of America Advantage Checking:

The minimum opening deposit is $100 and the monthly service fee can be waived with a daily average balance of $5000. Account allows loan and investment balances to be included to avoid monthly service fees. All loan and investment balances - except mortgages - must have at least $15,000 outstanding. Mortgages can be any amount. If requirements are not met, the monthly service charge is $20. This is a tiered interest bearing account; however as of now, all tiers are earning .05% APY. Users also get priority calling for telephone banking - means they get a special number to call and skip the line.

Regular Checking:

There is a $25 minimum opening deposit. To avoid a monthly service fee, users must keep a minimum of $750 in the checking account, or $2500 in the savings account. If below either of those balances, the monthly fee is $9 with direct deposit or $11 without direct deposit.

All checking accounts come with a free debit card (with picture), online banking, bill pay, telephone banking, and unlimited teller transactions. Non-Bank of America ATM fees in the U.S. are $2 for withdrawal or balance inquiry. Non-Bank of America fees in foreign countries are $5.

NSF fees: $25 per item for the first offense. The second offense and up within a consecutive 12-month period is $35 per item. Each day limited to 5 items.

Savings Accounts

There are two main savings accounts - Regular Savings and Balance Rewards Money Market.

Regular Savings:

There is no monthly fee with a $300 minimum or automatic transfers of $25 or more from a Bank of America checking account. Users are limited to a total of six withdrawals per month, three free and the remainder are $3 per withdrawal if the balance falls below $2500. Continued violations of the six per month will result in the savings account being turned into a checking account or shut down completely. It is interest bearing, .20% APY, compounded daily and paid monthly.

Balance Rewards Money Market

There is no monthly fee when linked to an Advantage checking account or with a minimum balance of $25,000. Otherwise, the fee is $20 per month. The account offers an annual cash bonus based on the balances in the account - a complete bonus schedule is available online. Offers limited check writing capabilities and can be linked to checking account for overdraft protection. The interest is tiered based on the balances, and runs from .5% APY to 1.55% APY.

CD Accounts

Bank of America offers CDs in terms of 28 days to 10 years. Interest rates are tiered based on the balance and run from 1.4% APY to 4.00% APY.

Cool Features

The cool feature for Bank of America is the “Keep the Change” program. When consumers use their debit cards, the purchase is rounded up to the nearest dollar amount and moved over to the savings account. For the first three months of a new account or set-up, Bank of America will match the savings penny for penny. Thereafter, they will match a total of 5%, not to exceed $250 a year.

Customer Service

Terrible. I went inside to get some information and was left sitting in the lobby for 25 minutes. When I asked for some literature on their accounts, the representative told me they didn’t have any but that he would be glad to explain the accounts to me. I agreed to hear him out and then he proceeded to basically read me off a memorized script about the accounts. It was methodical. I’ve heard from other employees that have left Bank of America and come over to other banks that they do require the employees to read an approved script.

Beyond that, the guy was interested in asking a bunch of personal questions without telling me what he was doing. I knew what he was doing, but from a customer’s standpoint, he should have explained. Not doing so put me on the defensive since I just wanted account info. Instead, I was bombarded with questions about my investments, mortgage, and car loans.

There are no direct numbers for a branch, which is really frustrating. If you want to speak to someone at your local branch for something as simple as directions, expect to be on hold with their 1-800 number for a period of time. The individual I finally got had an extremely thick accent that I couldn’t understand and I finally had to ask to be transferred to a supervisor just to understand what I was being told.

Bottom line:

Not my favorite. The products are decent - I especially like the “Keep the Change” program. But, interest rates are average and their service is terrible. They seem to be a company that does well for those with a lot of money - as evidenced by the priority calling for the Advantage folks; but those who don’t have a lot of money don’t get much for the hassle.

I’d recommend Bank of America for those who have a chunk of change they want to deposit or for those who like the nationwide aspect. Otherwise, you may find another institution better suits your needs.