best bank account

if I plan on living in FiDi, what’s the best bank to have a checking/savings account at? I know Citi is prevalent in New York but I feel like BOA is more national for travel. no clue though, lmk what you guys have.

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There are two schools of thought here:

  1. Go with one of these new online cash management accounts or an online credit union for the best possible rates and ATM fee reimbursement anywhere (examples: SoFi, Ally, etc)

  2. Go with a national bank for the large branch network and array of services (BOA, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo)

Personally I lean toward option 2 because once you have enough money in a national bank you get the kinds of perks you’d want from an online bank (ATM reimbursement, free checks) while still having brick and mortar access. Also, rates are so low right now that you won’t get that much extra yield on your accounts from an online bank.

With that in mind I have BOA for my personal accounts. Their preferred rewards program is pretty solid (perks for higher account balances). I’m in Chicago though so you might find other banks have a greater presence. I think NY by and large is the same.

 

Zero - it’s easy to avoid fees if you either 1) have direct deposit (hard for students, easy for postgrads) or 2) are a preferred rewards member (combined checking/savings/Merrill Edge investments above $20,000).

BOA gets a lot of hate because people get nailed with overdraft fees or don’t have direct deposit, if someone isn’t in the financial position to avoid these things they probably should go with a different account.

Edit: I meant to add most banks (inc. BOA) waive fees for students so if you’re still in school your fees should be $0, your account will convert to a standard one upon graduation though.

 

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