Banking Question

[kristenrice]

I have been a customer of Comerica Bank for as long as I can remember. My parents opened an account for me there when I was a child and I have never had a need to switch. I have a checking account there and a savings account that maintains the minimum required balance to avoid fees on my checking account.

Now, there is a Chase bank (among others) that are a little closer to our house. I got an offer in the mail from Chase that caught my attention. If I open a checking account there and set up direct deposit (which I have at Comerica), they will give me $125. The features of the account that they offer are the same as my Comerica account. I already have a Disney Visa and the Disney Visa Debit card would be great for DH, who doesn't like credit cards anyways.

So I was wondering, is there any huge disadvantage for switching banks, given these circumstances? Basically, a set amount of my paychecks and DH's paychecks are deposited into the checking account and used for the monthly bills. Anything else is withdrawn from that account and moved into either our credit union account or our online savings. We don't keep any money in it that is just "hanging around".

I know of the horror stories with Chase customer service, but since I have never needed to contact Comerica's customer service, I do not have anything to compare it to. It might be better than what I have now.

Any thoughts?

 

[kathie859]

If you are really interested in changing banks, go to the branch where you would be transacting the most business and interview them. I work in a bank (though I'm not on the retail side of the business) and people come in all the time to see if they are a good fit for the product(s) that we offer.

Chase is as good as any bank, in my opinion. EVERY financial institution has it's detractors and dissatified customers....not just Chase.

 

[NVDisMom]

My husband is in banking as well. I would definitely go in and see if you feel comfortable with the branch manager, the banker and even the tellers. I have found that with our bank I absolutely refuse to go into certain branches because of the people (one being the closest to our home). If you are accustomed to credit union and small local bank service you will probably be disappointed in Chase or any other large bank. They just do not put the effort into small customers, not enough bang for the buck. If you maintain large balances and utilize them as a one stp shop and give them multiple lines of business (credit cards, mortgages, cds, etc) then you will fare well. As always, ymmv.

 

[dd50]

If they give you $125 for opening an account I would do it. Read the whole thing first in case there is a catch.

I use a credit union and I haven't been in the bank in 10 years. I do all my transactions through the ATM machine.

 

[kristenrice]

If they give you $125 for opening an account I would do it. Read the whole thing first in case there is a catch.

I use a credit union and I haven't been in the bank in 10 years. I do all my transactions through the ATM machine.

I also do most of my banking through the ATM so I haven't had much "personal" contact with Comerica or my credit union.

The offer is that they will deposit $125 into your account after xxx days if you have at least one direct deposit set up and completed. The account is free with no minimum balance as long as I maintain a direct deposit or make a minimum of 5 debit card purchases per month.

I will probably stop by and look into it tomorrow. Thanks for the info!

 

[SandrA9810]

If you haven't had to deal with your bank, it must be pretty good.

Is there any way to open it as a second account?? Like your paychecks get deposited into your current account, and your husband goes into the Chase?? Divide up anything like billpayments to meet your "requirements". And that way your husband can feel more comfortable using the debit card.
Is it possible to divide up direct deposit with your paycheck, that way the bare min gets put into the chase account to pay the few bills, and still do your main banking with your old bank.

And if things don't work out so well, you really haven't lost out on your great long standing relationship with your current bank.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have multiple accounts at another bank (2 checking accounts, savings, mortgage, HELOC, General Line of Credit, Credit Cafd and Safe Deposit Box). With the way everything is set up (multiple direct deposts, automatic withdrawls, links, etc) it would really take a lot to switch banks.

That said, I got an offer from Chase for a $100 bonus if I set a checking account with them with either at least one direct deposit or at least six debit card (signature, not PIN) transactions per month to get no service charges and the fine print says I must maintain the account for a least six months.

So I opened the account a few months ago, got the $100 addeed about a week after opening and am using the debit card for what would normally be my small cash (under $10.00) transactions. After I get the six monthly statement I intend to close the account.

And, BTW, the $100 I received (or the $125 on the OP's offer) will be reported to the IRS as taxable interest and a 1099-INT will be sent early in 2011.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Just be aware that they can change the "rules" at anytime by just sending out an obscured notice. What may be free today may cost you later. My mom got burnt on one of those deals with Chase. After a few months the "rules" changed and she didn't notice the notice, since it looked like junk mail. After a $12 service fee she stopped dealing with Chase.