Tuesday, December 15, 2009

banking here, banking there

As you've probably heard, Citibank will begin charging fees on its EZ Checking accounts in February. I've been a Citibank user since 2001 (since they had some kind of choke hold on all of Columbia), but I'm definitely parting ways with this bank now. Which is a bit of a shame, because my favorite part about Citibank is its pretty strong nationwide presence, so I definitely did not think switching banks would become part of my to-do list for moving to LA. But, now it is!

I've been all over the checking account signup bonuses for various banks lately. I opened a Chase checking account a few months ago and got $125. Then I got an offer from Capital One to open a checking account and got $200! I never really explored Capital One at all (just saw lots of their commercials), and I was very drawn to their 100% free checking accounts (Chase requires direct deposit or some number of debit card payments per month to make it free). Sadly, Capital One only exists in the very Northeast. So I guess I am switching over to Chase for my secondary account. My primary bank has been ING Direct for the past few years, and I love them. And I certainly don't have to worry about geography with them!

I was just thinking...when I need to withdraw or deposit money in LA...I'm going to have to drive to an ATM somewhere to do it! That is weird, weird, weird.

No comments: