Keeping the Change
Just a heads up about Bank of America (yes, I know it's a corporate behemoth but bear with me.) I think I scored pretty well.
I got a checking account with them as a special promotion through my credit card. I get free checking with direct deposit and $100 bonus through that promotion. I think sometimes they have the same deal only with a $50 bonus for the average citizen. Well, I expected some starter checks to come with the account but they never came. I called to inquire and they gave me a couple books of checks at no cost for my troubles.
Then I signed up for a Keep the Change savings account. They're supposed to match your change every month for the first 3 months, but what I've discovered is that you are given a flat amount of $25.00 each of those months regardless of what change you actually kept.
In the end, I've received $175.00 from them with no additional expense on my part, just for opening a couple of accounts. That money has come in so handy, right when I needed to stretch things a little bit. The good thing about BoA is that they have ATMs everywhere and you can avoid transaction fees very easily as well. You'd be surprised how quickly you can get screwed just by those little fees that add up.
I keep my 'real' savings account over at ING to collect some interest, but hey, every dollar helps and this has been great for me. Highly recommended.
EDIT: That's not $25.00 from Keep the Change. I mistook an ordinary transfer of funds for additional monies. At least I felt rich for a short period of time!
I got a checking account with them as a special promotion through my credit card. I get free checking with direct deposit and $100 bonus through that promotion. I think sometimes they have the same deal only with a $50 bonus for the average citizen. Well, I expected some starter checks to come with the account but they never came. I called to inquire and they gave me a couple books of checks at no cost for my troubles.
Then I signed up for a Keep the Change savings account. They're supposed to match your change every month for the first 3 months, but what I've discovered is that you are given a flat amount of $25.00 each of those months regardless of what change you actually kept.
In the end, I've received $175.00 from them with no additional expense on my part, just for opening a couple of accounts. That money has come in so handy, right when I needed to stretch things a little bit. The good thing about BoA is that they have ATMs everywhere and you can avoid transaction fees very easily as well. You'd be surprised how quickly you can get screwed just by those little fees that add up.
I keep my 'real' savings account over at ING to collect some interest, but hey, every dollar helps and this has been great for me. Highly recommended.
EDIT: That's not $25.00 from Keep the Change. I mistook an ordinary transfer of funds for additional monies. At least I felt rich for a short period of time!