Bank of America to charge $5 debit card fee

[MasterBlaster]

The latest trend....More fees to use your own money.


Bank of America to charge $5 debit card fee - Yahoo! Finance=

Bank of America plans to start charging customers a $5 monthly fee for using their debit card for purchases.
The fee will be rolled out starting early next year.
A number of banks have either rolled out or are testing such fees. Bank of America's announcement carries added weight because it is the largest U.S. bank by deposits.
Anne Pace, a Bank of America Corp. spokeswoman, said Thursday that customers will only be charged the fee if they use their debit cards for purchases in any given month. Customers won't be charged if they only use their cards at an ATM.
The fee will apply to basic accounts and will be in addition to any monthly fees customers are already being charged. For example, one of the bank's basic accounts already charges a $12 monthly fee unless customers meet certain conditions, such as maintaining a minimum average balance of $1,500.

 

[FUEGO]

hmmm, pay $5 per month for the privilege of using my own money to buy things? Or get paid to sign up for a credit card and then get paid 2-5% (or more) for using a credit card and then getting 1-2 months of float from the CC company?

Of course the obviousness of this to me (and most other board denizens) is the reason why we are or will soon be wealthy and FIREd and why we don't plan on keeling over at age 75 while reviewing the monthly TPS reports.

 

[73ss454]

I just went through the same thing last week with Regions Bank. They came up with a monthly fee of $4 for debit card use and you must have a minimum of $1500 in each account or there is another $13 fee. I went up to the bank and spoke with one of the Reps.. He told me the best way to beat the fee is to use a credit card instead of Debit. So I signed up for a credit card and set it so it's automatically paid each month. The biggest pain is to change all the payments with the vendors that I pay each month. That takes the longest time to go through and change.

One other way to look at it is if you use your checking account to pay other bills online you don't have to pay the postage. That alone should cover the $4 a month.

Everyone is trying to figure out new ways to take our money, including the government.

 

[ER Man]

Their stock have taken a beating in the last 2 years also.

 

[walkinwood]

For people who can control their spending & pay in full each month, I think using a debit card for payment is not a good deal. There are fewer consumer protections with debit cards than with credit cards.

In any case, the only way to teach these big banks that we're not their piggy-banks, is to move your account to a bank that treats you fairly. Community banks & Credit Unions usually have much better terms.

 

[ER Man]

Hundreds of others banks and CU's with no fees.

 

[ziggy29]

Hundreds of others banks and CU's with no fees.

I have banking accounts with both Charles Schwab and USAA, and both provide free checking, free debit card usage and rebate a reasonable amount of ATM fees per month.

Kick BofA to the curb.

 

[chinaco]

If my bank increases any of my costs... I will probably switch banks.

Might be a good opportunity for smaller banks to pull in some new customers.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Our little hometown bank used to give points for debit card use, but since legislation taking effect October 1 limits "swipe fees," or what banks can charge merchants for debit card use, our bank has stopped the practice (I think we got $75 cash over the past couple of years). But the banks still are making money off the merchants on the debit cards (and by extension off us). I predict BofA will back down at some point, like First Chicago Bank (now Chase) did from its $3 fee for teller transactions.

Since most debit cards can also be used as charge cards, I wonder how BofA treats those transactions--would that trigger the $5/mo debit card fee?

 

[Bikerdude]

I could never understand why anyone would use a debit card.

 

[homestead]

I could never understand why anyone would use a debit card.

We get 2% interest on our debit checking each month up to 25k balance.

 

[meierlde]

Of course there is this very old innovation called currency that can be used to pay bills. One could as noted go to the atm and get currency, or go to the bank and get currency. It is of course easy to tell when currency runs out the wallet is empty. Of course I have never had a debit card, and had a long discussion with a bank rep when he thought I needed one. He said it would help to cash a check at another branch of the bank. I told him that if they would not cash my check at a branch with a US passport, I would have to find another bank.
But of course using currency is a luddite way of doing business, but if the banks close its a good way to keep trucking.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I will still use the BofA debit card as an ATM card, but the Penfed Visa is already my go-to credit card. Plus, like Ziggy, I use my Schwab debit card some. It has the added bonus of no foreign transaction fees!

 

[calmloki]

I could never understand why anyone would use a debit card.

Nor did I - till we went south and our local bank didn't have branches in that state. We signed up with Wells Fargo and used the debit card at a warehouse grocery that took cash or debit only. Down south is sales tax country and I was starting to walk crooked from the pocket full of change. It is sorta ok to have those change generating transactions just become ones and zeroes in the ether.

Most of my life I've been cash; did get seduced by cash back credit card programs even though I think credit cards are a parasitic drain on the active economy - now I have two debit cards thanks to Wells Fargo deciding it should charge usage fees for their card, which drove me to getting a no-fee card from my local bank. Ahh progress - what's next - a freaking Twitter account so people know what I had for lunch?

 

[grasshopper]

Free checking is almost gone also.

 

[meierlde]

Free checking is almost gone also.

Make that free checking without a minimum balance, and perhaps a direct deposit. Have a large enough minimum balance and you can get a good deal. Or go to a credit union. If traveling there are these other old fashioned pieces of paper called travelers checks with a 2% fee have been around for 100 years or so and can be had in us dollars Canadian dollars pounds Euros and the like. Today with low interest rates the loss of earnings is no so great as a few years ago.

 

[Texas Proud]

We get 2% interest on our debit checking each month up to 25k balance.

Does it require you to use your debit card a certain amount of times a month

Even with 2%, I would not want to use a debit card... I would just leave the money in the account and get the 2%...

 

[ziggy29]

Our little hometown bank used to give points for debit card use, but since legislation taking effect October 1 limits "swipe fees," or what banks can charge merchants for debit card use, our bank has stopped the practice (I think we got $75 cash over the past couple of years).

Yeah, this affected my USAA account recently -- until just a few days ago we could get 0.5% back when we swiped a debit card as a credit card transaction (i.e. not PIN-based or an ATM withdrawal). But these changes to the laws removed some of the swipe fees so they had to eliminate some of the perks. The response from members was that if they had to get rid of something, they wanted to get rid of this 0.5% back feature if it meant keeping free checking and ATM fee rebates.

Heck, there's little reason to use a debit card as a 0.5% back card anyway if you have credit cards that give 1% or more, assuming you can pay it all off each month.

 

[homestead]

Does it require you to use your debit card a certain amount of times a month

Even with 2%, I would not want to use a debit card... I would just leave the money in the account and get the 2%...

Here is the fine print...
First Technology Federal Credit Union
Dividend Rewards Checking

• Qualified accounts earn a very competitive dividend rate*
• Qualified accounts also earn Free ATM surcharge rebates on out-of-network U.S. ATM transactions*
• Free overdraft protection from your savings, credit card or home equity line of credit account
• Free Online Banking and BillPay
• Free e-deposit for qualified members**

No Monthly Fees

Absolutely free checking with absolutely great rewards.

Dividend Rewards Checking is a great option for members looking for a truly free, high rate checking account. Just meet three simple monthly requirements and score big rewards.* Simply use your debit card for a minimum of 12 purchases each qualifying period, set up direct deposit or one recurring ACH withdrawal and be enrolled in e-Statements. In return, you’ll earn a high dividend rate plus enjoy unlimited ATM surcharge rebates for out-of-network U.S. ATM transactions.

 

[Bikerdude]

We get 2% interest on our debit checking each month up to 25k balance.

That's a good reason! In all honesty, I use a Schwab debit card for ATM cash withdrawals but could never figure out why someone would use it for purchases when you can "float" the money and get cash back or a reward with a credit card.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I could never understand why anyone would use a debit card.

Are you serious? What would you rather do, carry $500 cash in your wallet or carry a debit card? Other than putting everything on a credit card, debit cards work like cash in the wallet. I carry about $100 cash and use the debit card for everything up to $50. Then I change to the credit card. Looks like I'll be changing my habits. I'll keep my debit card but will only use it to withdraw cash from the bank ATM and to make check deposits at the ATM. I never go inside the bank.

 

[Bikerdude]

Are you serious? What would you rather do, carry $500 cash in your wallet or carry a debit card? Other than putting everything on a credit card, debit cards work like cash in the wallet. I carry about $100 cash and use the debit card for everything up to $50. Then I change to the credit card. Looks like I'll be changing my habits. I'll keep my debit card but will only use it to withdraw cash from the bank ATM and to make check deposits at the ATM. I never go inside the bank.

See last post on page 1. We mostly agree.

 

[steelyman]

For people who can control their spending & pay in full each month, I think using a debit card for payment is not a good deal. There are fewer consumer protections with debit cards than with credit cards.

In any case, the only way to teach these big banks that we're not their piggy-banks, is to move your account to a bank that treats you fairly. Community banks & Credit Unions usually have much better terms.

I couldn't agree more with this. I have been using a local credit union since the mid-80s, have used their ATM card within their own network and am charged $5/yr, nothing more (at least so far!).

 

[scrabbler1]

I rarely use my ATM card as a debit card, maybe once or twice a year. So I will have to use my credit card instead. Not a big deal, but yet another way BofA is whittling away the upsides of being one of their customers.

 

[Trex]

The latest trend....More fees to use your own money.


Bank of America to charge $5 debit card fee - Yahoo! Finance=

The evil empire is showing it's "True Colors".....I hate them,(BofA), but I can't get away from them, (because of my Home Equity Loan). If I could find another bank that would give me 2.99%, I would move over to them.