Best of the big corporate banks

[obamanut2012]

Too long to explain, but our local credit union is under new ownership and is truly, truly horrible. WE need to pretty immediately transfer our savings and checking accounts to another bank, and it will have to be one of the big ones. What is anyone's experience with the following banks for pretty basic checking and saving accounts? I don't mind paying $5-10 a month fees, and I never need to go inside:

1. Chase
2. PNC
3. Capital One: I have a higher-tier card with them, and they keep wanting me to open an online c/s with them, but it makes me nervous.

Thanks!

[vlyons]

1. I just had a bad experience with CapitolOne

I'm 75 living on SSI. I was in the hospital 3 times last year and didn't pay the credit card with them, which they cancelled. So now they are sueing me.

I walked on a walker into a branch last week to pay off the debt. But since the card was cancelled, they said they couldn't look up the account, and there was no one there to help me. The tellers were 2 young girls, who didn't even try.

[obamanut2012]

2. Good lord

[Crazyleftie]

3. I use chase

While it is just another monstrous evil bank, the service is excellent and have locations everywhere. They have an in-house brokerage where I keep my IRA funds and it is easy to transfer funds between accounts electronically. If you have a balance of over 200k you can become a "private client" with some additional benefits.
However their credit card rates are pretty bad and I went elsewhere for my big loans (house, car etc)

[obamanut2012]

6. I'm leaning towards them for my accounts

I have had a Capital One cc for 20+ years, and got my last car loan through them at a great rate, so that's covered. Thanks for your answer!

[DFW]

4. Is there a bank that isn't a corporation?

I don't run into too many mom-and-pop single proprietor banks, but then, I don't have the time to look anyway.

When I opened my first personal account in Dallas, my employer just set me up with their bank, which was called Interfirst. Their only claim to fame was that their building was used for "Ewing Oil" in the TV series, "Dallas." It got bought up a couple of times, and is now Bank of America. My experiences with them have been hot and cold, although I rarely have any use for a US bank any more. I have my paycheck paid into there, and I write checks on the account for payments to American beneficiaries, or to restock my German account. That's it. I just make sure I don't spend more than I take in after taxes, and that is the sum of my U.S. banking activity.

The German bank I use is great for foreign exchange (US banks have lousy rates), but they are criminally larcenous when it comes to charges and fees. They will take $100 from you if you deposit a US check into a German account, and charge about as much for an overseas wire--or even to RECEIVE an overseas wire! Get a wire into your personal account that is not from your employer or spouse, and they will interrogate you as if you were in the direct employ of the Taliban and the Cali Cartel. Not the cops, the BANK!! Naturally, I checked out other German banks, but they have standardized their fees. All German banks charge the SAME fees. So much for the free market. In general, my wife and I do not like them, or their credit cards, and we pay cash when we possibly can.

[obamanut2012]

7. Good grief, DFW!

Those are some hefty charges.

[DFW]

9. German Banks have a license to steal

And they are VERY good at it.

[obamanut2012]

10. I am honestly surprised

I thought the fees here in the US were bonkers.

[DFW]

11. I don't know about the fees for most services, since I rarely use them

But, as one concrete example: Bank of America in Dallas charges me $10 to wire money from my Dallas account to my German account, and nothing for incoming wires. The German bank charges about $100 to receive or send it. Bank of America charges me nothing for maintaining the account (minimum balance? No idea). The German bank charges between $20 (for my personal account) and $80 (for the "business" account). Plus, if any private citizen has a bank balance of over €250,000, I am told they charge a NEGATIVE interest of half a per cent. On €250,000, that means they would TAKE €1250 to penalize you for keeping such a big balance with them. It's not a problem I am ever likely to be confronted with, but it would enrage me to have that happen. I'd take out the balance in cash and stuff it under the mattress before I'd put up with that.

[FSogol]

12. Use a local credit union. They are much superior to banks. n/t

[obamanut2012]

13. Maybe read my OP?

[FSogol]

16. Yes, I did. Switch to another credit union is my advice. n/t

[DFW]

14. No such animal in my neck of the woods. n/t

[Magoo48]

5. Isn't this kind of like saying, "The best of the most deadly viruses?"

[obamanut2012]

8. Yes

[Phentex]

15. Of those choices, nerdwallet recommends Chase for bonus sign up

but if you don't need to go inside, have you considered an online bank?

In any case, there's lots of good info at nerdwallet.com

[obamanut2012]

17. Yeah, I just read that on Nerdwallet a bit ago!

I thought about Capital One's online bank, since I've had a cc with them for a very long time.