Showerthought: that $35 monthly fee on my 'free' checking account

I walked into a Chase branch in downtown Portland last week to deposit a check and the teller looked at my statement and asked 'you know you're paying $35 a month for this account, right?' I told her yeah I signed up for it 3 years ago thinking I'd use the premium perks. Turns out all I got was a weirdly nice debit card and free checks I never ordered. I have never used their wealth management team or gotten any travel insurance or whatever other junk they promise. So I switched to a local credit union yesterday and the account literally has zero fees and pays 0.01% interest which is basically nothing but at least it's not costing me $420 a year. Has anyone else been burned by those 'premium' accounts that quietly drain your money?

2 comments

2 Comments

nelson.nancy25d ago

Man I feel your pain. I had a similar thing happen with Bank of America years ago where they slipped me into some 'preferred rewards' tier and I was paying $25 a month for literally nothing. The best part was when I called to cancel they tried to sell me on the benefits again and I said 'what benefits, I never even got a toaster.' Credit unions are the way to go honestly. I switched to one near my house in 2018 and the only fee I pay is $3 when I use an out of network ATM which is rare.

terryf6225d ago

You mentioned the '$3 when I use an out of network ATM' like it's nothing, but those small fees add up over time. I actually prefer big banks because they have more branches and ATMs everywhere, so I rarely pay any fees at all. Credit unions are fine if you never travel or need anything complicated, but they can be a hassle when you're outside your local area. Plus, with a big bank you get better fraud protection and mobile apps that actually work. People always complain about fees, but at least you know what you're getting with a national bank instead of hoping your local credit union keeps up with technology.