Why I love banks

[DualCitizen]

My bank (it's one of the big names, not really a great bank but I have many accounts there and am too lazy to switch) gives you free checks and wires and other things as long as you maintain a certain minimum balance. Fair enough, I thought, as long as I'm not keeping it in cash (in which case they would get to keep my interest). So I asked if I can just put stocks into the account. Yes, they said. There's no fee for keeping stocks in there, but when I mentioned to the lady servicing my account that I'm a passive investor she was not pleased at all. You could visibly see the change of expression in her face. She made it clear that she prefers if I invest actively with them. Ok, I said, what's the fee? Get ready for it: 1.45%. I came very close to laughing her out of the room but I decided that would have been impolite. Just for kicks and giggles, I did look at their active fund. Does it outperform the indexes? It does actually, but only by a nearly imperceptible hair's breadth. That's before fees. After fees? Nope.

[denovo]

What kind of useful perk is free checks? I don't think I write more than 5 checks a year. Isn't it 2019?

Btw, Walmart will let you get about 150 checks for $8.50. I ordered checks about 5 years ago and I expect I will die before using them all.

[drawpoker]

.......not pleased at all. You could visibly see the change of expression in her face. She made it clear that she prefers if I invest actively with them...........

Lemmeee guess, was the bank PNC? (Stands for Profits, Not Customercare

On the infrequent occasions when I have to go inside to get something stamped with the medallion guarantee - the manager obviously has closely eyeballed the documents being signed. And sees they are going back and forth between mutual funds companies, usually TRowe Price to Fidelity, or vice-versa, sometimes VG.

Can she keep a secret? Heck no, they are off to the races. As soon as I am out the door she squeals to someone in some dept somewhere (probably Pittsburg?) For the next solid two months my mailbox is flooded weekly with offers to "take advantage" of the valuable services of their exclusive "wealth management" advisors, and they don't want me to miss out on the terrific investment advice they are able to dispense, blah, blah.

These bank branch managers are like sharks, trained to sniff out fresh blood wherever they can.

[HomeStretch]

I would not hold my investments through my bank’s brokerage arm. But I do value my local B&M bank for safe deposit box, medallion/notary services, etc. I keep a low balance as their interest rates are low.

[IMO]

Going to a local bank is nice when you need a notary for free. I think there are no fees if you keep something like $1200 in the bank. I think many on this site will lose sleep that they have $1200 not making any interest though.

[Cubicle]

I have my accounts at Capital One. Free checks (I used about 1 per month for various things), reimbursed other ATMs, free cashiers checks. But the biggest perk is I have an older checking account, but linked to a 360 account, & 360 accounts get access to the AllPoint ATM network. Which means free withdrawals of Canadian currency at lots of Canadian ATMs when I travel there, several times per year. At "normal" exchange rates at that.

I have had them ask me about investing with them. I told them I have my own investments that they aren't compatible with. They haven't bothered me after that.

[livesoft]

I offered to help the bank officer who tried to sell me a loan. I asked her about her mortgage and the answer was, "I don't own a home anymore. I had to declare bankruptcy." That was refreshingly honest.

[obgraham]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

[rooms222]

I have my accounts at Capital One. Free checks (I used about 1 per month for various things), reimbursed other ATMs, free cashiers checks. But the biggest perk is I have an older checking account, but linked to a 360 account, & 360 accounts get access to the AllPoint ATM network. Which means free withdrawals of Canadian currency at lots of Canadian ATMs when I travel there, several times per year. At "normal" exchange rates at that.

I have had them ask me about investing with them. I told them I have my own investments that they aren't compatible with. They haven't bothered me after that.

Thank you so much! I did not know about that. I noticed the surcharges in Canada started for me a couple of years ago(even though my bank usually reimburses), and see that the 7-11's in Windsor are the only Allpoint machines there. I will use them next time!!!

[anoop]

My bank didn’t have notary service available at the branch I frequent so it turned out to be a useless perk. I ended up going to the UPS store and paying for it. Other than inertia there is no reason for me to be with my current big bank.

[Doom&Gloom]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

+1

Several years ago I took something to my bank to be notarized as I had done several times in the past. The employee asked me what it was and declined to notarize it because the bank had begun prohibiting notarizing those types of documents. I am not certain now what it was, but I think it was a financial or investment account document of some type. I do recall walking out of the bank thinking that if they could not notarize whatever it was that their notary service was practically of no use at all to me.

[02nz]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

Probably same reason people line up for free samples at Costco.

[lakpr]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

You can save that $10 too, local libraries have notaries available to public for free during certain hours. At least, my local library does.

[dodecahedron]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

You can save that $10 too, local libraries have notaries available to public for free during certain hours. At least, my local library does.

Places I can get free notary services: my bank, local insurance agency (where I have my homeowners/auto insurance), AAA (I am a member), and my employer maintains a list of employees (colleagues) who are notaries.

[UpperNwGuy]

Banks are annoying. I have two travel-related credit cards at Chase and a debit card at Schwab, but most of my checking/savings/credit card business goes to my two credit unions. I can walk to three UPS Stores that each have a notary public.

[viveks]

I use Fidelity as one stop shop for pretty much all banking (bill pays, check writing, direct deposit etc..) and investments. I have Fidelity/Elan cash back card as my default card. But banks are necessary evil for things like Safe Deposit Box, Medallion warranty, notary, cashier's check etc. I maintain an account with Chase, in past used to keep $15k in a CD but opened YouInvest earlier this year. YouInvest gives free trades and option to invest in some of the low cost Fidelity/Vanguard Index funds. Something worth considering, other banks offer similar options.

[CurledMoss]

Just because you don't write check dosen't mean nobody else does. I own a business and write them often

What kind of useful perk is free checks? I don't think I write more than 5 checks a year. Isn't it 2019?

Btw, Walmart will let you get about 150 checks for $8.50. I ordered checks about 5 years ago and I expect I will die before using them all.

[RickBoglehead]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

You can save that $10 too, local libraries have notaries available to public for free during certain hours. At least, my local library does.

Our library serves close to 200,000 people and does not provide notaries.

[Cosmo]

My bank (it's one of the big names, not really a great bank but I have many accounts there and am too lazy to switch) gives you free checks and wires and other things as long as you maintain a certain minimum balance. Fair enough, I thought, as long as I'm not keeping it in cash (in which case they would get to keep my interest). So I asked if I can just put stocks into the account. Yes, they said. There's no fee for keeping stocks in there, but when I mentioned to the lady servicing my account that I'm a passive investor she was not pleased at all. You could visibly see the change of expression in her face. She made it clear that she prefers if I invest actively with them. Ok, I said, what's the fee? Get ready for it: 1.45%. I came very close to laughing her out of the room but I decided that would have been impolite. Just for [content removed-mod] giggles, I did look at their active fund. Does it outperform the indexes? It does actually, but only by a nearly imperceptible hair's breadth. That's before fees. After fees? Nope.

So why do you love banks?

[sport]

At one time I was a project manager with technical and financial responsibility for large international projects. I got involved with international banking. I found that banks would do unethical things to keep my company's money rather than pay it to us when due. They would not do anything illegal, but they would lie and withhold information to slow down payment transactions. Since interest rates were very high at that time, these delays were money makers for the banks, and extra costs for my company. I have been very suspicious and cynical when it comes to banks ever since.

[DualCitizen]

My bank (it's one of the big names, not really a great bank but I have many accounts there and am too lazy to switch) gives you free checks and wires and other things as long as you maintain a certain minimum balance. Fair enough, I thought, as long as I'm not keeping it in cash (in which case they would get to keep my interest). So I asked if I can just put stocks into the account. Yes, they said. There's no fee for keeping stocks in there, but when I mentioned to the lady servicing my account that I'm a passive investor she was not pleased at all. You could visibly see the change of expression in her face. She made it clear that she prefers if I invest actively with them. Ok, I said, what's the fee? Get ready for it: 1.45%. I came very close to laughing her out of the room but I decided that would have been impolite. Just for [content removed-mod] giggles, I did look at their active fund. Does it outperform the indexes? It does actually, but only by a nearly imperceptible hair's breadth. That's before fees. After fees? Nope.

So why do you love banks?

Because their brokerage people give me a good laugh.

[tj]

I would feel warm and fuzzy about banking local, but I just can't justif the lost interest.

The biggest credit union near me has "relationship rewards", but you're better off just investing in a higher interest institution in the first place.

https://www.desertfinancial.com/persona ... back-bonus

[fru-gal]

Going to a local bank is nice when you need a notary for free. I think there are no fees if you keep something like $1200 in the bank. I think many on this site will lose sleep that they have $1200 not making any interest though.

The libraries where I live offer free notary service. So does the chamber of commerce. I also think I have a lifetime supply of checks. I can't think of anything a bank does that a credit union doesn't do better.

[tj]

Going to a local bank is nice when you need a notary for free. I think there are no fees if you keep something like $1200 in the bank. I think many on this site will lose sleep that they have $1200 not making any interest though.

The libraries where I live offer free notary service. So does the chamber of commerce. I also think I have a lifetime supply of checks. I can't think of anything a bank does that a credit union doesn't do better.

In general, much more competitive rewards and cashback rates on credit cards.

[Wricha]

.......not pleased at all. You could visibly see the change of expression in her face. She made it clear that she prefers if I invest actively with them...........

Lemmeee guess, was the bank PNC? (Stands for Profits, Not Customercare

On the infrequent occasions when I have to go inside to get something stamped with the medallion guarantee - the manager obviously has closely eyeballed the documents being signed. And sees they are going back and forth between mutual funds companies, usually TRowe Price to Fidelity, or vice-versa, sometimes VG.

Can she keep a secret? Heck no, they are off to the races. As soon as I am out the door she squeals to someone in some dept somewhere (probably Pittsburg?) For the next solid two months my mailbox is flooded weekly with offers to "take advantage" of the valuable services of their exclusive "wealth management" advisors, and they don't want me to miss out on the terrific investment advice they are able to dispense, blah, blah.

These bank branch managers are like sharks, trained to sniff out fresh blood wherever they can.

Pittsburgh <——H

[MN-Investor]

I sat down and gave this thought today and decided that my credit union account no longer makes sense so I will be closing it and transferring the money to my Fidelity account and opening a Fidelity Cash Management Account. We'll see how that works. I'll keep my bank account. I've been with the same bank (well, sort of... they did get acquired so now it's the acquiring bank I'm with) since my first job in the Cities in Jan 1975. I like the local branch. They've notarized documents for me and cash my EE bonds. I see no compelling reason to transfer my money from them.

[fortfun]

I love banks for their $500 bonuses. Then I move on to the next bank

[Turbo29]

I love banks because there is a Chase almost every block. I almost never go into one but I like that they are there if I need to.

[BogleMelon]

I use Fidelity as one stop shop for pretty much all banking (bill pays, check writing, direct deposit etc..) and investments. I have Fidelity/Elan cash back card as my default card. But banks are necessary evil for things like Safe Deposit Box, Medallion warranty, notary, cashier's check etc. I maintain an account with Chase, in past used to keep $15k in a CD but opened YouInvest earlier this year. YouInvest gives free trades and option to invest in some of the low cost Fidelity/Vanguard Index funds. Something worth considering, other banks offer similar options.

FWIW, Fidelity offers Medallion warranty and notary as well. Not sure about cashier's checks, but I won't be surprised if they offer that too.

[smalliebigs]

If anybody is even a tiny bit in the middle class, banks are the way to go over credit unions. You can often see people on Reddit or other platforms blindly say credit unions are the best because they're not for profit, blah blah. But if you can have at least $1000 or whatever the minimum is for a checking account, the large banks are the only way to go. There is absolutely no comparison.

[tj]

If anybody is even a tiny bit in the middle class, banks are the way to go over credit unions. You can often see people on Reddit or other platforms blindly say credit unions are the best because they're not for profit, blah blah. But if you can have at least $1000 or whatever the minimum is for a checking account, the large banks are the only way to go. There is absolutely no comparison.

What's your logic there? I've been using Alliant Credit Union for years. They have better checking rates than all of the big banks and decent savings rates. Fast ACH's. Free billpay. heard Wells Fargo now charges $10/mo for bill pay. Why would I switch to a big bank?

[smalliebigs]

Credit card rewards, nationwide ATMs, 24/7 customer support, international presence, etc., etc.

And Wells Fargo isn't really a shining example for a bank to begin with...

[dodecahedron]

If anybody is even a tiny bit in the middle class, banks are the way to go over credit unions. You can often see people on Reddit or other platforms blindly say credit unions are the best because they're not for profit, blah blah. But if you can have at least $1000 or whatever the minimum is for a checking account, the large banks are the only way to go. There is absolutely no comparison.

What's your logic there? I've been using Alliant Credit Union for years. They have better checking rates than all of the big banks and decent savings rates. Fast ACH's. Free billpay. heard Wells Fargo now charges $10/mo for bill pay. Why would I switch to a big bank?

Bank of America has given me thousands of dollars in credit card signup bonuses, thousands of dollars in brokerage bonuses (simply for moving Vanguard ETFs in kind to Merrill Edge), free billpay, free safe deposit box, free just about everything including unlimited free ATM withdrawals everywhere (waiving their fee and reimbursing me for the host bank's fee), and credit cards that give me 5.25% cash back on online purchases, 5.25% on another category of my choice from {travel, restaurants, gas, ...}, 3.5% on groceries, dining, and travel, and 2.625% on everything else. Also, my BoA credit cards periodically extend the interest free period for payback on credit cards for up to 18 months at a stretch, giving me free float that can be invested elsewhere.

Their interest rates on checking and saving are admittedly tiny, but they have no minimum balance requirements for those accounts and so I keep most of my cash at Ally, just transferring it into my BoA checking account on a just-in-time basis to pay bills. Interest is taxable but almost all the benefits listed in the previous paragraph are taxfree. (The only exception is that the $1,000 brokerage bonus I got for transferring my taxable account to Merrill Edge was taxable. The bonus for transferring my Roth was taxfree, as were all the credit card bonuses, credit card cash back, and fee waivers.)

[OnTrack]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

Ok for notary, but you can't get a medallion signature guarantee at UPS.

[donall]

Services from bricks and mortar were important especially years ago. But now it seems like there are more sources for these services. Professional organizations, lawyers, libraries, counties, churches, townships, cities, mutual fund companies often provide free notary services. Most mutual fund companies have free wire transfer that can be done on the computer. Mutual fund companies also offer medallion services. I suppose one of the reasons to still have a bricks and mortar account is to be able to cash paper bonds without turning them into electronic bonds on Treasury Direct.

[iamblessed]

[/quote]

Bank of America has given me thousands of dollars in credit card signup bonuses, thousands of dollars in brokerage bonuses (simply for moving Vanguard ETFs in kind to Merrill Edge), free billpay, free safe deposit box, free just about everything including unlimited free ATM withdrawals everywhere (waiving their fee and reimbursing me for the host bank's fee), and credit cards that give me 5.25% cash back on online purchases, 5.25% on another category of my choice from {travel, restaurants, gas, ...}, 3.5% on groceries, dining, and travel, and 2.625% on everything else. Also, my BoA credit cards periodically extend the interest free period for payback on credit cards for up to 18 months at a stretch, giving me free float that can be invested elsewhere.

Their interest rates on checking and saving are admittedly tiny, but they have no minimum balance requirements for those accounts and so I keep most of my cash at Ally, just transferring it into my BoA checking account on a just-in-time basis to pay bills. Interest is taxable but almost all the benefits listed in the previous paragraph are taxfree. (The only exception is that the $1,000 brokerage bonus I got for transferring my taxable account to Merrill Edge was taxable. The bonus for transferring my Roth was taxfree, as were all the credit card bonuses, credit card cash back, and fee waivers.)
[/quote]

You have done great but I think you are part of the 1% of BOA customers that have done as well. Thanks but no thanks I will stick to the credit union.

[dachshunddad]

I have a hard time breaking away from banks also. I realize I'm losing interest but it's a balance with the benefits. They are excellent with setting up business and trust accounts. Changing these around takes effort and paperwork. Also, developing a relationship makes negotiating mortgages, etc easier. I also meet with the "free" planning session with their financial advisors. I occasionally learn some info but obviously the fees are too high to invest. And by still being a potential client they will occasionally take us to dinner as well as use their box for pro sports and concerts.

[SixAlpha]

I actually do still love local banks. In my case, I needed to open a checking account for business because of the need to deposit cash. Unfortunately, I was still trying to clean up the mess from a full-scale identity takeover. Tax returns, the whole nine yards.

I live in a metro area of almost a million people, but since I was red-flagged in Chexsystems for fraud, not a single bank or credit union in the area would open a new account for me, including Mega Bank with whom I’d had a personal account for 15 years. Trust me... I called all of them.

An old friend of the family is branch manager at a small bank in the area that deals mostly with HNW individuals.. she was able to call in a favor to the bank’s VP and work around the normal system in order to get an account set up. They don’t have the greatest banking products in the world, but at the time they were the only bank in the area who were willing to look past what the “computer” said. For that, they have my loyalty.

[lotusflower]

My pet peeve is "interest-bearing checking" accounts, where the interest is invariably less than 0.1% nowadays. So every month I have to enter a transaction of somewhere around eight cents. It's not even worth the trouble to bother with those kinds of repeat transactions.

[tesuzuki2002]

.......not pleased at all. You could visibly see the change of expression in her face. She made it clear that she prefers if I invest actively with them...........

Lemmeee guess, was the bank PNC? (Stands for Profits, Not Customercare

On the infrequent occasions when I have to go inside to get something stamped with the medallion guarantee - the manager obviously has closely eyeballed the documents being signed. And sees they are going back and forth between mutual funds companies, usually TRowe Price to Fidelity, or vice-versa, sometimes VG.

Can she keep a secret? Heck no, they are off to the races. As soon as I am out the door she squeals to someone in some dept somewhere (probably Pittsburg?) For the next solid two months my mailbox is flooded weekly with offers to "take advantage" of the valuable services of their exclusive "wealth management" advisors, and they don't want me to miss out on the terrific investment advice they are able to dispense, blah, blah.

These bank branch managers are like sharks, trained to sniff out fresh blood wherever they can.

Haha!! I'm closing my PNC account next month since they want to start charging me $25 a month to keep the account open unless I keep $15K in there checking earning almost 0 interest... Such a joke PNC.

[rai]

I use E-Trade checking account, free checking etc..

[cheesepep]

I love banks also. Can use them for bill pay, deposit money, use ATMs, ask for advice including medallion, home mortgages, etc, all for basically free (except the mortgage part of course). Just keep some money in the bank to meet minimum requirements. On top of that, they make great individual stocks!

[radiowave]

Bank of America has given me thousands of dollars in credit card signup bonuses, thousands of dollars in brokerage bonuses (simply for moving Vanguard ETFs in kind to Merrill Edge), free billpay, free safe deposit box, free just about everything including unlimited free ATM withdrawals everywhere (waiving their fee and reimbursing me for the host bank's fee), and credit cards that give me 5.25% cash back on online purchases, 5.25% on another category of my choice from {travel, restaurants, gas, ...}, 3.5% on groceries, dining, and travel, and 2.625% on everything else. Also, my BoA credit cards periodically extend the interest free period for payback on credit cards for up to 18 months at a stretch, giving me free float that can be invested elsewhere.

Their interest rates on checking and saving are admittedly tiny, but they have no minimum balance requirements for those accounts and so I keep most of my cash at Ally, just transferring it into my BoA checking account on a just-in-time basis to pay bills. Interest is taxable but almost all the benefits listed in the previous paragraph are taxfree. (The only exception is that the $1,000 brokerage bonus I got for transferring my taxable account to Merrill Edge was taxable. The bonus for transferring my Roth was taxfree, as were all the credit card bonuses, credit card cash back, and fee waivers.)
[/quote]

You have done great but I think you are part of the 1% of BOA customers that have done as well. Thanks but no thanks I will stick to the credit union.
[/quote]

In the last few months, BoA has closed their very effect ShopSafe online credit card that randomized cc numbers for each purchase. I went to a local branch recently with my big bag of coins and the teller said they don't accept coins from retail customers any more. A couple years ago, they charged my wife $50 when her rIRA CD matured and she moved it to VG. I had ME but closed it out, just wasn't worth the hassle (I prefer mutual funds over ETFs).

[EnjoyIt]

I love brick and mortar banks. I get a lollipop every time I go in.

[drawpoker]

Haha!! I'm closing my PNC account next month since they want to start charging me $25 a month to keep the account open unless I keep $15K in there checking earning almost 0 interest... Such a joke PNC.

$25 a month? This must be a business account, right?

Can't recall all details, but couple of years ago PNC changed "premier" checking for individuals w/out any notice (terms were no min. balance, no monthly fee) All of a sudden is this mysterious service charge of like $7.50 (or $10 can't remember for sure) on my statement And meantime I was keeping around $10,000 in savings paying next to nothing.

Went in to customer service to complain - the woman just airily told me "oh, just switch to "standard" checking," No minimum balance, no monthly charge, as long as I kept at least $5,000 in either savings or a HELOC balance.
So of course I did. But wondered to myself, why didn't you just do this automatically. Basically, nothing has changed. Same acc. #. , just a diff. name "standard checking".

Know what? Unless you are a young person, living in urban area with lots of choices, very flexible in your banking needs (all things I am not ) these mega banks know they have us as hostages. Really. In the age we are now living in - direct deposit, autopay, EFT linkage, et al - the banks know, and count on it - It is going to be just too daunting for most of us to switch banks.

Just off the top of my head I can count around 15 different entities I would have to notify, either direct deposits or auto-pay setups. Compiling a complete listing would exceed 20, when counting 3 mutual fund companies.

The sheer enormity of it all - switching everything to a new bank - is just too much. Add in the worry of when the changes would go through, and the risk of a slip-up. With something super-important like an insurance premium.
Or my soc. sec. $$$

Kudos to you for standing up to the 800 lb. Pittsburgh Gorilla in the Room......

[drawpoker]

I love brick and mortar banks. I get a lollipop every time I go in.

Really? Ha, that's nothing, my bank does better than that. I don't even have to go inside.

At drive-up lane, I make faces at camera, start a tantrum, cry & scream. They always send lollipop in tube along with the receipt.

[DualCitizen]

.......not pleased at all. You could visibly see the change of expression in her face. She made it clear that she prefers if I invest actively with them...........

Lemmeee guess, was the bank PNC? (Stands for Profits, Not Customercare

On the infrequent occasions when I have to go inside to get something stamped with the medallion guarantee - the manager obviously has closely eyeballed the documents being signed. And sees they are going back and forth between mutual funds companies, usually TRowe Price to Fidelity, or vice-versa, sometimes VG.

Can she keep a secret? Heck no, they are off to the races. As soon as I am out the door she squeals to someone in some dept somewhere (probably Pittsburg?) For the next solid two months my mailbox is flooded weekly with offers to "take advantage" of the valuable services of their exclusive "wealth management" advisors, and they don't want me to miss out on the terrific investment advice they are able to dispense, blah, blah.

These bank branch managers are like sharks, trained to sniff out fresh blood wherever they can.

Haha!! I'm closing my PNC account next month since they want to start charging me $25 a month to keep the account open unless I keep $15K in there checking earning almost 0 interest... Such a joke PNC.

There's still a way to make sure you get more out of the bank than they get out of you. Tell them you want to maintain the minimum balance in stock funds. Make it seem like you want to deposit even more money, which in this case you will. Only catch is, you're transferring in mutual funds, you're not buying their crappy expensive actively managed funds. Heck, you could even deposit $10 million in mutual funds into your brokerage account at the bank, and they still wouldn't make a single penny off you.

[pepys]

What kind of useful perk is free checks? I don't think I write more than 5 checks a year. Isn't it 2019?

My landlord only takes checks (unless if I pay a heavy fee). I think that's still very common.

[Mactheriverrat]

Let something happen to you and miss a few payments . See how long that will last missing a few payments on your home ever if you have a lot of home equity in your home already.

[Newbienurse]

I've often wondered why we get obsessed with "free notary when you need it" as a reason to keep a big bank balance at sub-par rates.

I might need a notary once in 5-10 years.

MailStop or UPS store. $10. Big deal!

+1

Several years ago I took something to my bank to be notarized as I had done several times in the past. The employee asked me what it was and declined to notarize it because the bank had begun prohibiting notarizing those types of documents. I am not certain now what it was, but I think it was a financial or investment account document of some type. I do recall walking out of the bank thinking that if they could not notarize whatever it was that their notary service was practically of no use at all to me.

Ran into this last year when a branch manager refuse to Medallion Guarantee an identity document for Treasury Direct for a 90+ year old relative as he said he couldn't guarantee something that had no value. He told us we should goto our brokerage and when we told him that mega bank was her brokerage he just said no. This was at a branch she goes to regularly and is a "Private" client. I went with her to her overpriced mega bank advisor and made it clear that if this wasn't done we would be leaving. Suddenly the manager of the branch the advisor is at was more than happy to stamp the Treasury Direct document...Mega Bank also often doesn't have a notary. Hopefully I can get them to leave Mega Bank at least for the FA when I show them how much the fees are eating up their returns.