i got this same letter. and before that i got some letter that appeared to tbe the result of my bank being forced to offer me free overdraft protection? i didnt understand it, but i suspect some sort of need to cut costs and kill my free account due to some govt regulation. i remember there used to be a huge call to kill atm fees. i wanted to should "please dont kill the fees, i need those atms and without the fees the banks will close them!" controlling things never works. let them manage themselves.
It's hard to believe that anyone can advocate no regulation for banks after what we just went through. I'm not talking about the BS "consumer protection" regulations those are stupid. But banks have to be regulated in some form or fashion or they could drag down the whole economy with their actions.
why cant the be regulated by private accounting firms? for example a firm could certify banks, and you would the bank was solid. and you wouldnt invest in banks that were not certified. and sure, these private comapnies could be corrupt.....like the government definitely is.
I have chase basically because it's close to LSU and the Cap1 wasn't opened when I needed to have my account. I got a letter in the mail yesterday that they no longer offer the rewards program. Basically I get points whenever I use the card. However, the account is now free. I didn't have to pay the first year for the account because they had a promotion running where they waive the first year. On top of that, they put $5 back into the account for the amount of "money" I already paid for the account for the year, even though I didn't pay. I also got 1000 free points to start off which is equal to $10 cash back. I also earned another 1000 since the time I've had it. Basically, I haven't paid anything and have $25 free from them for having the account. As others mentioned, they don't give free checks and I need to order some. Wachovia I had before and they were free with 250 free checks but they don't have branches in LA.
Yeah, as far as who I do my regular banking with, I've been with Regions for about 7 years now. They've been alright for me. They did eliminate their free checking this year, but they will waive the fee if you do one of three things: Use a debit card once per monthly cycle, keep the average balance at or above 300 for the month, or use direct deposit (I think). Otherwise the fee is like 5 bucks.
You have to get paperless statements, have direct deoposit, and use your card a certain number of times a month. A lot of the community banks and credit unions have similar programs, but they are cutting back. My checking rate started at 6.75 in 2009. It is 1.99 now.
Government corruption was not the problem with the bank failures, it was corporate greed and political indifference.
