Let's Talk About Banking & Debit Cards In San Francisco

bodiema

Today I closed out my savings account at home because I'm moving to the San Francisco area for school. For tuition that I'm not picking up with scholarships my parents opened a Wachovia account. They can deposit directly into the account and I can just write the checks to the univeristy. It also comes with a debit/check card which I guess is for smaller stuff like toiletries and such.

However, I would like to keep an account seperate for everything else. I don't really plan on doing a bunch of shady business, but I would like an account without my parents able to pull up a page online and see every purchase I'm making. It's a bit of indepedence and I think it would be easier to keep track of earnings if I decided to get a job. I figured since my former bank had no branches in the area it might be easier to set up a new account when I get to San Francisco. I think a debit card would be convenient. I've read a bit about the card online and in the reading from Wachovia. So what are some experiences in these types of accounts in San Francisco? Is Wachovia the best or should I look into another bank?

themightypuck

Most modern banking is online/atm/pos. The only differences between banks are going to be fees, number of ATMs (so you can get cash for less fees) and customer experience. I have Wells Fargo now and think they do a good job at making things easy for me but they are vicious with the fees (like a 1.50 to use a non-wells ATM etc.). My recollection is that SF is crawling with BofA and Wells ATMs. SF also has the cool Darth Vader BofA building (which is probably something else since they moved to Texas or North Carolina or whatever).

Edit: Also, your school might have reps on campus during orientation that will hook you up with a nice deal. You might want to look into that.

saltiness

Credit Unions are worth looking at. A lot of them will pay ATM fees for you.

bodiema

I checked and Wells Fargo has a branch as well as an ATM on campus and BofA has an ATM on campus and a branch close to campus. However, Wachovia has apparently done away with foreign ATM fees according to a Aug. 20 SF business journal:

Wachovia will not charge its customers the typical $1.50 foreign ATM fees when they use other banks' ATMs. It will also reimburse California customers up to $2 per transaction when they are charged by other banks for using ATMs for up to $6 per statement cycle.

saltiness

That's cool then. Why not just get a credit card and start establishing credit?

Thanatos

WaMu would be my recommendation, actually.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo don't actually want your business; their model is more directed towards large customers, like corporations and businesses. WaMu has a more "little-guy" focused business model.

Akilae729

If there are WaMu's near you, I highly suggest it.

You can set up a free checking and a free savings account fairily easily. Free checking comes with free checks for life and a MasterCard debit card.

Also WaMu has free online banking that lets you view the two accounts and transfer funds.

What i had set up was for my job to pay direct deposit into the savings account and I would then transfer money into the checking periodically or if i was going to make a big purchase.

Also WaMu doesn't dick you with fees. You even get a free overdraft. That way, when i learned why it was important to keep your check book balanced and shit, i wasnt hosed when i over drafted like 50 bucks.

tsmvengy

I would suggest a place where you can 1. get a student checking account (no minimum balance or other restrictions) and 2. Has a convenient ATM. Bank of America and Wells Fargo are both fine banks and have ATMs on your campus. Being able to get cash w/o paying an ATM fee is important. Wachovia doesn't charge THEIR OWN fee for using another bank's ATM, and will only reimburse you $6 a month for other banks' ATM fees (so you can make 3 free withdrawals a month.)

In addition, the nice thing about Bank of America is that they are all over the place - so you can keep them even if you move across the country.

Thanatos

Both Bank of America and Wells Fargo have incredibly shitty customer service, though, since, like I said, they don't give a shit about your business. In addition, they'll fuck you up the ass with fees.

tsmvengy

Yes, and the solution to that is to actually pay attention to what you spend and don't overdraft. I have a direct-deposit checking account w/ no minimum balance, and I have never been charged any fees... Also, I have never had a problem with BoA's customer service.

Just giving you one story - obviously doesn't represent everyone's experience, but for me actually being able to use my bank account (convenient ATMs) and have it be free pretty much outweighs everything else.

Fats

I'd recommend WaMu as well, though I think they fucked up switching from Visa to MasterCard. MasterCard has been nothing but trouble for me.

They do have a free 5% savings account now, which is great.

MichaelLC

See what a the local non-congolmerate banks have to offer.

If it's a big school, they should be used to, and have offers for, students. Should be able to set you up with a CC too. Because as Thanos said, most of those big banks don't give a shit about your $1,000 checking account.

dispatch.o

US Bank.

They're almost everywhere, they'll give you a credit line/overdraft. You can use it to deposit cash into a checking account. After around a year of using my credit line (2000$ limit). They offered me a platinum card with a 2.9% intro apr and a 7500$ limit.

For it being my first credit card, I think I did well.

They have free online billpay and account management.

Feral

Consider the local credit unions. I have an account at Washington Mutual and another account at San Mateo Credit Union, and I vastly prefer dealing with SMCU for my day-to-day stuff.

I get frustrated with WaMu because it can take them several days for debit card transactions to show up online, even though I can go to the same places with my SMCU debit card or my credit card and make similar purchases and those transactions will show up on their respective online account managers within a few hours. Like, for instance, I'll get gas at a nearby gas station using my WaMu card and the transaction won't post to my account for five full days; yet I go to the same gas station and buy approximately the same amount of gas with my SMCU card and by the time I get home that evening it will show up on my account. There is no earthly reason for that to happen, and when I've called to bitch about it (because it makes it harder to balance my account) WaMu blames it on the merchants, which is bullshit, but I can't get them to sing any other song.

If you're in San Mateo County, you're eligible for a San Mateo Credit Union account. If you're in San Francisco County or one of the other neighboring counties, you might be eligible for a Providian Credit Union account, which is another reputable local company.

Daedalus

Look for a credit union.

I'm in NY here, so I can't really speak for California, but the "official" bank at my college was a bunch of corrupt bastards who basically got the position through outright bribery, and I'm assuming the same holds true at most colleges.