WaMu Free Checking is now Chase Free Extra Checking
More changes… WaMu bank accounts are gradually being converted into Chase accounts, and customers will have to log in at Chase.com with new usernames. Mine is switching over May 22nd. The popular WaMu Free Checking account becomes the Chase Free Extra Checking account, and keeps a lot of the useful perks. I received another mailed pamphlet from Chase outlining all the details, but I couldn’t find a link online, so I typed out the highlights below.
Benefits
- No monthly service fee, no minimum balance requirement.
- No fee for money orders, cashier’s checks and travelers checks.
- No Chase fee for non-Chase ATM withdrawals.
- No fee for Domestic Outgoing for Foreign Outgoing Wire Transfers.
- You will continue to receive your discounted or free check orders when ordered from us.
- One insufficient funds/Returned Item Fee will be refunded annually. However, the refund will no longer be automatic, you must call in and specifically request it. Also, it will no longer carry over if unused.
Changes
- The 0.03 Cash Back debit rewards program is discontinued.
- We may change your account to a Chase Better Banking Checking account when you do not have at least one customer-initiated transaction over the past six monthly statement cycles (which has a $12 monthly fee if minimum balance is not met).
The WaMu Online Savings account will be converted to a Chase Premier Savings account, with the monthly fee “waived at this time”. I could not find any information on the interest rate, but I have a feeling this account will not return to its former high yields.
Added: According to the letter I received, the account numbers, checks, and ATM/debit cards will remain the same and active.
Bank of America Raises Fees on Checking Accounts
I recently received a pamphlet about the “improvements” that Bank of America is making on several of their checking accounts. But after reading through it, all I see are a bunch of small fee increases.
For example, many people have the MyAccess checking with no minimum balance requirement and no direct deposit requirement. Now, the monthly fee is either $8.95 or you need a direct deposit. And you can now be dinged by the $35 overdraft fee up to 10 times in one day. You can see all the pricing changes outlined here.
I guess they need to drum up some more money somehow, and most of the fees are still avoidable. But given that around 27% of their revenue comes from fees, and that there were $36.7 billion of overdraft charges by banks last year, I really think this is another reason banks are pushing their debit cards so much. Not only do they earn transaction fees, it makes it that much more likely that people rack up more overdraft fees. Imagine this: You lose track of your balance once, but make 5 small purchases over two days before realizing. That’ll be $165, please!
Be careful out there… those “free” checking accounts have to be paid for somehow.
Free Personalized Hallmark Card For Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is May 10th. Get off your lazy bum and send Mom a card! Actually, since you can do this all online and they’ll even ship it for you… go ahead and stay on your lazy bum.
Hallmark is offering a free personalized paper card, and they’ll even ship it for you free USPS First Class. Just register for a free account, choose and customize the card you like, and check out using the promotional code is CARD4MOM. You should see the following:
Via SD. Order by May 1st for guaranteed delivery. Reportedly you can use coupon code APRILCARD for another free card with a separate order. Now, is it weird that the card I picked out looks like an asset allocation pie chart?
Stockpiling to Save Money
One of the things that saves us the most money is our well-stocked pantry and freezer. Like many people, I used to shop once a week or more for the food we needed just for that week. It was annoying because I hate grocery shopping. As far as I’m concerned, the less time I spend [...]Good credit becomes bad in 12 months
Why Parents Shouldn’t Pay Entirely For College
One of the most enduring images that I recall from college was a video clip of an obviously drunk student at a football game and holding up a sign which read, “I don’t care. Daddy’s paying.” At the time, although my parents had paid for my tuition, I was working about 20 hours [...]Obama mortgage plan - Making Home Affordable
Citi Forward Card + Rewards Program Review
I ended up applying for the Citi Forward card mentioned several days ago as part of my list of credit cards with sign-up incentives. There really wasn’t much to the decision, it was basically the only one I didn’t already have. 
Sign-Up Bonus
New cardholders get 6,000 bonus ThankYou points after $50 in purchases made within 3 months. In addition, you get another 5,000 points for choosing paperless statements within 3 months. As shown below, the 11,000 total points can get you either $100 in gift cards or about $75 towards a prepaid Visa card.
ThankYou Points & Rewards Program Summary
This card works off the same ThankYou points system as many other Citibank cards. 10,000 points = $100 gift card at stores like Sears, Macy’s, Staples, Old Navy, Gap, etc. 14,000 points = $100 prepaid Visa credit card. 16,000 points = $100 in straight cash (a check sent directly to you). If you can find a store where you can use a $100 gift card = 10,000 points, that basically a penny per point.
What makes this card unique is that you get 5 points for every $1 you spend on books, movies, music and at restaurants. On everything else, you get the plain vanilla 1 reward point for every $1 spent. There is no annual fee for the card.
5x Rewards at Restaurants
Again, at 1 penny per point with gift cards, getting 5x points is like getting 5% back when eating out. Even if you convert to straight cash, that’s 3.125% cash back at restaurants (5/1.6). Or 3.57% back if you are okay with prepaid Visa card, which I am since they are usable anywhere that takes credit cards.
5x Rewards on Books = 5% back at Amazon?
Here’s an interesting question. Who sells the most books? Amazon.com. With the Citi mtvU card for college students, the 5% back on books worked on all purchases at Amazon, even if it wasn’t 100% books. Can anyone verify if this is also true for the CitiForward card?
Other features
You also get 100 points for each month you paid on time and don’t exceed your credit limit, as well as a highly touted 0.25% interest rate reduction each time you do this 3 times in a row. The APR on this card is only average to begin with (max reduction 2%), and I don’t carry a balance anyhow, so I’m not really concerned with this. The 100 points per month works out to about an additional $12 per year in perks, but I suppose it’s better than nothing.
I’ll keep this in the wallet for the 5x rewards at restaurants and bookstores, while waiting for the Amazon answer. May need to make a small test purchase…
Reminder: U.S. Savings Bonds Purchase Deadline
Just thought I’d mention that I used TreasuryDirect today to purchase another $5,000 of Series I savings bonds. If you buy them by the end of April, you can lock in an investment that will get you about 3.08% APR over 11 months. The deadline is fast approaching, and I didn’t want to cut it that close. More details here.
Since the interest on savings bonds is exempt from state and local taxes, based on my tax situation that will bring my tax-equivalent yield to over 3.5%. Not too shabby. I might buy some more, as I think it’s a nice place to store emergency funds - which I see as a permanent cash allocation which I hope not to use - as long as you can wait out the initial lack of liquidity over the first 12 months.
A Life Without Debt: The Debt Free Car
One of the items that people most frequently go into debt to purchase is a car. That’s not surprising given that even the most basic brand new car begins around $12,000. And that’s for four wheels and a seat; no extras or room for many passengers. Most people don’t have that kind of money lying [...]-
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