What’s Your Favorite Free Checking Account?

I hate fees. I hate banks that charge fees. That’s why I’ve been a happy customer of Compass Bank for the past few years. Unlike a lot of the nationwide banks, they don’t require a minimum balance or charge fees for everything. In fact, they even provide rebates of other banks’ ATM fees.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any Compass Banks in my new state of residence, so I had to find a new bank. While the perks of smaller banks are quite enticing, I decided that I wanted to go with a nationwide bank this time to avoid having to open a new account each time I move to a new city. With that in mind, here’s the criteria I used to choose a new bank:

• Nationwide locations
• No minimum balance or direct deposit requirement
• One free overdraft fee refund each year

In the end, I ended up choosing Washington Mutual, because they met all of the criteria above and also provide free checks for life. Besides having to open my account at a local branch because the online application wouldn’t work for me, everything has gone smoothly so far. I got my free checks and debit card in the mail about a week after I opened the account. I’m hoping that this relationship will go as smoothly as my relationship with Compass Bank has gone.

Now it’s time to turn the tables. What have your experiences been with free checking accounts? What’s your favorite free checking account?

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