Should i open an account at Bank of America or Wachovia?

Question

i hear wachovia gives you visa check cards and bank of america has a lot of fees and stuff but if you open account at wachovia you cant touch your money there for a week or something and im under 18 so not suree help

Answer 1

The short answer is, you've got better options than either of those.

BofA MyAccess Checking is Free if you open it online, and the convenience of BofA atms being everywhere is nice.  If you open it at their branch, however, they'll charge you a $5.95 monthly service charge.  When you sign up online, make sure to ask a live chat representative to double check and make sure you WON'T be charged the $5.95 monthly service fee.  Also, if one of your friends or family members has BofA, have them use the referral tool on their website, because if they refer you, you get $25 and they get $25.

Wachovia is free too, which is nice, but they don't seem to offer much else, unless BofA tells you that yes, there will be a $5.95 service, in which case, run screaming to Wachovia.

BUT you really should consider a checking account with an interest rate from an online bank.  Ideally a checking account should have the following:

+ no fees

+ some percentage return on your account balance, the higher the better

+ a nationwide fee-free ATM network

+ free online bill pay

You may also want:

+ the ability to write paper checks

+ the ability to visit a teller at a building

+ 24/7 phone customer service

The interest yielding is important.  Of course, most interest-yielding accounts require some level of commitment.  For example, eTrade's Max-Rate checking gives you 3% IF you have $5000 in your account.  If you only $4999, you get 0.5%  The difference is getting $150 per year and $25 per year.  That's money for doing something you'd be doing anyway.  Schwab just won best checking account in May of 2008 from Money Magazine, they offer 2.01%, no catches, no minimums, free atm use.  First National Bank of Omaha offers 3.5%APY, but no free atm use which is a pain.  Of course, if you're not going to rack up more in ATM fees than the extra 3.5% would get you, you might be interested in that.

I'd recommend the Schwab, but interest rates change and when they do, don't hesitate to change who you're banking with.  It might be a pain, but it'll do you good in the long run.

Answer 2

If you're under 18, you'll need one of your parents to open the account with you.  At any bank, when you open a new account, you will not be given immediate access to the funds if you open it with a check.  If you open the account with cash, then you should have immediate access.

You can call Wachovia and ask them all your questions.  They even open accounts over the phone for you.  

1-800-WACHOVIA

Answer 3

If you are a student Bank of America has a Campusedge Checking Account which is a free account for students for 5 years.  That means no $5.95/mo fee.  

You will receive a free check card and can do a free Student Savings Account as well.  Campusedge Checking and Student Savings can be opened with a minimum deposit of $25.  (they also can be opened at either a branch or online).

Some of the online checking accounts and interest yielding accounts will require a large deposit to start the account up.  Make sure you open an account you can afford. :)

Good Luck!