Choose the Right Checking Account - Part II

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Please read Choose the Right Checking Account - Part I first before you read this Part II.

In addition to Premium Checking Account, Easy Checking Account and Student Checking Account, most of the banks offer other types of checking accounts for you to choose from such as:

1. Silver checking account
2. Gold checking account
3. Platinum checking account

Silver Checking Account
When you open a Silver Checking Account or a similar account, the bank offers all or some of the following benefits:

1. Free bank VISA check card or debit card
2. Free notary service for your documents
3. Free ATM transactions at all ATM machines owned by the bank
4. Free email and text alerts on your bank account
5. Free Internet banking with bill payment
6. Preferred interest rates on new loans

The Silver Checking Account charges monthly maintenance fee of $6.95 with online bank statements send to your email or $8.95 with paper bank statements deliver to you by mail.

You can waive the payment of monthly maintenance fees ($6.95 or $8.95) if you meet one of the following 3 conditions:

1. If you make a monthly deposit of $25 plus automatic transfer to a Package Money Market Savings account, or
2. If you make a monthly combined direct deposit to your account amounting to $500 or more, or
3. If you maintain an average daily account balance of not less than $1,500.

Gold Checking Account
When you choose a Gold Checking Account, the bank offers some or all of the following benefits:

1. Free bank VISA check card or debit card
2. Free notary service for your documents
3. Free ATM transactions at all ATM machines owned by the bank
4. Two free ATM transactions at ATM machines not owned by the bank per monthly statement cycle
5. Free email and text alerts on your bank account
6. Free Internet banking with bill payment
7. 25% monthly bonus on all rewards earned for the net purchases with your bank-issued VISA credit card
8. 5% annual interest rebate on your bank-issued VISA credit card
9. Easy checking accounts with no monthly maintenance fees
10. No fees on the first overdraft occasion
11. Lower fees for overdraft protection transfers

The Gold Checking Account charges monthly maintenance fee of $10.95 with online bank statements send to your email or $12.95 with paper bank statements deliver to you by mail.

You can waive the payment of monthly maintenance fees ($10.95 or $12.95) if you meet one of the following 4 conditions:

1. If you make an automatic payment to your personal loan, line of credit, or credit card administered by your bank, or
2. If you make an automatic monthly deposit to your investment account with your bank, or
3. If you make a monthly combined direct deposit of not less than $500, or
4. If you maintain an average daily account balance of $2,500 or higher

Platinum Checking Account
When you choose a Platinum Checking Account, the bank offers some or all of the following benefits:

1. Free bank VISA check card or debit card
2. Free notary service for your documents
3. Free ATM transactions at all ATM machines owned by the bank
4. Unlimited free ATM transactions at ATM machines not owned by the bank
5. Free email and text alerts on your bank account
6. Free Internet banking with bill payment
7. 50% monthly bonus on all rewards earned for the net purchases with your bank-issued VISA credit card
8. 10% annual interest rebate on your bank-issued VISA credit card
9. Easy checking accounts with no monthly maintenance fees
10. No fees on the first overdraft occasion
11. No fees for overdraft protection transfers
12. Free checks (with bank logo printed) or 50% off on all other personal styles
13. Free traveler's checks, money orders, cashier's checks and others
14. Interest income on your account
15. Lower annual fees with a bank home equity line of credit
16. Up to a $1,000 discount on home mortgage
17. 50% discount on new annual safe deposit box rental fee

The Platinum Checking Account charges monthly maintenance fee of $17.95 with online bank statements send to your email or $19.95 with paper bank statements deliver to you by mail.

You can waive the payment of monthly maintenance fees ($17.95 or $19.95) if you meet one of the following 2 conditions:

1. If you maintain $25,000 in combined personal deposit, investment and/or credit balances, or
2. If you maintain a relationship account with bank's trust services

The benefits of the Premium Checking Account, Easy Checking Account and Student Checking Account are discussed in Choose the Right Checking Account - Part I.

Tips
1.  Open a bank checking account with a minimum balance of $500 or less to avoid paying monthly maintenance fees.

2.  Once you receive your bank's VISA check card or debit card, photocopy the front and back side of the card and keep the photocopy in a secured place.  In case you lost or misplace the card, you can show the photocopy to the bank for card replacement.

3.  When you access your bank account online, see to it that the address bar appearing on your computer screen shows the symbol "https", (example: https://www.yourbank.com) which means that you are entering a secured website.

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Choose the Right Checking Account - Part I

You're here > Home > My Mom's Blog > Choose the Right Checking Account - Part I


Are you planning to open a checking account?  Or, do you already have an existing checking account but you do not know if you have chosen the right checking account?  You will be surprised (sometimes, confused) that different banks offer different types of checking account options with various fees.

Most banks offer checking accounts similar to the following:

1. Premium checking account
2. Easy checking account
3. Student checking account
4. Silver checking account
5. Gold checking account
6. Platinum checking account

I will discuss the first 3 types of checking accounts in this article and the last 3 checking account options will be discussed in another article.

Premium Checking Account
When you open a Premium Checking Account or a similar account, the bank offers all or some of the following benefits:

1. Free checks (with the bank's logo printed) as long as you maintain the account or 50% off for all other personal check styles
2. Free bank VISA check card or debit card
3. Free traveler's checks, money orders, and cashier's checks
4. Free notary service for your documents
5. Free ATM transactions at ATM machines owned by the bank
6. Free email and text alerts on your bank account
7. Free Internet banking with bill payment
8. 50% discount on new annual safe deposit box rental fee
9. Variable interest rate on the bank balance subject to change anytime at the discretion of the bank

The Premium Checking Account charges monthly maintenance fee of $10.95 with online bank statements send to your email or $12.95 with paper bank statements deliver to you by mail.

You can waive the payment of monthly maintenance fees ($10.95 or $12.95) if you meet one of the 2 conditions: (1) if you are more than 64 years old or (2) if your average daily account balance is $5,000 or higher.

Easy Checking Account
When you choose an Easy Checking Account, the bank offers some or all of the following benefits:

1. Free bank VISA check card or debit card
2. Free notary service for your documents
3. Free ATM transactions at ATM machines owned by the bank
4. Free email and text alerts on your bank account
5. Free Internet banking with bill payment

The Easy Checking Account charges monthly maintenance fee of $6.95 with online bank statements send to your email or $8.95 with paper bank statements deliver to you by mail.

You can waive the payment of monthly maintenance fees ($6.95 or $8.95) if you meet one of the 2 conditions: (1) if you make a monthly combined direct deposits amounting to $500 or more or (2) if your average daily account balance is $1,500 or higher.

Student Checking Account
When you choose a Student Checking Account, the bank offers some or all of the following benefits:

1. Free first order of checks (with the bank's logo printed)
2. Free bank VISA check card or debit card
3. Free notary service for your documents
4. Free ATM transactions at ATM machines owned by the bank
5. Four free ATM transactions at ATM machines not owned by the bank per monthly statement cycle
6. Free email and text alerts on your bank account
7. Free Internet banking with bill payment
8. Free online monthly statements

The Student Checking Account does not charge any maintenance fee.

The benefits of the Silver, Gold and Platinum Checking Accounts are discussed in Choose the Right Checking Account - Part II.

Tips
1.  Open a bank checking account with a minimum balance of $500 or less to avoid paying monthly maintenance fees.

2.  Once you receive your bank's VISA check card or debit card, photocopy the front and back side of the card and keep the photocopy in a secured place.  In case you lost or misplace the card, you can show the photocopy to the bank for card replacement.

3.  When you access your bank account online, see to it that the address bar appearing on your computer screen shows the symbol "https", (example: https://www.yourbank.com) which means that you are entering a secured website.

Please read Choose the Right Checking Account - Part II to know the benefits of Silver, Gold and Platinum Checking Accounts.

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How to Receive Your Tax Refund Faster

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The period from February 1 to April 15 of each year is tax time where individuals and businesses with income are required to file their income tax returns.  If you are a taxpayer who expects an income tax return, there is a way that you can have your income tax refund processed by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) in about 10 days or less.

To receive your income tax refund faster, you can e-file (electronically file) your income tax return either by doing it yourself or hiring the services of a tax preparer.

If you are computer literate, have the complete and necessary income tax papers (such as W-2s, bank interest income, dividend income, mortgage interest payments, charity contributions and others) and have access to the IRS website, you can avail of the free e-file tax services provided by IRS-authorized providers without any cost.

After you have entered the required tax information on the secured tax preparation website and before you e-file your information, you have 2 options on how to receive your income tax refund: (1) by direct deposit into your bank account or (2) mailing the refund check to your address.

The direct deposit of the tax refund will be remitted by the IRS within 10 days or less to your checking or savings account.

The mailing of the tax refund check by the IRS to your mailing address will take about 14 days.  When you receive the check, you have to go to your bank to either deposit it or cash it.  If you are not a customer of a bank where you want the check cash, the bank will charge you a bank fee of about $5.00.

Tips
1.  Visit the IRS website (www.irs.gov) to learn how to e-file your income tax return to save on tax preparation fees.

2.  If you will not be able to e-file your income tax return, please consult a knowledgeable and reliable income tax preparer to avoid problems with the IRS.

3.  If you want to have an actual feel on how income tax e-filing works, you can use the previous year's income tax information to be entered in the current income tax information.  But do NOT submit or e-file the old tax return information; just leave the "test" information on the IRS-authorized preparer's server.  You can compare the "test" income tax return with the corresponding old income tax return.  However, some numbers will be different because a different tax data is used for the current tax computations.


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