Dingobiscuit
I have never been a huge Bank One/Chase fan (although I have been with them for over four years). It seems what was sub-par with Bank One really went south when it switched to Chase. More fees, less perks. I finally had it up to "here" with their fees, so I talked to my banker.
At first he saw me with some guy who kept a little bit of money in his checking and savings accounts. When he saw that I had several lines of credit through Chase (2 car notes and two CCs), I was suddenly no longer some faceless account holder, but now qualified as a Premier Banker. I got the following perks:
-Free checks (savings of about $10/year for me since I barely use a box)
-Free safe deposit box (small) (savings of $35/year for me)
-4 free non-Chase ATM uses (I don't use ATMs, but now have that option)
-My 0%APR checking is now 0.5%APR
-My 0.5APR savings (yuck) is now 1.5%APR (decent)
-Best of all: No minimum balances in my accounts (which means no fees as well as access to all of my cash)
All I have to do is keep my credit card accounts open. I am going to try to see if my wife qualifies as well (we have seperate accounts, but that is a story for another day).
Anyway, this shows the power consumers have when they put forth a little effort. Convince your CC lenders to lower your APR/raise your limit, or threaten to take your service elsewhere. Talk to your banker as well. You never know, it could pay off.
Dingo
At first he saw me with some guy who kept a little bit of money in his checking and savings accounts. When he saw that I had several lines of credit through Chase (2 car notes and two CCs), I was suddenly no longer some faceless account holder, but now qualified as a Premier Banker. I got the following perks:
-Free checks (savings of about $10/year for me since I barely use a box)
-Free safe deposit box (small) (savings of $35/year for me)
-4 free non-Chase ATM uses (I don't use ATMs, but now have that option)
-My 0%APR checking is now 0.5%APR
-My 0.5APR savings (yuck) is now 1.5%APR (decent)
-Best of all: No minimum balances in my accounts (which means no fees as well as access to all of my cash)
All I have to do is keep my credit card accounts open. I am going to try to see if my wife qualifies as well (we have seperate accounts, but that is a story for another day).
Anyway, this shows the power consumers have when they put forth a little effort. Convince your CC lenders to lower your APR/raise your limit, or threaten to take your service elsewhere. Talk to your banker as well. You never know, it could pay off.
Dingo