I currently have savings accounts at HSBC and M+T. My primary checking is at M+T and for various reasons I haven’t been satisfied.
I’m aware of the high stature of BoA’s credit lines, which is a positive, however I also have heard plenty of negative things about BoA as well.
Furthermore, BoA’s “Keep the Change” program is very intriguing to me, and may be enough motivation to change primary banks from M+T to BoA, pending on individuals’ experiences and opinions.
Can anyone provide any insight to this program or BoA in general?
On the flip side, I love M+T’s accessibility across WNY.
It takes your purchase and rounds up putting that money into your savings. It then matches it. It doesn’t round it up nice and neatly in your account until the end of the month then just does a lump sum transfer.
They will match it for 3 months, and caps out at around $250.
Ex.)
Purchase coffee for 4.15 at Starbucks.
It will show up on your bank statement as 4.15 at Starbucks, but keeps track of your monthly “keep the change”.
At the end of the month you will be deducted x amount from your checking for keep the change and transferred into your savings which they will then match it.
Def a nice way to save money but even though I use my card A LOT it was still a minute amount for me to keep the account active.
Oh, that’s lame that it’s only processed monthly, it’d be odd to just see a transaction:
11/30/08 Keep the change -212.78
Would your “current balance” reflect the account before KtC or after it?
What if you didn’t have that amount in your checking account? Would it pull it out of savings, dump it in your checking and then put it back into savings? :lol:
Also, monthly it would match? so theoretically you could make $750 off BoA? Certainly there must have been some clause associated with it?
I have about 6-7 incidents of simple bank errors that required far too much ever to get corrected. At the branch, over the phone, you name it. In fact I had to go in & close my deposit accounts 3 times before they’d stop sending statements showing it open @ $0.00.
But, to you point keep the change was a nice little feature I suppose. At least it was during the “matching period”, beyond that promo it seems really stupid to me. Convenient, but only for people that “can’t save” in the first place.
If you make a point to never touch your savings…it’s a good way to put money away each year and have something saved without conscientiously thinking about it.
I belive just $250. Understandingly so though. I already thought how i could buy gas and always stop it at $1.01 until i fill the tank and earn myself much dollars. BoA has already figured that out though. :sigh:
It rounds up each transaction and moves the change to your savings which is nice for people who suck at savings and all.
I also heard if you have a higher limit savings account, you can qualify for a certain percentage of matching above 250 each year or setup some type of monthly transfers. I never got the full details but might be something to look into.
They don’t MATCH any money until the 1 year anniversary of you being enrolled in the program.
While they have your money in the “Savings” account, it earns half of one percent…
They will only MATCH an amount equal to the amount in your savings up to the balance of your savings account, so if you cheat and transfer money out, they won’t match it.
