So, long story short, I have been with WF for over 5 years now and with the recent stuff in the news and the need to get a new credit card (current one is through them and the rewards back are terrible), I am starting to look into getting a new credit card. With that, if it makes sense, maybe even a new bank (ex. getting a new credit card through Chase or Capital One and just opening up a checking there too).

Anyone find that easier or even beneficial to have your credit card with your bank? Any recommendations for good credit cards/programs out there? My credit score is excellent and I really don't do much travel so the travel miles ones aren't really a draw for me.

TIA

I'm actually in the same boat as you. I'm probably going to switch from WFC to Chase.

Check out the $300 + $200 checking offers that Chase has. There was a publicly available link last week, but it looks like it was taken down. If you don't have a mailer, you can buy one on eBay for <$5. That's an easy $500.

As far as credit cards, I'm a big fan of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred (6% cash back on groceries / 3% on gas/department stores / 1% on everything else). Chase has some decent cards, but seem to be focused on travel rewards. This one from Fidelity has interested me--I may get it to go alongside my Amex Blue Cash Preferred. If you want a referral link for the Amex Blue card, let me know. I think we both get a decent little bonus.

I have various accounts at Fidelity including checking and savings.

Free checking, no fee CC that pays 2% cash back monthly, they don't have any ATMs but refund all ATM transaction fees back to account in a few days. Good mobile APP

Only downside is that you can't go into a branch if you need something like a large amount of cash or cashiers check. Therefore they recommend that you keep an account at a traditional back for those purposes. This has only been an issue for me when buying a house.

I would recommend a Schwab account (similar to the Fidelity account).

You don't have actual bank branches, but when I can see the issue with buying a house.

When I was buying a house I walked into a national bank opened an account, deposited money, got a cashier's check and closed the account later that month. Probably not the best way, but all the national banks have pissed me off.

And Schwab is ON with their fraud detection. They declined two different charges and sent me a new card overnighted each time.

So were you a victim of the WF fraud? I've been a customer for about 10 years and have no plans of leaving.

Oh yeah, they are all crooks. If you aren't sure of that, google "robo signing"--I've got some crazy stories from that mess. All this crap happens because your banker doesn't have to look you in the eye at your kid's baseball game, or afterwards at DQ, or on Sundays at church. You are just a number to them. A number they want to squeeze.

I would not open an account with any of the top consumer banks:

No
Chase
Wells Fargo
Bank of America
Citi
US Bank

I've enjoyed my Capital One 360 checking/savings accounts. Gives you the easy ability to open new savings accounts (for different goals) and I haven't been charged any fees.

I also have a Charles Schwab checking account which is free with a brokerage account. I have never used the brokerage account though. I only keep about $500 in the checking account and it has free ATM access worldwide which is an incredibly useful perk.

Zemira said:

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I would not open an account with any of the top consumer banks:

No
Chase
Wells Fargo
Bank of America
Citi
US Bank

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Ditto on not having any dealings with any of these crooks, and would add Capital One to that list. Ditched my last Citi credit card earlier this year after getting fed up with their poor fraud detection department and customer support which was hard to understand.

The main advantage I see to having a credit card with your bank is that it would be part of the same login for all of your other accounts and thus is easier to keep track of. Otherwise American Express has been top notch in my experience, both with their cards and online savings accounts.

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switch from WFC to Chase

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A little like choosing hanging over the firing squad or electric chair.

Why don't you go with a small, independent bank?

I also refuse to give any of the big boy banks my lolpoor business. I have a Fidelity CC giving 2% into our son's 529 and just opened account with BBVA free checking. So far, nice and uneventful.

I use GTFCU (Aggieland). No rewards but no fees

Am I missing something with this WF story?

From my understanding, the clerks did not use the accounts to steal from the customers. The clerks earned a bonus for simply opening accounts. A few accounts were credit card accounts. But none of the clerks took the credit cards and bought stuff for themselves.

Horrible marketing and sales practices, but what economic risk is there to WF?



Full disclosure, I'm a WF customer for over 20 years, but have been looking to switch to my company's credit union for a while.

Do you know how they started getting caught? Customers were being charged overdraft/delinquency fees for accounts they didn't create or know about. Then, in some cases, WFC reported these delinquencies to the credit bureaus, affecting clients credit scores. I'm not trying to be an ass when I say this, but you really don't see anything wrong with that? And just because they didn't do this specific fraud against you, you are ok with it?

Also, since this is the B&I board I'd like to take this opportunity to get on a soap box for the younger/student Ags. Remember my words. Consider the consequences of being a whistleblower before taking any action--especially before reporting anything to your companies "Ethics Hotline" or HR. You may be 100% right, your company may be 100% wrong, but that doesn't mean you will keep your job, be able to find a job after you are fired, or even win in a court of law. Whistleblowing has consequences. The company is there to make money. They are not your friend. HR stands for Human Resources. You are a resource to them, and if you start causing trouble, they will find a way to make the problem (you) go away.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/21/investing/wells-fargo-fired-workers-retaliation-fake-accounts/

Have all within same credit union (along with auto loan.) Log in once a month, transfer $ from checking to CC & car note, log back out. Easy peasy & good rates.

Cap One 360 has been great for me. Highly recommend it.

For credit cards, I use the AMEX Blue Preferred. And I also use Chase Sapphire for the travel points.

Depending on your geographical location, I use Prosperity Bank for checking. I never have to call a phone center. I call and talk to the branch manager and they take care of all my problems.

I also hear good things about Brazos Valley CU.

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but you really don't see anything wrong with that

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He didn't say they didn't do anything wrong. I think his point was that it wasn't designed as a massive rip-off of customers' money. Just a fraudulent way to take advantage of company spiffs.

Those who did this better be glad I wasn't CEO. Solely losing their job would have been a welcome relief compared to what I would have done. (Assuming there wasn't more; if there way, I wasn't aware as I didn't look into it too closely).