great checking account... 4.25% no fees

[Chrisman886]

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Earn 5.30% APY on average daily balances of $100,000-$999,999. Earn 5.00% APY on average daily balances of $0-$9,999, 5.10% APY on $10,000-$24,999, 5.20% APY on $25,000-$99,999 and 0.50% APY on balances of $1,000,000 or more. Minimum to open this account online is $100.00. The rate may change after the account is opened. The stated APY applies to new eOne accounts opened after 7/30/2007.

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wtf?

also, anyone know if it's possible to wire stars money into this account? i could never get it working with my current account (USAA).

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Being a Massachusetts-chartered savings bank, Salem Five is covered by Deposits Insurance Fund (DIF) which insures all deposits above FDIC limits. DIF seems to have a pretty good record. According to the DIF website no depositor has ever lost a penny in a bank insured by both the FDIC and the DIF.

Perhaps the extra safety provided by DIF lured many multi-millionaires into this Salem Five Direct account, and this caused Salem Five to make this change. It's similar to what FNBO Direct did. In FNBO Direct's case, they capped new deposits to $1 million (see post). And FNBO Direct lacks DIF insurance. source


(but not sure about stars wire).

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That was extremely informative. Thank you.

[kyleb]

Sounds good, I printed out the application and I'm going to send it in. Thanks Zeebo.

[Uglyowl]

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Perhaps the extra safety provided by DIF lured many multi-millionaires into this Salem Five Direct account, and this caused Salem Five to make this change.

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Insurance above the FDIC limits costs a significant amount of money (in most cases it's a one time fee). 1.25% is the standard one time fee to increase your insurance cap.

Easy example, you are starting a bank and bring in a million dollar deposit, your "excess funds" are $900,000 and would be charged $11,250 to insure those (one-time lifetime). If that account withdraws, you able to bring other excess funds without charge.

[CruNKinTILT]

I am a freshman in college right now and am looking for an alternative to Chase Checking. Would opening a new SalemFive checking account be a good idea? I will probably be only keeping a few hundred dollars in there at a time. Easy ATM withdrawals are important also.

[schwza]

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Sounds good, I printed out the application and I'm going to send it in. Thanks Zeebo.

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wtf, do you really need a paper application?

[jively]

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bumping an old thread b/c i just heard about this. has anyone used it? is it as good as claimed?

what is the connection between having the brokerage account and the checking account? i really just want the checking account, and it looks like you have to have both, but then they also say you can have the brokerage account with $0 balance. wtf?

also, what's the story with the ATM fees? they claim they're reimbursed, but this sentence makes it sound limited to Plus:

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Unlimited ATM fee rebates when using the Schwab Bank Visa® Platinum Check Card at any domestic and international locations on the Plus or Visa ATM networks.

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but then the very next sentence makes it sound like they reimburse for any ATM. i don't get it. this is all from the fine print of this page
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I use this as my primary bank. The investor checking is now 4.25% interest. The linked brokerage account earns whatever money market rate you have based on your household assets at Schwab. My brokerage acct money market has a 7-day yield of 4.80% as of Aug 31.

The brokerage account acts as an overdraft to the investor checking. Since my brokerage acct money market yield is higher, I move all money into the brokerage and let their system journal it back as I need it. I do not have investments in this brokerage account and use it only for the money market.

All the ATM fees are reimbursed each month. I haven't noticed any not be reimbursed. Basic checks were free, there is no monthly charge, no minimum balance, and the bill system works just fine.

One other really nice feature is Schwab's "MoneyLink" which is ACH depositing or withdrawing from other banks. You can link your Schwab accounts with other banks and move money easily between them.

The only negative I see is that there are no local branches. Checks can be deposited in a Schwab branch (into the brokerage account), but if you need a notary, signature guarantee, or something like that you'll need an account somewhere else. I still have a free account at a local bank (although I actually have not needed it since the switch...)

-Tom

[schwza]

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One other really nice feature is Schwab's "MoneyLink" which is ACH depositing or withdrawing from other banks. You can link your Schwab accounts with other banks and move money easily between them.

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hmm, i have this on my usaa account right now and i do find it pretty useful. anybody know if you can do it with salem? zeebo, did you get your account set up yet? any problems?

[captZEEbo]

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One other really nice feature is Schwab's "MoneyLink" which is ACH depositing or withdrawing from other banks. You can link your Schwab accounts with other banks and move money easily between them.

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hmm, i have this on my usaa account right now and i do find it pretty useful. anybody know if you can do it with salem? zeebo, did you get your account set up yet? any problems?

[/ QUOTE ]unfortunately I think schwab doesn't have ach transfers, but it's not too big a deal really with bill pays and stuff.

[schlucky1]

Anyone have a trip report on setting up/using the SalemFiveDirect account yet?