Welp, sorry guys, I messed that one up. I get in on it and Washington Mutual institutes a fee for their ATMs. Hah!

I'm thinking seriously about going with presidential bank. Wife wasn't comfortable with a low bankrate.com rating, and it turns out that nbank has exactly the same thing.

We'll just suck it up and deal with the fact that we have to pay for ATM usage, and just try to avoid it. It also turns out that , according to presidential, if you look a bit to credit union networks and (apparently) Washington Mutual, you can actually find surcharge-free ATMs.

And, presidential has 4 stars from bankrate, where 5 is the best. Less likely to keel over and die. This board seems to like it too (many positive comments, no gotchas apparently).

Thanks, good suggestions.

I really was stuck on the "no atm fees, anywhere, anytime", the reason being that using an ATM becomes 100% no-hassle. Maybe this is a very rare thing.

What I'm trying to do is squeeze the last few % points of interest out of my money. I've got emigrant direct savings, and I use cash reward credit cards, but the checking account is permanently sitting there with between 2000 and 6000 dollars to pay mortgage and such. I keep it at this balance for safety's (fee) sake, but I could run it closer to edge, and set up automatic Emigrant ACHs into my checking to cover mortgage etc.

At 3%, a 5000 balance nets $150 yearly. Maybe the question I should really be asking is one of numbers - will the ATM fees really exceed that number? ($12.50 interest + $6 freebie a month) If they don't, then I'm still profiting. I just hate having to watch it closely or worry about fees.

How much should I worry about eBank? (by the specs, it is perfect for me. They also dont charge for incoming ACH) Do you guys have opinions about how seriously to take a low bankrate.com rating? The only reason I'm hesitating is that on a scale of 1(best) to 5(worst), most banks (according to them) rate 4, so perhaps 5 is not as bad as I think?

Any idea how things would go if eBank declared bankruptcy and suddenly my $7500 checking account was frozen? Does the FDIC step in and give me my cash immediately (within a week), or is it a long, drawn out court process where my cash is gone until I hire a $200/hour lawyer?

Looking for recs. Have done my homework.. but I don't think anything exists to satisfy this (the key is, it's gotta be convenient):

1) Want higher interest checking. Currently at 0.25% or something small. I want 2-3%.

2) Online bank is ok. The key is, it has to offer full ATM fee reimbursement, preferrably automatically. This has to be present. It's a bloody remote bank, after all.

3) Minimum balance needs to be low ($1000-2500), or what's the point?

4) I want stuff like billpay via web, and electronic banking.

5) No goofy gimmicks or deliberate traps set, such as you must use our debit card for 10 POS transactions per month.


After searching, eBank and Everbank seemed to fit the bill, but eBank has a BankRate.com rating that suggests it is in bad financial shape (and I don't want to find out first hand how FDIC insurance works...), and Everbank only reimburses $6 of ATM fees, and only if you mail them the slips.

Any thoughts?