@HiLine wrote:
@bribro wrote:And for the record, the OP was asking about which major institution he/she should bank with as it related to getting credit cards. So yeah, the fact that Chase has better credit cards is extremely relevant, and your tangential points about BofA having a subjectively better online interface are not.
Allow me to quote the post of yours that I responded to, and allow me to bolden and zoom the specific question to which I addressed everything said afterwards.
@bribro wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
@bribro wrote:
@bluesnowman wrote:I'm with BOFA and Chase. I have had excellent experiences with both of them, however BOFA has the better of the online accounts, while Chase has the better CC portfolio. I also have a ROTH IRA (I opened it a couple of days ago) with Fidelity, and their customer service is good so far. Did I mention Chase has been really generous to me CL wise, even though my income is rather low (I'm a student.) and I will utilize their cards as much as I can. Even Amex or Citi hasn't been as generous to me.
I've heard this a few times. What makes BofA's online experience better?The online banking function is extremely well-developed and provides easy access to all financial accounts you have with BofA. BofA banking accounts typically carry more perks than those at other banks: you get free access to select museums, no maintenance fee if you use ATM's for simple transactions, no limit on credit card payments, and access to online shopping and local deals. Having a BofA banking account also gives you more value from their credit card rewards, typically 10% of the regular reward earning rate. Other major banks have a long way to go to catch up with BofA's online banking system.
How is that any different from Chase though? You can see your entire JPMC relationship online or via mobile apps, and as I recall Chase invented mobile check deposit technology. Chase account holders also have free access to museums (at least in the Bay Area). There's no limit on credit card payments that I'm aware of. Similar fee structure to BofA for basic checking accounts. You get a 10% bonus on the Chase Freedom credit card.
You could have replaced "BofA" with "Chase" in the post above and I wouldn't have known any better.
I was hoping that was an honest question and I was trying to explain to you my reasoning, but you seemed to have the need to defend Chase. My intention is not to glorify BofA or to bash Chase. If I'm not being helpful by providing you with the information I thought you might be seeking, I will gladly withdraw from the discussion.
Again, you're missing the point about credit cards. I responded to your point about the BofA 10% bonus by pointing out that Chase gives you a 10% bonus on the Freedom card too, and they have better credit cards than BofA even with their 10% bonus on the entire card portfolio. I'm not sure why you're so intent on compartmentalizing those two ideas when they are clearly related. If you want to be so technical about my question regarding BofA's online experience, the 10% credit card bonus point you brought up is completely irrelevant. I was just trying to tie it back into what the OP was asking about.
Yeah I thought about that too... I wrote many posts about BofA because I wanted to complete the BofA series. I was going to write about Chase next but got lazy. Will pick it up this weekend, hopefully. Glad it is you that pointed out that my blog looks suspciously favorable on BofA. 
Don't get me wrong - credit card portfolio is definitely revelant to the OP, but I was responding to your post and explaining to you why BofA was generally regarded to have better online banking system than Chase. So you bringing in the CC portfolio confused me.
Which Chase checking account doesn't carry a maintenance fee and doesn't require a minimum deposit or balance? I still have to make direct deposits to my Chase checking account to avoid paying the maintenance fee. Maybe they offer a checking account option that I'm not aware of. Could you share?
I do not have access to the UR mall since my two cards with Chase are co-branded cards. On the other hand, any BofA card would grant you access to BofA's shopping portal. Does this make BofA better in this regard, maybe?
Chase gives you bonus points on 1 card, while BofA does on multiple cards. I guess there's not much to say about this.
Tabbed interface: I find BofA easier to use - I have both BofA and Chase. Have you ever tried the BofA online banking function? Maybe after using it for several months you'll be able to make fairer comparisons? Apologies if you already have both and find Chase superior.
@bribro wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
@bribro wrote:And for the record, the OP was asking about which major institution he/she should bank with as it related to getting credit cards. So yeah, the fact that Chase has better credit cards is extremely relevant, and your tangential points about BofA having a subjectively better online interface are not.
Allow me to quote the post of yours that I responded to, and allow me to bolden and zoom the specific question to which I addressed everything said afterwards.
@bribro wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
@bribro wrote:
@bluesnowman wrote:I'm with BOFA and Chase. I have had excellent experiences with both of them, however BOFA has the better of the online accounts, while Chase has the better CC portfolio. I also have a ROTH IRA (I opened it a couple of days ago) with Fidelity, and their customer service is good so far. Did I mention Chase has been really generous to me CL wise, even though my income is rather low (I'm a student.) and I will utilize their cards as much as I can. Even Amex or Citi hasn't been as generous to me.
I've heard this a few times. What makes BofA's online experience better?The online banking function is extremely well-developed and provides easy access to all financial accounts you have with BofA. BofA banking accounts typically carry more perks than those at other banks: you get free access to select museums, no maintenance fee if you use ATM's for simple transactions, no limit on credit card payments, and access to online shopping and local deals. Having a BofA banking account also gives you more value from their credit card rewards, typically 10% of the regular reward earning rate. Other major banks have a long way to go to catch up with BofA's online banking system.
How is that any different from Chase though? You can see your entire JPMC relationship online or via mobile apps, and as I recall Chase invented mobile check deposit technology. Chase account holders also have free access to museums (at least in the Bay Area). There's no limit on credit card payments that I'm aware of. Similar fee structure to BofA for basic checking accounts. You get a 10% bonus on the Chase Freedom credit card.
You could have replaced "BofA" with "Chase" in the post above and I wouldn't have known any better.
I was hoping that was an honest question and I was trying to explain to you my reasoning, but you seemed to have the need to defend Chase. My intention is not to glorify BofA or to bash Chase. If I'm not being helpful by providing you with the information I thought you might be seeking, I will gladly withdraw from the discussion.
Again, you're missing the point about credit cards. I responded to your point about the BofA 10% bonus by pointing out that Chase gives you a 10% bonus on the Freedom card too, and they have better credit cards than BofA even with their 10% bonus on the entire card portfolio. I'm not sure why you're so intent on compartmentalizing those two ideas when they are clearly related. If you want to be so technical about my question regarding BofA's online experience, the 10% credit card bonus point you brought up is completely irrelevant. I was just trying to tie it back into what the OP was asking about.
You asked what made BofA's online banking experience better, and I was explaining that to you....
Anyway, I have addressed your question, haven't I? I have given you a few reasons people think BofA's online banking is better. I think the discussion has served its purpose up to this point.
Still want to know if Chase has a fee-free checking account though.
@HiLine wrote:Yeah I thought about that too... I wrote many posts about BofA because I wanted to complete the BofA series. I was going to write about Chase next but got lazy. Will pick it up this weekend, hopefully. Glad it is you that pointed out that my blog looks suspciously favorable on BofA.
Don't get me wrong - credit card portfolio is definitely revelant to the OP, but I was responding to your post and explaining to you why BofA was generally regarded to have better online banking system than Chase. So you bringing in the CC portfolio confused me.
Which Chase checking account doesn't carry a maintenance fee and doesn't require a minimum deposit or balance? I still have to make direct deposits to my Chase checking account to avoid paying the maintenance fee. Maybe they offer a checking account option that I'm not aware of. Could you share?
I do not have access to the UR mall since my two cards with Chase are co-branded cards. On the other hand, any BofA card would grant you access to BofA's shopping portal. Does this make BofA better in this regard, maybe?
Chase gives you bonus points on 1 card, while BofA does on multiple cards. I guess there's not much to say about this.
Tabbed interface: I find BofA easier to use - I have both BofA and Chase. Have you ever tried the BofA online banking function? Maybe after using it for several months you'll be able to make fairer comparisons? Apologies if you already have both and find Chase superior.
I was comparing the standard Chase and BofA checking accounts:
Chase Total Checking:
$10 Monthly Service Fee
OR
No Monthly Service Fee with direct deposits totaling $500 or more, OR with $1,500 minimum daily balance, OR with average daily balance of $5,000 in linked deposits /investments
Bank of America MyAccess Checking:
$12 monthly maintenance fee
OR
No monthly maintenance fee when you: Make one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more each statement cycle, OR, Maintain an average daily balance of $1,500 or more each statement cycle
Pretty similar. Slightly higher monthly fee for BofA. Slightly higher DD minimum for Chase to avoid the monthly fee. Or you comparing the Chase account to BofA's online-only checking account that doesn't allow you to talk to tellers without incurring a fee? Because that wouldn't be an apples-to-apples comparison, and there are better online-only banks out there like Schwab that refund all ATM fees and have no maintenance fees at all.
For the online mall, I would say it entirely depends on what types of rewards BofA vs. Chase UR offers. With the flexibility of UR points, I'm fairly confident the UR Mall has superior earnings potential. Accessing either mall is relatively simple and both can be accessed without incurring a fee (open a BofA checking account vs. opening a Chase Freedom card).
Again, I think the 10% bonus at BofA is hardly an advantage because you are getting a 10% bonus on mediocre cards. For those that use their UR points right and get at least $0.02 in value per point, there isn't a single category where a BofA card, even with the 10% bonus, earns more.
I use BofA's online interface at least once a week to manage a joint account with my girlfriend, so I'm very familar with the interface. I of course use Chase's as well. I don't have a strong preference either way, which is why I asked for someone to explain why they think BofA is superior.
I recommend TD Bank. Long hours and plenty of locations near me (locations and atm availability are probably the first thing you need to look at). I found bank of america to engage in all sorts of tricks designed to make you incur unecessary fees. I will never use them for bank accounts again. If you are setting up a simple direct deposit account and don't need to move a lot of money in and out of the account frequently /rapidly I don't think it matters much among the big banks. Check for account fees/ min balances etc. Some Chase people on here have claimed that you will have a better chance getting chase business cards if you have business accounts with them. I have found the people in the Chase branches to be overly agressive in trying to push products on me even when I am just standing in line to pay down a card and have elected not to move my business accounts over to them.
I just reread your post. If your looking for a bank account just to help increase your chances for CCs then TD Bank may not be ideal. I just considered it a better bank to have accounts in, but I doubt it will do anything major in terms of CCs.
;I indeed was referring to the ebanking checking account:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/checking/ebanking-online-checking-account.go
No monthly maintenance fee when you:
- Choose online paperless statements and
- Make deposits and withdrawals using self-service options such as online or at an ATM
Otherwise, $8.95 monthly maintenance fee.
I don't have the need to talk to a teller ever, so this works out pretty well for me. Does Chase have a similar fee-free account?
I have 2 credit cards with Chase and still don't have access to their UR mall. I had access to BofA's shopping portal without even having a credit card. BofA gives me the option; Chase does not. I, as well as many others out there, as a banking customer as well as credit card customer, don't get access to the UR mall, but get access to BofA's shopping mall. So why do you think they are equal here? I'm not arguing with you, just trying to understand your thinking.
Sure UR points are worth more than 1 cents per point, but only when you carry a card with a hefty annual fee. Clearly you do have such a card. But would you agree that we cannot assume the same about the average consumer?
@bribro wrote:
@HiLine wrote:You asked what made BofA's online banking experience better, and I was explaining that to you....
Anyway, I have addressed your question, haven't I? I have given you a few reasons people think BofA's online banking is better. I think the discussion has served its purpose up to this point.
Just so we're on the same page, the only objective advantage of BofA's online banking over Chase's is that you can make credit card payments more often than once every 3 days, and you have the ability to overpay the balances on your credit cards?
Add to that the fee-free checking account, access to the online shopping portal without requiring a specific credit card or any credit card at all, local deals, and bonus on rewards from more than 1 credit card?
And btw, is the free museum access privilege limited to certain cards or is every cardholder granted access? With BofA, even a debit card would do it.