Serious guidance needed penfed checking monthly fees

[Anonymous]

About the monthly fee for being a penfed checking member if i do direct deposit once of say 700$ to my penfed checking account then maybe not do it anylonger will i still get charged a monthly fee ..
I currently use security service federal credit union as checking i also have rbfcu penfed and bleh credit human which is the best if i usually have a direct deposit of around 600 to 900$ and again how can i maintain penfed checking without making it my main checking account please help xd

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
About the monthly fee for being a penfed checking member if i do direct deposit once of say 700$ to my penfed checking account then maybe not do it anylonger will i still get charged a monthly fee ..
I currently use security service federal credit union as checking i also have rbfcu penfed and bleh credit human which is the best if i usually have a direct deposit of around 600 to 900$ and again how can i maintain penfed checking without making it my main checking account please help xd

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I do not know a way to maintain a PenFed checking account without the monthly maintenance fee without either (a) making direct deposits totalling $500 per month or (b) maintaining a $500 minimum balance.

Some folks here have reported being able to satisfy the direct deposit requirement with ACH transfers from their other banks; I have not found that to be the case.

[Anonymous]

Whats a ach transfer?
Also as long as i keep a total of 500 that has been direct deposited to my account one time i won't be charged is that correct or am i wrong

[Hex]

It is my understanding if you make sure to always keep a $500 balance you won’t get charged the fee. I put $500 into my son’s penfed checking and he’s avoided the fees. Gotta tie up the cash though.

[Anonymous]

Phew thats a relief thanks buddy yeah i dont mind putting 5 to the side for that might come in handy on a rainy day

[Jnbmom]

ACH is a automated bank to bank transfer.

I get a little of my paycheck DD to my checking (250l) twice a month to avoid fee. I pay a bill or 2 and transfer some to savings.

[Anonymous]

Thats a great idea my job lets me add as many dd accounts i like it just splits evenly between them

[Jnbmom]

Yes I like to do it that way, so technically I put in 500 a month, but I don't have to maintain that balance and can pay a bill and save a little.

[DaveInAZ]

I joined Penfed in May of last year, primarily for a Home Equity LOC. I also got a PCR Visa but with a low CL, so I opened a checking account. When I finally got the HELOC in August (man, are they sloooow) I re-evaluated things and decided that keeping $500 in checking wasn't worth it, I have free checking w/no minimum and 1.65% interest at Memory Bank (compared to Penfed krappy .2%), so I closed Penfed checking, and as that made PCR only 1.5% rewards I closed it since by them I had the PayPal 2% MC. I just keep the bare minimum in savings to keep my membership & HELOC active, I think there's much better credit unions.

[outofcredit]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
About the monthly fee for being a penfed checking member if i do direct deposit once of say 700$ to my penfed checking account then maybe not do it anylonger will i still get charged a monthly fee ..
I currently use security service federal credit union as checking i also have rbfcu penfed and bleh credit human which is the best if i usually have a direct deposit of around 600 to 900$ and again how can i maintain penfed checking without making it my main checking account please help xd

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I do not know a way to maintain a PenFed checking account without the monthly maintenance fee without either (a) making direct deposits totalling $500 per month or (b) maintaining a $500 minimum balance.

Some folks here have reported being able to satisfy the direct deposit requirement with ACH transfers from their other banks; I have not found that to be the case.

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I routinely "pull" the 500 from my connected external accounts, mainly Chase, Wells Fargo or USAA.  The funds are instantly available in my Penfed account.  So far, (past 2 years) this has worked for me and no monthly fee has been charged.  i use the funds for billpay and don't keep a balance in the Penfed account.  The funds have to be pulled before my monthly statement date and the transactions initated from the Penfed site.  YMMV.