Looking for a solid debit card from a large bank you can trust? I currently have open and active debit cards, all of them tied to checking accounts, with three major banks:
- Chase
- Bank of America (my first bank debit card, from way back in high school)
- ING Direct Electric Orange debit card (love that bank; read my review of ING Direct)
All three are good, and provide me with a wide range of free ATMs in virtually any city or town I find myself in -- most towns have at least one Bank of America or Chase ATM in the mall or in the business district. And ING Direct, although it has no branches (it is an Internet bank), offers a competitive interest rate on their checking accounts and provides free ATM access at more than 37,000 surcharge-free machines around the world (any ATM machine that is part of the Allpoint Network; search for one near you).
My favorite is probably the Chase Bank rewards debit card, since I earn United air miles whenever I purchase something using that card. Also, I got a $125 bonus when I joined Chase, so that was nice as well!
Between Chase and Bank of America, though, it is otherwise a close call: both have a ton of ATMs... so why not have accounts at both places, as I do, and then at a third bank just as back up?
This way, even if TWO of your checking accounts get frozen due to fraudulent debit card activity, you will still have access to some of your money in a third account until the bank sorts everything out. As you know already if you have been reading for a while, I am a HUGE advocate of diversifying -- not just in the stock market, but in all aspects of your financial life. Never rely entirely on one bank, one credit card company, one brokerage firm, one kind of retirement plan, etc.
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