Which US bank do you prefer?

US-living peeps, any recommendations on a bank? There are certain stuff that I'm familiar with here in Greece, but that I'll have to do a lot of research for there, so I'm asking for some recommendations. A basic checking account and a credit card is all I'm really looking for, without too many charges that I'll have to worry about. Not really interested in a big interest or something for now. Just something to get me going.

EDIT: Let me clarify, I'm looking for a bank that does business in California, as I'm soon to move there. If you have recommendations about banks outside of Cali though, feel free to share them; maybe they'll help someone else.

TD Bank has done well by my wife. I still use a local bank from my hometown, but if I had to, I'd get an account there.

She has had a few instances of people trying to use her card, but they were resolved very quickly. Same with restaurants screwing with tips and whatnot.

TD Bank doesn't have any kind of business in California (seems to be limited to the Eastern US), but thanks. Maybe that'll prove helpful to someone else.

well, definitely not bank of america

credit unions credit unions credit unions

Maybe this one?
https://www.patelco.org/default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patelco_Credit_Union

credit unions credit unions credit unions

credit unions credit unions credit unions

Maybe this one?
https://www.patelco.org/default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patelco_Credit_Union

the hometown bank I use is a credit union, for what its worth. So that is, good?

TD Bank has done well by my wife.

i can confirm no TDs here in Cali. west coast is the best coast.

well, definitely not bank of america

All of the Major ones here (BofA, Chase, Wells Fargo) are pretty much the same in suckiness. They all try to nickel & dime you

credit unions credit unions credit unions

+1

credit unions credit unions credit unions

Maybe this one?
https://www.patelco.org/default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patelco_Credit_Union

the hometown bank I use is a credit union, for what its worth. So that is, good?

Yes

I use the Disney Credit Union here and all services are absolutely free, no disclaimers, no asterisks (I miss WaMu for this). I get to use ATMs at pretty much any 7 Eleven for free, but for convenience I did open a terrible "free" checking account at BofA which is free as long as you only use the ATMs (they charge you $9 a month to talk to a teller).

but since you will have a steady paycheck coming in, almost all major banks will waive their bullshit fees if you have 2k directly deposit your paychecks into your bank account.

Wells Fargo hasn't sodomized me too much in the 10 years I've been with them, they're alright if you're just looking for basic services.

Wells Fargo hasn't sodomized me too much in the 10 years I've been with them, they're alright if you're just looking for basic services.

you probably were grandfathered into a better account before they started raping people. essentially that's what i had with Chase when they bought out wamu but they eventually said free checking is stupid and got rid of it all together

Bank of America

I've had good experiences with credit unions, which has been mentioned. I have my mortgage through Wells Fargo, and everything seems to be a huge hassle. I don't know if it is East Coast only, but I have my checking through M&T Bank, and I don't really have any fees (probably due to my direct deposit being with them), and it's very easy to manage all of my money online and with the iPhone app, transfer money into my Wells Fargo account to automatically pay my mortgage, etc.

As someone else mentioned, as long as you have direct deposit linked into your checking account, most banks waive basically all of the fees they bang everyone else for.

ING Direct for Canadians. Otherwise, ditto for credit unions.

I use ING Direct for savings, which is technically Capital One since they got bought out.

they had a killer APR when i first got it, they've drastically reduced the rate in the last 4 years

Well, thanks for all the suggestions, but I need to get a secured credit card from a big bank in order to start building credit. Don't see Credit Unions offering secured credit cards. EDIT: Apparently some Credit Unions DO offer secured credit cards, I just haven't found one yet.

So... out of the major banks (e.g. the ones mentioned here), can you recommend one of the least suckiest?

assuming the information is current, i would go with wells fargo because it has the lowest annual fee. but the citibank one does hint at it leading to a better card down the road if you stick with it for 18 months.

Palelco does offer one from what I can tell: https://www.patelco.org/Loans-And-Credi ... s/Classic/

Yeah, I'll have to ask Patelco, because the "on credit approval" text on the footnote says that I may need a co-signer, and I won't have one.

Get account -> deposit VC megabux -> get secured credit line from deposit -> use credit card as basis to get larger loans -> buy houses you can't afford -> global financial crisis.