Just received a notice from Wells Fargo that they will be charging me a monthly fee of $25, unless I maintain a minimum of $20k in the checking account. Who maintains at least $20k in their checking account all the time? I don't. I've been with WF forever, and I know they are the devil with all their shenanigans, but was just too lazy to do anything. But this is the last straw. Fuck them. I want a new bank.

So, where do you bank, and does your bank charge a monthly fee, if your checking account balance falls below a certain number? If so, what is the minimum?

I don’t live near you but I had many similar experiences at WF and finally found a local community bank that is light years better.
My mistake for putting up with their shenanigans for all those years.
I have my personal checking and two small business accounts there and no fees for any.
One business has a small mortgage on a building left and WF wanted to charge a total or $13,000 for various fees, points, inspections as closing costs and that’s what put me over the edge.
The local bank had me pay the $300 my attorney charged to do the paperwork. The branch manager came to my business to see it and also all the paperwork was done in my own office. Such a different experience.
You probably know this but of all the big banks and their issues, WF is the absolute worst. I became their customer after the ‘08 meltdown when my former bank was taken over.

You might check the latest disclosures - in some cases, you're good if you keep a specific amount in a savings account that is linked. I help a family member who has a WF account, and we never keep that amount in checking.

Here is what was printed on our notification:

"The monthly service fee for the Portfolio by Wells Fargo program is $25 and can be avoided each fee period with
$20,000 or more in statement-ending qualifying linked (a) bank deposit account balances (checking, savings, time
accounts (CDs), FDIC-insured IRAs) and (b) investment account balances (brokerage available through our brokerage
affiliate Wells Fargo Advisors*,**, Investment & Fiduciary Services, annuities***,****, and foreign exchange)."

^^^I'm sure they've got other Checking Account options (w/ lower minimum balance to avoid a fee), but I'd be taking my Portfolio elsewhere...

Two words…

Credit Union.

I am a few miles up the road from you and I use Prosperity Bank since there is a branch office right in my subdivision.

Might be worth taking a look there.

After dealing with several of the larger banks, I opened an account with Navy Federal Credit Union.

Haven't been there that long, but to date they are fantastic! They seem to be doing everything right.

My only bitch, and it's a minor one, is lack of drive-up at the local branch. I am mobility limited, so for things like in-person deposits, I prefer a drive-up, but for maybe one deposit trip / month, I can park and hobble in to the branch.

Live in Temple, we used BBVA when we moved here. They got bought out by PNC last year. Everything has been good with them since the bay-out.

Chase, no minimums that I'm aware of.
My only CU experience was with car financing, they 'give' you a checking account with the loan & it just sat at about $5 for the life of the loan. Might still be there, not sure.

Check out BANK OZK. My wife has a no fee checking account with them. Look to see if they are conveniently located for you.

Navy federal or USAA if you are eligible. Otherwise the biggest local credit union. And I say that as a member of navy fed for local use and deposit checks etc and usaa for insurance but they are great on banking. No fees and a banking career person fro almost 30 years having started at Wells and moved to a CU and now the current bank I’m with ( we are not in TX). To be honest I probly would not be a client of my employer bank if I wasn’t getting employee freebies and balance waivers. We have some rediculous minimums. And you really would be surprised how much cash people keep in checking 365 days a year earning 0%. 6 and 7 digits is not uncommon for a 12 month avg balance for our clients. I have my excess cash savings at Ally bank. Online easy to transfer back and forth to my regular bank. Currently paying a whopping .6% but not 0 at least.

I live in N Texas and bank at EECU and Southside Bank, no problem with either and no minimum in checking. Wells Fargo used to be good about twenty years ago but I changed banks about that time when they did some creative accounting with my money. Never looked back.

Q,

Houston Federal CU in front of Home Depot on 249. Member for years. They also had a location in Champions shopping ctr across from the old Empress of China location.

HK Ag

When I encounter such things as this, I call the branch manager. I have been successful in removing charges such as this. The branch managers have the power. Be sure you call as DOCTOR. Several years back I had to have over twenty documents certified. Most banks charge for these services. If the branch manager does not have this power change banks. She is also taking care of their 18 dollar fee for receipt of international wire transfers.

Certainly a great candidate for "What's My Deal?" and all I can say is WOW to the amount.

I too have been a WF customer for a LONG time.
I think it used to be $5K and if you have a savings account they waived it.
But $20K is not even fathomable.

I live in the Houston burbs. I just have Chase's entry level checking account called Chase Total Checking. As long as I keep my direct depositing my paycheck it's free ($12 if no direct depost or $1500 beginning each day).

I used to have their Premier Plus Checking, and there was no fee since my mortgage was with them ($15,000 beginning of day balance is other free option). I refinanced my mortgage with someone else so I switched to their lesser Total Checking.

Chase is the best big bank I've ever had. Lots of Houston locations (e.g. one by home, one by work, etc), no hidden fees, haven't messed up, and the guy down the street is the branch manager.

A) I mostly just use Schwab.

B) Would a Frost bank location work for you?

I've never had to pay monthly charges. $20k is too steep just to avoid charges.

When I had accounts in Wells Fargo, the monthly charge would get waived for several things. I remember one was just a monthly deposit into a connected savings account. So I set that up and then just move the money back to checking.

I have Chase and it's free for military and veterans. I also have Baxter Credit Union and I just need to park $1 in a savings account. The checking account earns me 2% APR for balances up to $15,000 and I just need a total of 15 transactions between checking and my credit card. It also has a monthly deposit requirement so I have that automatic with Chase. I also have Schwab but they've never charged me either. Schwab is also good for going overseas as they refund any ATM charges.

I'm sure Texas would have credit unions that give out free checking accounts.

All my banking is done electronically. The only time I go physically to the bank is to get a small amount of paper money from the ATM monthly.

WF may have other account options. Maybe call them, or they may be able to waive fees for the squeaky wheel?

I do pay a fee at BoA, but it is a fraction of that. I had a no fee account at Chase, but I know that was a special deal because of where I worked and which dated back to the Texas Commerce Bank days.

If you don't need walk in services, you might check out the online banks like Capital One. Very Low fees, lots of ATM's and a really good phone app that handles pretty much everything including check deposits.