Currently using... we both are using BoA savings, checking accounts and credit and debit cards. Just because... BoA is nearest to us. Haha. Any good recommendations?
I think I’m going to suggest Alliant Credit Union, which hits all these marks. That’s the credit union serving United Airlines employees, and others. (There are a few United employees in Singapore, so a Singapore mailing address isn’t a big deal — although like most institutions you have to opt for electronic statements to avoid a paper statement fee.) It costs US$10 to join (donation to a charity) if you don’t otherwise qualify for membership, and that’s it for life. Their High-Interest Checking Account pays decent interest on balances, and their ATM card is almost as globally fabulous as Schwab’s. (Instead of unlimited ATM operator fee rebates it’s US$20 maximum per month. And there’s no foreign currency markup — just the Visa network’s 1% charge.) They also offer a savings account which pays excellent interest, and if you don’t think you’ll ever use the Bill Pay feature or use an ATM that levies an operator fee then that’s enough.
I am a couple days late to this discussion but I just wanted to second this suggestion of Alliant CU, as I'm actually a member there. I opened an account while I was in the U.S. on a J-1 visa, but I checked and they said I could keep the account open after I returned to Singapore. In fact I eventually got the primary address changed to Singapore to get my debit card renewed, and recently they snail mailed me to ask for an updated W-8BEN, so things are fine.
Other pros: US$20 ATM fee rebate aside, the Allpoint ATM network is huge, and has better coverage than any single bank in major cities. You get a full first 'box' of checks free, not three starter checks or something lame like that. Free ACH push/pull transfers, which is super helpful for dealing with bank accounts that want to charge you per ACH transfer. They have their own ABA routing number, unlike some CUs, so TransferWise can send money to it without complications. Free incoming wires. Avoiding inactivity is just any one deposit/withdrawal a year. Also I think they recently adjusted the charity membership model so that they actually pay the donation "on your behalf", so that saves you the step of figuring out how to pay that separately (and saves them the effort of making sure people paid, if they ever did...). Min savings balance of $5.
The caveats: I don't know where in MA you are, but it's really hard to find an ATM that on the CO-OP Network
and is eligible for Alliant CU cash deposit in Boston, because the three (well, I just checked -- two now) are physically inside credit union locations that are open for limited hours only; you'll want to keep an account at a bank/CU with local presence while you're still stateside. There's one additional monthly electronic deposit hoop to receive interest on the checking account. The internet banking is clunky in places though the mobile app has been significantly modernised. Mint keeps getting disconnected and requires re-login every month or so. The travel notification thing can be a bit of a hassle to fill out.
(Savings accounts are limited to 6 withdrawals per month, but cash withdrawn at an ATM doesn’t count.)
Strictly speaking that's correct, but you'll run into other limits -- the daily ATM card withdrawal limits, for one, and it's not especially high. On the other hand, transfers from savings to checking made at an ATM also don't count towards the limit, but you might need to be at an actual own bank/CU ATM to do that, as I don't remember seeing anything other than withdrawal on the Plus or Allpoint network ATMs.
