Which bank should I choose for a new account?

And how am I supposed to find my damn PIN... ugh... just so I can actually pull some cash out of the ATM

stormygardener83 said:And how am I supposed to find my damn PIN... ugh... just so I can actually pull some cash out of the ATM

There's no way. Only your brother knows it (if it's his account).

darkmaker94 said:There's no way. Only your brother knows it (if it's his account).

Exactly. Even the folks over at Chase wouldn't have a clue.

So, you're basically looking at either sending your brother to grab the cash himself—or just asking him for the PIN (which shouldn't be too big of a deal since he can always change it later anyway).

I mean, why can't I just walk into a Chase branch and tell them, "Hey, just take the money out of my account..."—why does some lady need to verify who I am first?

stormygardener83 said:I mean, why can't I just walk into a Chase branch and tell them, "Hey, just take the money out of my account..."—why does some lady need to verify who I am first?

You absolutely can't.
You're being dense.
For crying out loud...

stormygardener83 said:I mean, why can't I just walk into a Chase branch and tell them, "Hey, just take the money out of my account..."—why does some lady need to verify who I am first?

Jesus...😲 😂 😂 Where do you even get these ideas!?🙏

Are you ten years old or something?🙄 Following your logic, anyone could just stroll into a Chase branch and demand cash from someone else's account. 🙏

For the hundredth time, only the actual account holder or their legal proxy can withdraw funds. Period.

stormygardener83 said:I mean, why can't I just walk into a Chase branch and tell them, "Hey, just take the money out of my account..."—why does some lady need to verify who I am first?

🤣 So, by that logic, I can just stroll into your bank tomorrow and demand every cent from your savings account too? 😂

Help, I’m in a serious bind here!!!
I’m looking to get a credit card—I already have a debit card, obviously—but I’m completely stuck. I can't figure out which option is actually better: a revolving credit card or a charge card? What's the real difference between the two? And what kind of flexibility does each one actually offer?
The people at the JPMorgan Chase branch tried explaining it to me, but honestly, nothing clicked... I walked out feeling more confused than when I first walked in! Is there anyone on Reddit who can break this down for me? I’d be eternally grateful.

Charge card - basically, at the end of the month, you're billed for everything you spent during that period, except for anything bought on an installment plan (in that case, you just pay the monthly installment amount). I definitely recommend going this route.
For example, let's say you spent $667 and then grabbed some shoes for maybe $500 using a 3-month interest-free installment plan. Your credit card bill at the end of the month would be $833.

Revolving card - the amount you charged to the card during the month gets billed as a percentage that you chose when you signed up. That percentage varies from bank to bank, but it's usually as low as 5% or $67. Of course, you can always choose to pay a larger chunk, like 25%. Honestly, these cards make it way too easy to get into debt, and the interest rates can be pretty brutal (again, depends on the bank).
Using the same example as before; you spent $667 + $500 on a 3-month interest-free plan. You opted to pay off 10% of your monthly balance. At the end of the month, you'd owe $233 ($67+ $167 for the installment, since I don't think the revolving feature applies to those specific purchases) plus likely some interest.

Makes sense?🙂

Thanks so much for the help!!!!! So, does this mean I should go ahead with the charge card? And just out of curiosity—if I don't clear the full balance by the end of the month and carry it over, what’s the actual fallout? Are we talking about them freezing my card, or could they come after my paycheck?

Drew Castillo8 said:Thanks so much for the help!!!!! So, does this mean I should go ahead with the charge card? And just out of curiosity—if I don't clear the full balance by the end of the month and carry it over, what’s the actual fallout? Are we talking about them freezing my card, or could they come after my paycheck?

No worries.😉
First, they'll send you a notice (and they'll charge you for that, too). After that, they start hitting you with late fees and interest on the debt—I'm not sure of the exact rate, but it's probably north of 10%. If you keep dodging payments, they'll eventually shut down your card.
Of course, if you have an autopay set up to pull the balance from your checking account (assuming it's a Visa or Mastercard), it’s pretty hard to fall behind—unless you stop getting your paycheck deposited into that account—because they'll grab those funds first to cover the cost.

So, basically, it works just like a debit card—except you aren't allowed to go into the red with a credit card. If I’m following this correctly? Look, I’m no expert—I can't wrap my head around all these banking technicalities, no matter how hard I try!🤣

That’s not even the same thing. To use a debit card—like a Maestro or Visa Electron—you actually need the cash sitting in your account, unless you have overdraft protection enabled.
The whole point of a credit card is that you're deferring payment for a month or breaking things up into installments, which you can't really do with debit (well, except for some specific options on a Bank of America debit card now). Basically, you don't need the money upfront. With a credit card, you just buy whatever you want whenever you want (and pick your own installment plan depending on the store), and then the total hits your bill at the end of the month. If you go the revolving route, you just choose your interest rate.

Plus, anyone over 18 with a standard checking or savings account can grab a debit card, whereas getting a credit card requires you to show steady income or have some cash tied up in a CD at the bank.

Mark Sullivan62 said:When it comes to how they handle revolving credit, I honestly think Zappos is the only one playing fair,

The way I see it, you spend $333, then you pay off $200 by the due date, and they only start charging interest on the remaining $267 starting from the actual due date—basically from the moment you settled those initial $67

But if you look at Chase, Bank of America, or even American Express, they calculate interest on that leftover $267 from the very day you actually swiped the card, not from the due date.

To me, that feels like a total scam; you really have to read the fine print when you sign up for a card to understand how the interest is actually calculated.

Maybe the difference seems trivial since it’s just a month, but if we’re talking about a massive amount—say $10,000—that you haven't cleared after two or three months past the deadline, that interest starts snowballing fast... and suddenly all your hard-earned cash is just vanishing into thin air.

Does Z%A really have the only decent option here? If that's true, I might just drop my bias against them and grab that Go! revolving credit card.

That would make the Go! card worth it, wouldn't it?

darkmaker94 said:That’s not even the same thing. To use a debit card—like a Maestro or Visa Electron—you actually need the cash sitting in your account, unless you have overdraft protection enabled.
The whole point of a credit card is that you're deferring payment for a month or breaking things up into installments, which you can't really do with debit (well, except for some specific options on a Bank of America debit card now). Basically, you don't need the money upfront. With a credit card, you just buy whatever you want whenever you want (and pick your own installment plan depending on the store), and then the total hits your bill at the end of the month. If you go the revolving route, you just choose your interest rate.

Plus, anyone over 18 with a standard checking or savings account can grab a debit card, whereas getting a credit card requires you to show steady income or have some cash tied up in a CD at the bank.

Can I use a Mastercard to pay in installments at pretty much any store? Like, usually up to 6 months, or whatever they offer... some places do deferred payments, others do installments?

Sophia Scott5 said:Can I use a Mastercard to pay in installments at pretty much any store? Like, usually up to 6 months, or whatever they offer... some places do deferred payments, others do installments?

Installment plans depend on the specific shop (whether they even offer them and how many months you get), but you can get a one-month grace period everywhere since you're paying by card—the total just hits your statement at the start of the next month (or whenever you set it up).

So they don't necessarily have to offer installment plans. Okay, that's what I was wondering.

One more thing—from what I gather, there aren't any interest charges if I use my Mastercard, right?

For example:
Let's say something costs $1170 if you pay cash, but it’s 10% more expensive if you use a card, making it $1300. If I want to buy it using my Mastercard over 12 monthly installments, am I just paying $108 for the next 12 months? Zero interest?
Or am I totally off base here... I really hope I'm not, but honestly, the thought of hidden fees scares the hell out of me.

Sophia Scott5 said:So they don't necessarily have to offer installment plans. Okay, that's what I was wondering.

One more thing—from what I gather, there aren't any interest charges if I use my Mastercard, right?

For example:
Let's say something costs $1170 if you pay cash, but it’s 10% more expensive if you use a card, making it $1300. If I want to buy it using my Mastercard over 12 monthly installments, am I just paying $108 for the next 12 months? Zero interest?
Or am I totally off base here... I really hope I'm not, but honestly, the thought of hidden fees scares the hell out of me.

If you’re just making standard purchases (not using an installment plan), you won't see any interest—unless you miss your monthly statement payment, but that's a whole different headache.
If you go the installment route, it really depends on the retailer and whether your specific bank offers it. For example, if a store says they offer 0% interest for 12 months specifically for Wells Fargo Mastercard users, then you're good to go if you have a Wells Fargo Mastercard. Other Mastercard holders might not get that same deal.

Example:
something costs $1170 in cash at the store, but it's 10% more expensive on card, which means $1300. If I want to buy it with my Mastercard on a 12-month installment plan, I'll be paying $108 each month for the next year, right? Zero interest?

Yeah, you'd pay $108 because that higher price already factors in the cost. But if you just bought it outright with your card in one go, you'd only pay $1170.

Hey man! 👍

I was thinking about something like this since last night...

Greetings.

Could someone please clarify how annual interest calculations actually work? I have a debit card through JPMorgan Chase, and they’ve authorized an overdraft limit based on my salary. Now I'm wondering how the interest is applied once I go into the red. Specifically, does interest kick in if the overdraft only lasts for a few days? The rate is sitting around 13-14 percent.

Much appreciated.