Keep the change

[IlliniKrush]

http://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/chec...2027g850000c335

 

Alright someone explain this whole thing to me - well not HOW it works, i understand that completely. But explain why this makes any sort of sense? What does it accomplish?

 

And before you say interest, interest rates on a normal savings account are terrible. So much so that you wouldn't make any considerable amount of money purely from the change transferred from your checking to your savings, unless you made thousands of transactions in a year or something (and even then, IMO, it's not significant).

 

I guess another rationale could be "it helps people save money." How? By transferring money between accounts? I can do that myself. Do people honestly put like $500 in their checking account each month and say "i can't spend more than this"? If so, i guess you would technically be saving some money (er, transferring money) by the time the $500 has run out, but that number is extremely small. I for one transfer money between savings and checking all the time, based on what i need in checking.

 

This just doesn't make sense to me. For such a big marketing campaign (i've seen a ton of commercials featuring how cool this is), i don't get what's so great about it. It is just transfering money between accounts.

 

Edit: I guess for the first 3 months, they match your savings. So i guess that's a benefit. But long-term, what does it do?

Edited March 27, 2006 by IlliniKrush

[SnB]

Just an FYI, this is what we talked about for a 1/2 hour on the way back to school.

 

He's very passionate

[IlliniKrush]

Just an FYI, this is what we talked about for a 1/2 hour on the way back to school.

 

He's very passionate

Well it's just a bulls*** marketing campaign. It's not really doing anything. It'd be one thing if it took change that you would have in your pocket and put it in savings so you didn't have to carry it around, but that's not the case with debit cards.

 

I want to meet someone that uses this thing and says "This thing is awesome, here's why" because right now i can't come up with anything.

[Gene Honda Civic]

You're right Krush, it's mainly bulls*** marketing.

 

But if you're one of those people who uses debit cards a ton, this is a subtle way to save yourself some scratch.

 

Banks are learning that Toasters and Calendars don't cut it anymore. -- I don't know why I capitalized those two words, but I did, so there.

[AssHatSoxFan]

the only benefit is they match you 100% for 3 months it seems but I dont know the availability of the funds otherwise I would buy stuff that had were like $3.02 or so they are matching the largest amounts possible

[Kyyle23]

You're right Krush, it's mainly bulls*** marketing.

 

But if you're one of those people who uses debit cards a ton, this is a subtle way to save yourself some scratch.

 

Banks are learning that Toasters and Calendars don't cut it anymore. -- I don't know why I capitalized those two words, but I did, so there.

 

Because capitalism rules

[Iwritecode]

the only benefit is they match you 100% for 3 months it seems but I dont know the availability of the funds otherwise I would buy stuff that had were like $3.02 or so they are matching the largest amounts possible

 

After that they only match 5%. Plus, they'll only go up to $250 annually.

 

But I guess $250 is $250. I sure wouldn't turn it down if somebody offered it to me...

[mmmmmbeeer]

I'm enrolled in the keep the change deal. It works out well for me, especially the first 3 months. I use my debit card for everything, very rarely do I have cash unless it's for the vending machines at work. It's not like the program is a big moneymaker, it's just a simple way to build a small bit of savings without even thinking about it....kind of like dropping the change from your pocket into a change jar, the money adds up. Each time I fill up the gas tank I make sure to go a penny over the dollar...a quick $2 savings deposit.

 

You may call the program a gimic but I'm not aware of any other debit rewards programs. They don't make a dime off of anyone using a debit card so I feel fortunate to get anything from them. And as far as interest rates, that's why you have a second savings with an online bank, where you can find rates between 4.5-5%. You can link those accounts straight to your bank of america account to transfer money over.