[Chu]

There is a very popular finance site I frequent, and there is currently a thread going about a certain bank that is offering 5.25% rewards checking. There is, however, a bit of a catch.

This is their website.

Yes, this is a real, FDIC insured bank, established in 1913. Browsing through this site is a mix of horror and hilarity. I think one member of said forum said it best:

Quote:

Wow, this is like a Japanese game show. How much humiliation will we withstand to make an extra couple of points on our checking account?

 

[Calexico]

Wow that's pretty weird. How did they get such high rates?

 

[tintin47]

The site is terrifying, but when you click on some of the links, they have well written explanations for the craziness. Not that the explanations make much sense, but they are there.

 

[fatcat28037]

I wonder what the Visa card look like.

 

[Chu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatcat28037 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder what the Visa card look like.

 

[amphead]

Don't think I would risk it. If you lost your money no one would take you seriously. They would say, what do you expect putting your money in some crazy institution. Although some of the "respectable" banks may not be much better.

 

[christine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chu /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I guess the upside is if your wallet gets stolen, the thief may not believe it's a real Visa card and won't try to use it.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Money is money.

I'll take a closer look. Seriously. Smaller regional banks are usually much healthier than the big ones. They don't have the toxic debt load and tend to be more solvent. Smaller, regional credit unions tend to be the same way. Sure, everything might be FDIC insured, but accessing your money while the FDIC process is going on might take a few weeks or longer. You won't lose out in the long run, but what if you're late on your mortgage, rent or car payment?

If Redneck gives me almost twice what I'm getting now I'm not going to get hung up on the name.

Thanks for the link!

 

[Chu]

If you search on fatwallet's finance forum (link) there's a 38 page thread about this offer. There are strings attached (the fees are pretty scary if you don't meet the 10 transaction limit). Because of the FW effect the bank reps actually show up in the thread around page 4-5 to discuss the offer (they have two much less embarrassing "shell" sites).

I'm a little paranoid about a bank that welcomes fatwalleters though, considering the site pretty much gave birth to App-o-Rama. On the other hand the average FW finance forum member is very, very careful with their money.

 

[apatN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by christine /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess the upside is if your wallet gets stolen, the thief may not believe it's a real Visa card and won't try to use it.

Oh my. The thief will have a whole community of pick-up driving rednecks behind him if he dares.