Thursday, June 19, 2025
  • Login
GAFollowers
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
GAFollowers
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle

Best Student Checking Accounts

Rick Limpert by Rick Limpert
August 24, 2015
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Best Student Checking Accounts

A look at some of the best checking accounts for students

504
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Back-to-school spending may be on the decline with the overall cost of education and the difficulties inherent to newfound financial freedom remain as daunting as ever. In addition to a healthy dose of financial literacy education, college students require – at a minimum – a pair of basic financial tools to confront these monetary realities.

They are, of course, a checking account and a credit card. Credit cards are the cheapest and most-accessible way for people to improve their credit scores, and credit card companies offer great deals to students. In fact they offer them in droves to students since they have high earning potential. Even in our day, you can’t pay for everything with plastic, not to mention accept a paycheck, and learning the ABCs of everyday banking is also critical to preparing for the myriad monthly bills that you’ll confront after graduation.

In order to help you identify the right checking account to use, whether it’s your first or you’re looking for an upgrade, our friends at WalletHub compared over 550+ offers for which students are eligible – including student-branded, general-consumer and online-only accounts. We evaluated each based on its fees, rates and features, and made recommendations for college students with varying types of financial needs.

Related post

Collaborate with GAFollowers

Curated from Nando’s Art Collection, Largest Southern African Contemporary Exhibit in Atlanta

6 Ways to Get Cast for Love is Blind Atlanta (2024)

Load More

Best Overall

AmericaNet Rewards Checking

No monthly fee together with the ability to earn a 1.5% APY on all balances up to $10,000 (0.5% after) provided you use your debit card 10 times per month AND enroll to receive online statements. There is no charge for using other banks’ ATMs, but you will receive a $25 monthly worldwide refund for the surcharge assessed by the owners of these ATMs.

Best for Cash Strapped Students

BofI Federal Bank Rewards Checking Account

The Bank of Internet Rewards Checking account is accompanied with a host of benefits: For one, it doesn’t charge any monthly fees, overdraft fees or NSF fees. For two, ATM withdrawals also are free, as Bank of Internet will reimburse charges incurred at out-of-network ATMs and doesn’t assess fees for in-network withdrawals.

This account comes with a couple of caveats. For starters, Simple customers can only send checks electronically, which means you won’t get a paper checkbook. As a result, it feels more like a prepaid card than a checking account in many respects. What’s more, after 180 days of no activity on your account, you will be charged a $5 monthly inactivity fee until the next transaction you make.

The Bank of Internet Rewards Checking is therefore a great choice for students who have a part-time job that allows them to get via direct deposit.

Best for Cash Strapped Students

Simple Checking

Simple is an online financial institution associated with The Bancorp Bank that offers a single checking product notable for its lack of fees.

This account comes with a couple of caveats. For starters, Simple customers can only send checks electronically, which means you won’t get a paper checkbook. As a result, it feels more like a prepaid card than a checking account in many respects. What’s more, after 180 days of no activity on your account, you will be charged a $5 monthly inactivity fee until the next transaction you make.

Ultimately, this account — which can be opened with no initial deposit and has no monthly fee — is a great option for cost-conscious consumers. It has one of the most straightforward — dare we say, simple — fee structures of all the checking accounts we examined. It also offers a lower foreign transaction fee than the Bank of Internet Rewards Checking. Finally, Simple leverages an ATM network that is large enough to avoid withdrawal fees.

Best for Student Savers

AmericaNet Rewards Checking

This free account gives a 1.5% APY (up to a $10,000 balance) as long as you use your debit card 10 times per month AND enroll to receive online statements.

Alternatively, if you’re willing make a one-time donation to Gifts for Easter Seals and bring proof of this to a branch in Maryland, the Money One Federal Credit Union Kasasa Cash Checking account would give you the highest APY on the checking account market: 3.01% on balances up to $10,000. It doesn’t charge a monthly fee either and accountholders are reimbursed for all ATM withdrawals nationwide.

Best for Students Traveling Abroad

Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking

For students that travel abroad or even like to shop from foreign merchants, what makes this account truly unique is the fact that it does not charge a foreign transaction fee and will reimburse ALL ATM surcharges worldwide. In other words, you can use any ATM around the world for free.

Something to watch for: the Charles Schwab Bank’s High Yield Investor Checking Account is automatically linked with a Schwab brokerage account, but that should not be a reason to dismiss the offer. Neither account has a minimum balance requirement or monthly fees.

Best for Rewards Lovers

First Merchants Bank National Association Student Checking Account

In the past few years, checking accounts have stopped providing much in the way of rewards. Most banks advertising rewards programs really only offer discounts on merchandise from specific retailers. In fact, credit card rewards programs often provide more than five times the cash value of checking account rewards programs.

That said, if you’re looking to avoid credit card use and prefer a checking account with rewards, this account offers 1 point for every $3 spent in signature transactions. When redeemed for gift cards, this rewards program gives you the equivalent of approximately 0.28% cash back. There is no monthly fee and you won’t have to worry about the first five non-bank ATM charges, either.

Another interesting rewards program belongs to Rockland Trust Company Free Eco Checking . The no-monthly-fee account can earn up to $300 a year ($25 per month) — you receive 10 cents for every purchase over $10. Provided you make a lot of small purchases throughout the month, this account may end up offering close to 1% cash back. It is available in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

Best for Students with Part-Time Jobs

Santander Bank extra20 checking

This account rewards you for depositing money and for paying your bills. You get $10 each month just for making at least two online bill payments and another $10 for having at least $1,500 direct deposited to your account. Monthly direct deposits equal to that amount will also help you avoid a $10 monthly fee – meaning you’ll easily save yourself $240 each year if you have an employer or a parent providing a regular influx of cash.

As with any big financial decision, read the fine print and make sure you check you account regularly for fraud.

A look at some of the best checking accounts for students
A look at some of the best checking accounts for students
Tags: bankingchecking accountsCollegefinance
Share202Tweet126
Next Post
NBA 2k16 New Gameplay Previews Atlanta Hawks New Court

NBA 2k16 New Gameplay Previews Atlanta Hawks New Court

Georgia Southern Kicker Younghoe Koo with AMAZING TRICK SHOT

Georgia Southern Kicker Younghoe Koo with AMAZING TRICK SHOT

No Turning Back for Cantrell

No Turning Back for Cantrell

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Albums/Mixtapes
  • Animals
  • Art
  • Atlanta Braves
  • Atlanta Dream
  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Atlanta United
  • Beer
  • Braves News
  • Business
  • Cars
  • Casting
  • Club/Party
  • College
  • College
  • College
  • Comedy
  • Community
  • Concert
  • Crazy
  • Crime
  • Culture
  • Dance
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Fashion
  • Festivals
  • Fights
  • Fitness
  • Food News
  • Funny Videos
  • Georgia Eats
  • Georgia Southern
  • Georgia Swarm
  • Georgia Travels
  • Georgia's Greatest
  • Gossip
  • GT
  • High School Sports
  • Holiday
  • International
  • Interviews
  • Jobs
  • Kennesaw
  • Lifestyle
  • List
  • Local
  • Meet & Greets
  • Money
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Music Interview
  • Music News
  • Music Videos
  • Must Read
  • National
  • New Developments
  • News
  • Outdoors
  • Peaches Of The Week
  • Performances
  • Philanthropy
  • Photos
  • Politics
  • Reviews
  • Singles
  • Sneakers
  • Social Media
  • Sports
  • Stories
  • Swimming
  • Technology
  • Things To Do
  • Travel
  • TV
  • UGA
  • Uncategorized
  • Video Games
  • Videos
  • Waffle House News
  • weather

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2 Chainz Alpharetta art AT&T athens atlanta Atlanta Braves atlanta falcons atlanta hawks Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlantic Station Basketball BB&T Atlanta Open big boi Braves buckhead casting call Christmas Drake falcons feature Food football future georgia georgia southern georgia state georgia tech Golf Gucci Mane hawks hooters Isaiah Smart kennesaw state marvel Music NASCAR news savannah Sports tennis ti travel uga young jeezy
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2021 GAFollowers - Everything Georgia

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • News
  • Business
  • Culture
  • National
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Opinion

© 2021 GAFollowers - Everything Georgia

 

Loading Comments...