Bank of America's Keep the Change program is creative, but fees can eat into your returns.
When you buy something with a debit card, Bank of America rounds the purchase up to the next dollar and moves the extra "change" into a savings account. They also match your savings, up to $250 per year.
A reader recently wrote about a child in college using the program to save money. Unfortunately, the child pays hefty monthly maintenance fees, which eat away at most of the matching funds.
Consumerist readers explain that Bank of America may waive fees for your first year, but then standard account fees apply. In many cases, you can avoid fees by setting up an automatic monthly transfer into the account for at least $25, or you should keep your balance above $300.
If you use Keep the Change, check your statements and make sure you're keeping as much as you can.
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