goodbye to Chase checking and see ya later to Planet Fitness

I’d had this Chase checking account for about 30 years, since it was a Bank One account.  In the past few years they instituted a $12/mo fee unless you had direct deposit (>= $500, IIRC).  That didn’t affect me while I was working as I had DD there. 

I retired in late Dec of last year so the DD stopped.  Apparently transfers from other banks don’t count even if they meet the minimum. That annoyed me.  $12/mo isn’t going to kill me, but it’s 2.4% of my monthly budget going to absolute waste.  

To plan for the eventual shift I’d already opened a checking account with Ally, which I love love love.  Use any ATM for free?  Exceptional telephone service the one time I needed it during account setup?  A bit of compound interest?  Clueful website?  Yes, please.   

The PF membership was literally the only thing I used Chase checking for; everything else goes on my cash-back Amazon Prime credit card.  So the unused ~$23/mo PF fee and useless $12/mo checking fee were consuming 7% of my budget for no return at all.   So..

1. I suspended my PF account until January, something they will do with no hassle.  Canceling, _on the other hand,_ is a hassle and involves going to the home gym or sending a certified letter.  I’ll make that decision later.  If I start finding PFs with showers before January I’ll use Ally checking for the monthly fees.  Otherwise they’ll be getting a certified letter.

2. I just closed the Chase checking account.  :-)  It took a couple days through the Secure Messaging function of the website but did work.  I’d put $15 in there to cover the last fee in case it hit, and advised it should be applied to my CC balance if not consumed.  I assume they didn’t read and will send a paper check to my mail forwarder.