(Continued from Ruiz.'s review)

I immediately drive to the local Bank of America. Why did I choose BoA? I don't know. It was very new in our area at the time and I didn't know anybody who had a BoA account. Everybody in my area used that other bank. Maybe it looked really appealing? I really don't know. I just went there in need of help. I walk into the bank and was immediately greeted by a teller. I told her that I needed to open a checking account. She takes down my name and tells me to have a seat and wait for an available personal banker. While I am waiting, I see a mother and her daughter arguing with a teller about overdraft fees that the daughter made from online transactions. The mother is furiously yelling because she has to pay $1,000 in overdraft fees. She pays the fees, closes the account, curses BoA, and storms out of the bank.

I begin to become worried. I don't want this to happen again. Minutes later, I'm greeted with a bright smile by a personal banker by the name of Tanya. (I still have her card in my wallet to this day.) She invites me to have a seat in her office and asks "So what can I help you with today?" I tell her my about my entire situation and the experience I had with the other bank. It was a long explanation, but I can tell the entire time that she was engaged and listening. When I was finished explaining my situation, she gave a very assuring smile and told me to give her a few minutes. She took down my information and told me that she was going to open student checking and savings accounts for me. A savings account?? Really?? I did not even expect that. She told me all the benefits of having both accounts, overdraft protection being the most important in my situation, and encouraged me to start saving money now to help for the future.

So far, I'm impressed. The experience has been much better than anything I've gotten from the other bank. It doesn't stop there though, while setting up my accounts, she tells me that she was able to set me up with a line of credit and I was approved for $700. A CREDIT CARD?! I told her that I don't know the first thing about a credit card and that I would surely screw up with it! She gave me another assuring smile and told me she had just the thing to help me get started with it. She handed me a small book and pamphlets explaining how a credit card works and pointed out the most important parts that I needed to know about. The credit card companies, my credit score, the whole nine yards.

I walked into that bank with nothing and walked out with everything. Ever since then, I have been wise about my spendings and I've been managing my money like a pro. My credit score is outstanding, and it if it wasn't for BoA, I wouldn't even have one! It's been three years and I have been nothing short of satisfied with their service. People say that something will eventually come up and I'll end up hating my bank, but I don't believe that. As long as I stay wise about my money, I know I will be fine for years to come.

I'm in the process of opening another checking and savings account with another bank for expanded flexibility of my funds. Upon reading the reviews for Chase and Citi on this site, I begin to worry about opening accounts with them. I then read the reviews for Bank of America and then realize that people on here are stupid drama queens who clearly don't know how to manage their money. It's funny how people will only review a bank if they have a bad experience with them, not if they have a good one. Because this, I'm going to consider most of the reviews about Chase and Citi as illegitimate and based on personal opinion, especially all the reviews about overdrafting. If you overdraft, accept responsibility, pay the fees as soon as possible, and LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. Don't make excuses and blame it on the bank, because 99% of the time, it's your own fault and the bank can even prove it. I will be opening accounts with Chase soon.