Excellent service for all customers, especially seniors.

I opened up a Wachovia Crown Classic Checking account about a year ago, after moving to a new neighborhood and discovering that Wachovia was the closest bank. I also did extensive online research to find the best product for me. The Crown Classic Checking account fits the bill. As long as you maintain a combined balance of $1,000 in checking/savings and/or money market accounts, practically everything is free, which is what I like. There's also a free basic sized safety deposit box, which can cost a significant amount of money at other institutions. I have also been VERY IMPRESSED with Wachovia's customer service. They have personally called me after transactions to inquire about the level of service I received and to ask if I was satisfied. The tellers and other personnel go out of their way to make sure all your questions are answered. So far, I am very satisfied with the Crown Classic package. If you are over 50, signing up for this account is a no-brainer.

The Crown Classic checking account, for "seniors" (over age 50), has an average balance minimum requirement of $1000. (Service fee is $20 if your average falls below $1000.) That's a pretty low requirement, and it had not caught me for several years - until last month. The Crown checking account has a much higher average balance requirement. ($20 is the service fee here also.) Benefits are identical.
But the Crown account can actually be a better deal for a senior. If you have a Wachovia Visa card, and it has a credit limit of $10,000, that will waive the monthly service fee on a Crown account. Oddly, a Wachovia Visa card will NOT waive the fee on a Crown Classic account.
We seniors always have to navigate carefully - some Gen X-ers think we're soft in the head.
There are other relationship accounts that could waive the $20 monthly fee - for example, IRA accounts, CDs, and such like.
But for those of us who are not going to put our wealth into low-return accounts, the Wachovia Visa account is the way to guarantee you won't incur a monthly fee due to a low average balance in your Crown checking account.