Are you looking for a new bank? Years ago we switched to a Capital One checking account and haven’t looked back! Since then, we have opened numerous Capital One savings accounts that help us plan for future expenses with no surprises. Read on to learn how!
Shopping for a New Bank
In the early 2000s my first checking account was with Wells Fargo. My husband’s first checking account was with a local bank where he grew up. Both were fine but when we combined our finances when we got married in 2013, we went ‘shopping’ for a new bank.
Here are the things we looked for:
- No overdraft fees (though luckily we never overdraft but nice to not have the fees)
- No monthly fees including monthly maintenance fees or other annoying fees
- Free checking account
- Debit card
- Direct Deposit
- Easy access online and via mobile app
- Ability to view balance information at any time
- A bank statement that was easy to understand
- Great customer service
- Ability to add savings accounts
- Ability to get a cashier’s check when needed
Capital One Checking Account
To be honest, this was over 10 years ago and I don’t remember all of the different banks we looked at. Knowing us, we likely had a Google Sheet/Spreadsheet comparing them all since that’s how we compare everything.
All I do remember is that Capital One came out as being #1 on our list for a new checking account. The only thing downside is that there aren’t local branches where we can walk in and deposit or withdraw money. However, this isn’t a huge deal because that’s typically not something we need to do on a regular basis. If we do want to withdraw money, there are several no-fee ATMs around us where we can do so.
Here are some reasons we love our Capital One checking account, in addition to the items above:
- Early Paycheck: my husband gets paid every other Friday and with Capital One the direct deposit hits our account early, on Wednesdays! This doesn’t make a huge difference to us as we budget all of our money well so we aren’t waiting on the paycheck to spend it right away, but I could see for some people how this could be a huge perk.
- Mobile Deposit: On the rare chance we have a check we need to deposit, we can use the Capital One mobile app to make a mobile deposit by just taking a couple photos of the check. It’s pretty slick! We have had an instance when we get tax return checks from the state that we aren’t able to deposit for some reason. In that case, we were able to send the check to their P.O. box for deposit.
- Free savings transfer: when you have savings accounts with Capital One, you can easily make transfers from your checking account to your savings account, and visa versa, free free and immediate transfer! We use this several times a month, which I’ll explain more below.
Multiple Savings Accounts
I’ve gone into detail of using multiple savings accounts in a blog post here. With Capital One we’re able to make this all work seamlessly between accounts with automatic transfers from our checking account to our savings accounts. As I explain in the blog post, we have savings accounts for things such as:
- Car insurance and tabs
- Gifts
- Emergency Fund
- Monthly Surplus
- and more!
I go over exactly how to set up these additional savings accounts within the linked blog post so I won’t go over it again here. It’s really awesome how it all works, though, and again, it’s all FREE!!
Capital One Credit Card
You can also get a Capital One credit card with your checking account, where you can earn points on everyday purchases. This has been great for us, and especially nice to have the checking account, savings accounts, and credit card all under one login! We mainly use our credit card to earn points that we use for cash back every month.
If you’d like to open a Capital One Quicksilver Credit Card, you can do so here with my affiliate link: Sign up for Capital One Quicksilver Credit Card. Even if I didn’t have a referral link, I would refer you to this card.
Here are some things I love about it:
- 0% Fraud Liability – if your card is lost or stolen, you aren’t responsible for any charges you didn’t make
- Auto Pay – If you want, you can set up auto pay so you don’t even have to think about paying your credit card bill every month
- Account Alerts – Proactive account alerts that will alert you if something seems off, before you even notice it
- Authorized Users – it’s nice to be able to add my husband as an authorized user. He has his own card and number so we can see who spent what, all on one easy-to-read bank statement.
- Virtual Card Numbers – this is one of their great security policies to make sure that your financial information is safe on any external site. Instead of using your normal credit card number, you can use a virtual card number, i.e. alias, on any shopping site, just as you would a normal credit card. This way your account information is safe with you and if something does happen, your whole card won’t be affected, only that one virtual card number.
- Card lock – if you think your card number has been stolen, you can easily place a card lock within the Capital One mobile app or website.
- Credit Report – With CreditWise from Capital One you can monitor your credit report and credit score easily! Even better? It won’t hurt your credit score!
- Various Credit Card Rewards – We tend to use our credit card rewards for cash back either to our card or checking account. You can also get travel rewards, get gift cards, use your rewards to shop on Amazon, transfer your miles to a travel loyalty program, and more!
- Travel and Retail Benefits – no foreign transaction fees, earn extra rewards when you book through Capital One Travel, exclusive Capital One offers, Capital One Shopping which automatically applies coupon codes when you’re shopping on external sites with a browser extension, access to Capital One lounges, and much more!
Using Credit Cards Wisely
Seeing as I’m recommending a credit card above, I do want to take a note to remind you to use credit cards wisely.
- Pay off your FULL balance each month so you don’t get charged interest
- If you aren’t able to do this, then don’t spend money on the card. Interest fees for all credit cards are crazy high and not worth paying. If you don’t have the money, don’t make the purchase.
- Use the credit card for purchases only when you know you can pay the bill off in full to avoid being charged interest.
- By doing this, you get to use the credit card for free, build your credit score, AND earn rewards!
Throughout my parenting journey with 3 kids on a single income, I have become an expert in living comfortably within our means without feeling restricted and I will help you do the same.
I'm a former school psychologist who left my career to stay home with my children, hence the one-income family and needing to adapt to that mentality while still living comfortably.