Bank of America is going to drop their $5 debit card usage fee based on outrage from everyone. Their statement reads:

In response to customer concerns and the changing competitive marketplace, Bank of America no longer intends to implement a debit usage fee. We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee. Our customers' voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.


Which translates into, "you guys have made too much of a fuss, and we've gotten way too much bad press, that it's in our interest to drop this now rather than be known as the company with high fees." Too bad it will still take some time for their image to recover from this.

Still, if you want to avoid fees, you can join a credit union for free checking, but if you have to use a bank (as many of us do), here are some tips to avoid paying as many fees as possible. There are also other alternatives, like brokerage firms and high yield checking accounts you can look into.


Bank of America dropping planned $5 debit card fee | CNN