Comments on: Yay or nay overdraft protection?

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:07:29 +0000

I work at a credit union and we do the same mentioned above. The checking is backed up by the savings or line of credit first. We also offer members the opportunity to opt out of the ODP program if they wish.

By: mike d

mike d — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:59:59 +0000

Ditto on the credit union for me. Mine has a reasonable limit on the number of times they’ll cover you with your savings account (or line of credit, if that works better for you), something like 4 or 5 a month. After that I think you get charged, but that’s more than reasonable. I think it’s covered me maybe 5 times in the 9+ years I’ve had the account, but it’s totally worth its weight in gold.

By: Hillary

Hillary — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:28:16 +0000

This is one of the many reasons I’m in a credit union - if there’s an overdraft on my checking account, they do an automatic transfer from my primary savings to cover it.

(yes, I know that only works for people who have enough capital to have a savings account, but that’s not the point.)

By: Minneapolis Indian

Minneapolis Indian — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:55:35 +0000

Opting-in is always preferable. Most people are just too busy to notice what all they are enrolled in, to opt-out. I hate this in magazine subscriptions also. Many of them just renew you unless you tell them not to.

By: LDH

LDH — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:12:29 +0000

I would also prefer being declined…

Best thing I ever did, though, was sign up for ready reserve. A line of credit that charges only interest on the $200 it gives you when you go over your available balance. They have started charging $1 per transfer if the bank flips the $200 over, rather than you initiating it online, but even so, I’ve never paid more than $3 for accidentally going over my balance. I’ll never bank without it again. Not good for people who would actually spend all $200, but if it’s just to cover a check that clears earlier than you thought (or a transaction you forgot to write in the balance book), it renders overdraft protection unnecessary.