Tired of paying money to get your money?  Fed up with having to locate ATM machines that are part of a certain network?  Commercial banks are making a killing by loaning out our hard-earned cash many times over, oftentimes without offering more than a fraction of a percent interest to their account holders.  And it's not enough to simply loan out more cash than they have on hand, now you're also penalized for withdrawing from a different ATM.

That's how most major commercial banks operates these days.  Many of the larger, well-known banks don't even offer any interest on their checking accounts.  I find that to be very surprising because ever since I had a checking account with AmericanBank, I've been getting at least 3.00% annually.  Also, I've never paid a single ATM surcharge fee despite withdrawing cash from every obscure ATM across this country.

Let me tell you how this works.  I'm going to try and sell you on this idea because it's a sweet deal for the both of us.  At the end of this, without ever having to open your wallet, we'll both end up with more time and more money; it's a total win-win.

I especially recommend this deal for anyone considering their own bicycle tour.

Here's the scoop:

In 1999, I signed up for a free e-checking account at the newly-founded, locally-owned AmericanBank in Allentown, PA.  Since their headquarters is also their only banking location, they had to dream up some creative incentive programs to both attract and retain their customers.  These include free foreign ATM withdrawals, making easy deposits from any location, and earning many times more than the average interest rate on your account. 

Free cash withdrawals from *any* ATM wherever you might be

Since the bank only has one physical location, withdrawals made from any other ATM in the world would normally cost the customer a buck or two.  To overcome this problem, AmericanBank has decided to simply refund the foreign withdrawal fees to your account.  This means that as a customer, I can walk up to any ATM anywhere in the world, make a withdrawal that costs $2, and the next day I will be refunded that $2 into my e-checking account.  There are no member banks to hunt down or little symbols to locate to see if an ATM is in your network or not.  This makes life convenient, especially when you're always on the move.

Earn many times the average interest on your checking account

How they accomplish this I can only guess.  Somehow, when the rest of the country earns about a 0.40% annual interest rate on their checking account, I am earning 3.00%.  As rates change over months and years, this trend remains the same.  I have to assume this is just a result of low overhead, absence of advertising, the efficiency of small business and lack of powerful corporate greed.  Whatever it is, it's a nice bonus at the end of every month when I see I've earned infinitely more interest I used to with Wachovia -- they currently offer zero percent interest.

No more errands going to the bank.  Ever.

Since 2001, I've lived in New York, New Jersey, Oregon and nearly everywhere in between without ever having to visit my bank.  Making deposits and opening accounts can be done from the comfort own your own home, or bicycle if you'd prefer.  When you sign up for an account, AmericanBank sends a bunch of pre-posted and self-addressed envelopes along with deposit slips to you.  Whenever you need to make a deposit, just fill out a deposit slip, sign your check, and drop both of them in the mail.  In a couple days, the money will be deposited into your account.  When you need more envelopes, login to your account online and say, "Hey, I need more envelopes," and voila, they send you more.  I haven't been to the bank in years.

The Refer-A-Friend referral program

This is the one that makes both you and I some easy money.  If I refer you to the bank and you sign up, you get a free $20 and I get $40.  This is the whole idea here.  If all the rules pertaining to the Refer-A-Friend program are followed, we both get paid.  The one rule that needs the most attention is the one that states that your new account must maintain an average balance in excess of $500 for the first 90 days before either of us get paid.

Aside from those bonuses, the customer service is outstanding.  When you call the bank, you get real people instead of an automated voice.  Their website, pcbanker.com, is simple, secure and straight-forward.  You can view all your accounts through the web, sign up for free electronic bill payments, request a free check card, export financial data, print reports, or whatever else you might need to do.  The only time I've ever paid any fee of any kind was when my balance averaged under $1000 and they charged me a $5 maintenance fee. Also, there are a couple easy but important rules to follow for the foreign ATM surcharge refund:

• The bank will refund a maximum of $6.00 over the course of one month
• Your average daily balance must be in excess of $1000 to qualify for a refund

I've been using this bank for nearly ten years and I love it.  It's easy to understand how advantageous it's been for me while on the road and I encourage anyone who wants to save money or go on a long bike ride to sign up as well.  

Instructions:

If you're interested, allow me to refer you and get some free cash out of this deal.  All you need to do is supply me with your email address and we can get rolling.  Once I have your email address, I can log into my account and refer you.  When I do that, AmericanBank will send you an email saying that you've been referred.  In that same email, they will supply all the instructions necessary to get you signed up for a free e-checking account.

Please fill out the form and let me know if you're interested.  In the message box, just supply a brief explanation of why you'd like to sign up for the account -- convince me that you're legitimately interested. It may be a couple days before I can check my email and pass the information on to AmericanBank, but hold onto your horses and it'll be worth the wait!

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