Is this a good deal for a checking account?

[iswmle]

So I am thinking about giving BofA the heave ho and going to another bank for my checking services. Surprisingly, as many crappy stories as I have heard about BofA, they have been relatively good to me. Their customer service has always been excellent and I love, love, LOVE their web billpay. The Keep the Change program has also been pretty handy dandy. But I would like a checking account where I can earn some interest or rewards. USAA is out of the question because they are doing away with their rewards program for their checking accounts (of course right after I sign up my boyfriend ).

This morning I was looking at Addison Avenue's/ FTFCU's checking accounts. Here is the link and this is the checking account I'm interested in:

Dividend Rewards Checking

Qualified accounts earn a very competitive dividend rate*
Qualified accounts also earn Free ATM surcharge rebates on out-of-network U.S. ATM transactions*
Free overdraft protection from your savings, credit card or home equity line of credit account
Free Online Banking and BillPay
Free e-Deposit for qualified members**

The dividend rate is 2.05%, but I am not sure if that is a typo. I am going to have to call for clarification. Also, I am unclear how a dividend rate works.

Basically I am trying to decide whether it would be worth it for me to move... I like the idea of no fees for checking, free atm usage, and earning something off my account. I also would love to do more business with AAFCU as they have been so amazing to me.

But I generally don't keep that much in my checking. My savings is immediately moved to my Amex account and that is a large chunk of my check. Does it sound worth it or should I stick with BofA?

[Logan]

iswmle, the account you're looking at is a rewards checking account. I've had one of these accounts at various institutions over the years and I've had an interest rate from 6 down to 3. I changed banks a number of times because the rate kept getting lower on me. I currently have a Danversbank rewards checking at 3% but I'm in the process of closing it because they were bought and I switched to Perkstreet. The thing about interest is you have to pay tax. Rewards from Perkstreet or a credit cad is tax free.
Also, the 2.05% is not that high for these accounts so they may hold on to that rate for a while.
Just a few things, the 2% is usually limited to 25K or less. You must use your debit card for signature transactions a certain number of times (10-15). Each bank is a bit different.
Go with Perkstreet!
Logan