Not necessarily. It turns out that when I called a number of banks and spoke to employees about it, each bank just had a different fancy names for their checks, no matter what kind of checks they were. The name was either a cover-up for basic checks — usually green, yellow, or a ‘delicate, pastoral’ blue–or similarly unnecessarily elaborately named designer checks–which really just means checks with pictures of Looney Tunes characters, Harley Davidson motorcycles, or very scenic…uh…scenes? (These are all postmodern gestures by the check-printing companies à la Richard Prince, I’m sure.)

The amount by which designer checks cost more than the basic checks depends on the bank and the check-printing company, and you might find it worth it to drop a couple extra dollars for the check set with beautiful mustangs. (One of the customer service agents told me there was only a $4 price difference between them, so “why not get the Disney checks?“)

Here’s the “Checks Name Rundown,” the result of conversations with a number of people at banks that offer free checks with at least one of their accounts. At the end of the day, I realized that even though there are a number of different check-printing companies, their offerings are nearly identical across banks. I also remembered, warmly, why I never use checks–because “delicate, pastoral” blue just isn’t my style. (The following links go to accounts with free checks at each bank.)
 

Check’s Name Rundown

 
- It turns out “safety” checks offered by Susquehanna Bank are actually safe. They’re printed in such a way that any solution that dissolves the ink on the check also leaves obvious traces, disallowing some forger from turning a check you wrote into a ‘blank check’ and sending a large amount to his Swiss bank account. Disappointingly, this is par for the course–a standard feature across all checks–so while it’s a legitimate “safety” precaution to have checks as cool-sounding as “safety” checks, they’re virtually identical to Beneficial Bank’s “Wallet Checks” and to Fifth Thirds Bank’s “custom” checks (which is just a misleading name for standard checks, if you ask me).

- There are two style-types of issued checks–”single” and “duplicate” styles. A “single”-style checkbook is a book of only checks, while “duplicate”-style checkbooks provide carbon copies of checks for your records. This recording technology is spectacular compared to anything–except for, of course, online banking and how it records debit card transactions automatically. (Sorry, had to go there.) Single style check names run the gamut from “wallet-style stock checks,” at Banner Bank in Walla Walla, WA, to the ever-so-fancy “basic check”, at RBC Centura in North Carolina.

- The number of checks in an introductory packs of checks can vary greatly. An “introductory” set of checks from Harris Bank include a whoppin’ 125 checks, while the “initial” checks at Bank of Internet and “starter” checks from 1st National Bank of Texas each include a measly 50 checks. If first impressions really are everything, Harris Bank would definitely be taking me out for dinner and a movie tonight.

 
The only check type that really sounded great to me was the “standard” check offered by First Tennessee Bank, but I couldn’t tell whether or not the customer service agent was excited about the check design too (pinstripe borders!) or just trying to lure me into buying them. Either way, I’ll have pinstripe-bordered checks stuck in my mind all night as I drive my Harley Davidson down to Disneyland.

Many banks today advertise ‘bonus options’ for their accounts that are already industry standard. If you’ve been the customer of only one bank for sometime, you may not know that other banks already offer account features that advertise as ‘new and free!’ or ‘coming soon!’ Here’s a list of features that are virtually industry standard. If your bank doesn’t offer these features, or if they advertise them as “NEW FREE” features, you may benefit from checking out a new bank. Chances are if your bank is behind the times with that feature, they’re are a number of other features that a better bank could offer you.

 

“Free Debit Card!”

This was a great discount when debit cards were first issued in the 70’s, but at this point, so many bank customers use ATMs and commit electronic transactions that most banks will lose customers if they don’t offer these. Still, many major banks charge card holders for debit cards. Make sure they’re not slipping in that $1 monthly fee without you knowing!
 

“Free Online Banking…!”

While initial skepticism about the safety of online banking kept many away, online banking now has an unprecedented amount of security. But it isn’t free for banks to offer online banking, so the question is: should it be free? Again, the bank wants to keep your service, and to do so, it must offer great features. Most major banks at this time do offer online banking where you can check your balance, transfer money between account, and export your account data into tools like Quicken or MSMoney. And all of this for FREE.
 

“…And Free Bill Pay!”

While bill pay is more complicated and expensive for banks to offer, there plenty of banks that allow you to schedule bill payments for free online.
 

“Free Introductory Checks!”

That initial offering of free checks is benefitical to you and to the bank because it familiarizes you with and gets you into the habit of using checks (which you’ll later have to buy). You shouldn’t have a problem finding a checking acconut that offers a free introductory box of checks. And many premium accounts come with free checks for the life of the account!
 

“Free Rewards Program!”

Many banks offer rewards programs for items like digital cameras, airline milage, and cash back, but the benefits of the program don’t need to be great. ANY sort of rewards program, (even one where you could earn points only toward porcelain toasters) can be called a rewards program. Make sure you know what you’re getting into with a free rewards program–while they can be good advertisement for the bank, a bad program is easy for a bank to offer.