Moving out of state -- what do I do with my bank account?

I know that I at least have been able to deposit to my parents' Oregon BofA account from just over the border in WA. It is possible, and that was a few years ago; I'm sure they've tidied it up even more since then.

Oh, and I've changed the billing address for my BoA debit/ATM card as well (I don't actually get physical statements anymore, but for online purchasing and things of that sort) without any issues.

I opened my checking and savings account in CA and subsequently moved to CT and then IL. Although I've never changed the (CA) address on my checks, I've deposited money in both CT and IL bank branches and have had direct deposit in both states to my BoA checking account with ever having any problems.

Also, one interesting thing is I already have a separate online account that I got when my mortgage became BofA (via Countrywide). If I login to that account, I get a totally different interface than I get when I login to my main online account. I can see my credit card info from that account, and my mortgage info (obviously), but not my checking and savings. When I login to my main account, I can see all of my accounts including the mortgage. But I've been to afraid to try actually manipulating the mortgage from that side of the fence. In any case, more evidence that WA really is still on a separate system. The interface for the other system does seem better. But I'd live with the older one for convenience.

Thanks everyone. Great info. Yes, I can (and will) ask at the branch, but I almost never go into the branch and I wanted to get an idea of what to expect ahead of time...

Ohh... Your mortgage and credit cards will be unaffected. What will happen when you log into the website, you'll see a new checking (and savings if you have the keep the change) show up. You'll need to redo the billpay to take money from the new account.

When I moved from Texas to California in 2009, I was told by BofA I could just fill out the change of address online and order a new box of checks. And that worked quite well for a few months. Then I made a check deposit in an ATM and "something happened" where the check got lost. When I looked a the ATM receipt there wasn't an acknowledgment of the deposit into my account (but the scanned copy of the check was there). Since I've made thousands ATM deposits over the years I was shocked and unsure of what to do. So I went to the bank with the ATM and asked them. The branch manager said that they don't manage the ATMs and that I needed to call a number and get it taken care of. She let me call from her office. The number she gave me was the California number which didn't have my account details and they had to transfer me to the other 800 number. To the bank's credit, they immediately credited my account for the amount in question ($1000) to investigate. Back inside the bank, I asked the manager is I should move my account to BofA of California so that these things wouldn't happen again. She told me that for most transactions, there's no need switch however she did say that paper checks presented to a teller may take more time to process (check deposits made from the ATM went from same night, to 72 hours after I moved, but I didn't know if it was for that reason or the person sending me $. Cash ATM deposits through those ATMs that take cash w/o an envelope were immediate). She said that BofA California is on a different system than the rest of the country (as well as WA and ID were separate than CA and the rest of the country). I went online in early 2010 and opened a BofA California account and funded it immediately by doing a transfer from my BofA Texas account. In fact I kept both accounts open for months while I was changing the autopay and direct deposit stuff. I ended up closing the Texas account since it was beginning to charge me a fee each month because I was no longer getting direct deposit. When I called to close the account the woman helping me that a purely unified BofA was "coming soon" but that they had been saying that for years. It was her last day and while on the phone she reversed the monthly charges they'd assessed on me (that I didn't ask for). It has been a pleasant experience. HOWEVER, the computer sees you as a brand new customer and so they will place holds on new checks for 72 hours for a few weeks until the computer no longer sees you as a risk. Since then, the checks I've deposited have been available to me the next day (but the receipt says the funds are available immediately for debits that post that night) TL;DR: For most transactions, it won't matter too much. But if you do in-person banking with checks and need faster access to the money.

Even though you can totally keep your Washington account and continue using it, it is a pain in the neck every time you go to the bank, because lots of tellers will be confused and won't know how to handle Washington accounts, and it will take them forever to figure it out. Depending on how unfamiliar with Washington accounts they are they might even deny that you have an account/that you are giving them the right number and you will have to convince them. And they won't have the right deposit slips for you, etc. So, you don't have to change, but just go ahead and see if you find it to be a pain. If so, it's not hard to just make a new account.

When we moved from WA to OR three years ago, we did have to get new accounts because we were told that WA was different than other states. They told us they closed the old ones, but they didn't, and we found out a few months later that we'd been charged a monthly "service fee" that put our (old, allegedly closed) bank account more and more negative, until it was sent to collections. AND, two more attempts to close the old account didn't work either -- they would say it was closed, and then we would find out it wasn't, and we were still in collections. We finally had to get BoA corporate headquarters and the state attorney general involved. We are no longer BofA customers.