Battling bank fees

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Along with higher credit card interest rates, tighter credit standards and tougher penalties on late payments, your bank fees are hitting record highs. Gerri Willis is here with top tips on how to avoid getting ripped off.

It's not only the overdraft fees we all know about. But one of our sources says he was hit with fees just for using his debit card too often. We're not kidding. We'll get to that later.

Let's start with the bounced check fees. They're hitting new highs according to a survey by Bankrate.com. These fees climbed 3 percent since last year to a record high of over $28.

As we all know ATM fees are out of control. The fee that ATMs charge non-account holders has also hit a high jumping to almost $2 in the past year. In fact, major banks like Bank of America and Wachovia have increased their ATM surcharge recently to $3.00 in some areas.

If you have an interest-bearing checking account at a traditional bank, watch out. Those fees are ratcheting up higher too. You'll have to plunk down 60 percent more for a minimum deposit. And that monthly service fee is at $12 according to Bankrate.com. And believe us, that interest rate at about 0.3 percent is not going to get you anywhere.

To avoid high fees on your checking account, go online. A lot of Internet banks are offering free-interest bearing checking accounts. You could earn as much as 4 percent in some cases.

You may also consider look at non-interest checking accounts. The average balance requirement and monthly service fee is much lower. In fact, in many cases, non-interest accounts don't even have any fees or balance requirements. You can compare rates at Bankrate.com.

It's getting harder and harder to avoid getting hit hard by these fees. Rule number one: go to your own bank's ATM. If you belong to a smaller community bank, ask whether the bank has other ATM alliances with other banks or credit unions.

Check out Allpoint Network. This is a surcharge-free ATM network that partners with credit unions, internet banks and smaller community banks across the county. Go to allpointnetwork.com and see if your bank is part of the network.

You may also consider using a debit card and asking for cash back when you make a purchase. And of course you want to plan ahead. Remember, those ATMs in airports, casinos, hotels and restaurants generally have higher surcharges.

That source we talked about discovered those fees for "overusing" his debit card on his statement. He requested that the bank waive those fees. And guess what? It worked. And it can work for you too. To avoid fees like these, you'll need to get your bank's schedule of fees. It may be on the bank's website.

HINT: you can check for it by typing in "fees" in the search box. If you can't find that schedule of fees, call the bank and find out says John Ulzheimer of Credit.com.