When we made the switch to Chase we simply transferred over one of our taxable Ameritrade accounts. For doing that we received a generous cash welcome bonus and all the benefits that come with a CPC account. The biggest one for us is the ability and ease to transfer to other banks with free wires (daily limit 250K). In addition the waived ATM fees worldwide and higher withdrawal limits are great when we are traveling.

Not sure what you mean by “paying a premium for a brand name.” Having our account at Chase doesn’t cost a dime more than Ameritrade and we actually get many benefits in return.

It has been a win-win for us.