Citibank sent customers a letter informing them that starting in December, they’re raising monthly fees on checking accounts, in some cases by double.

EZ checking will run you $15 a month, up from the current $7.50 a month. Previously the fee would be waived if you kept a minimum balance of $1,500. That threshold will increase to $6,000.

The monthly fee on basic checking will go from $8 to $10. The minimum balance required to get rid of it is $1,500, or signing up for direct deposit and online bill pay.

Premium accounts remain a $20 monthly cost, but the minimum balance to waive it will go up to $15,000 from $6,000. That amount can be the total among all Citi accounts, like investments, mortgages, and credit cards.

Reader Andrew’s girlfriend just got notice of the fee increases and she’s none too happy about them. “She’ll be signing up with University Federal Credit Union here in Austin tomorrow,” he wrote, “and closing her Citibank account.”

Despair not. Instead of charging you on the back end with debit card transaction fees to merchants that ultimately get passed on to you in the form of higher prices, Citigroup is forced to roll the costs into the checking accounts’ upfront landing prices.

Here’s the full letter from Citibank:

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