Recommend a bank for checking

Recently married and looking into opening a joint checking account with the wife in the BR area to set up mortgage drafts, utilities, cable, etc. My current checking account has perks like refund of fee charges for ATM withdrawals and reward points for using the credit feature of the bank card. I need to open a local account to handle the few physical transactions (cash, deposits) we incur. Looking for recommendations for folks in the BR area who have had good experiences with local banks, specifically with regards to checking accounts, and the qualities that make it advantageous.