Bank alt: extra storage and a trader in the capital

A bank alt is a character that never leaves a capital. Your main mails it everything that is not needed right now, and it stores, sells and crafts while your main keeps questing. It costs nothing but a character slot.

When it is worth it

• Your bank is full of materials for a profession you level later.
• You sell on the Auction House more than once a week.
• You want to keep quest items, reputation turn-ins or holiday items for later without carrying them.

If none of this applies yet, wait. A bank alt you never use is just another character to log into.

Which city and race

Pick a capital where the bank, the Auction House and a mailbox are close together: Stormwind or Ironforge for the Alliance, Orgrimmar or Undercity for the Horde. The race does not matter, the walk does. Create the character, walk it to the bank in the starting zone’s capital, and log out next to a mailbox.

The bank alt must be the same faction and the same ruleset as your main, otherwise you cannot mail or trade.

Professions on a bank alt

A bank alt can learn two primary professions like any character. Useful pairs:

• Tailoring + Enchanting: turns the cloth your main sends into bags and disenchants the greens you cannot use. Only items that can be mailed can be disenchanted there; soulbound items stay with your main.
• Two gathering professions are useless here: the bank alt does not travel.

Levelling a crafting profession needs trainers at higher skill ranks, and some need a minimum character level. A level 1 bank alt can start, but plan a few levels if you want it to go far. See the profession pages for trainers and skill brackets.

A routine that takes five minutes

1. On your main, before logging out: mail tradeable materials, spare greens and anything for the Auction House to the bank alt.
2. On the bank alt: collect the mail, sort the bank, post auctions for what sells (see Auction House), craft bags or disenchant.
3. Mail gold and the items your main needs back, then log out next to the mailbox.

Do it once a session, not after every quest hub. Running back to town to sell is time you are not levelling.