Best Banking Options (Savings/Checking)?

[MB2714]

Looks like you should try Lake Michigan. Credit Union,but they do a hard pull.But does one inquiry really make a difference? As long as your not applying for a bunch of credit it only impact score for 12 months and is removed after 24.

[OptimalFICO]

Here are some more actual email and chat responses:

"edited An Interest Checking account can be opened online or by calling the Contact Center. Since you are an existing customer we have your information on file which will be used during the application process."

"edited: For any Ally Bank account that is applied for, we do perform a credit check, but it is a soft inquiry, rather than a hard inquiry.  That is, it will take several soft inquiries to affect your score."

"edited: In response to your e-mail if you open a interest checking account or a money maket account there is a hard hit aganist your FICO score.  The credit score could be pulled from any of the three credit reporting agencies."

Via Online Chat:

I spoke with an agent who said Ally would perform a hard inquiry to open a checking account, even though I am an existing customer with a savings account, cuz it would be considered a new account. BUT, if I only wanted to open a second savings account or CD, this would only entail a soft pull.

Upon asking which credit reporting agency the hard pull would be from, she replied it could be from any of the three. I asked her to double check all of this, she returned to the line and advised Ally would do a hard pull from all three credit bureaus!

Another agent upon my second try asking which credit bureau the hard inquiry would be from replied that it would be from two of the three credit bureaus!

[OptimalFICO]

---

@Kalamazoo2714 wrote:
Looks like you should try Lake Michigan. Credit Union,but they do a hard pull.But does one inquiry really make a difference? As long as your not applying for a bunch of credit it only impact score for 12 months and is removed after 24.

---

Thanks for the suggestion. We are members with Alliant and PenFed, but wanted the Ally checking account for other reasons. One unnecesary inquiry could make a diffrence right now since we are actively looking to buy a home and my fiance's FICO scores are borderline between rates. So we need to manage inquiries very carefully in case we end up choosing a conventional loan. One or two points can make a difference between rates in our circumstance. We have to move temporarily so will have a hard inquiry from cable company. Also, once we get an offer accepted, we will be shopping a few other lenders before finalizing funding. Because we have no control over whether lenders code the type of inquiry correctly so that all the inquiries will count as one, we have to be very careful because any resulting change to FICO scores could result in a different interest rate which could make a difference of thousands over a 30 year fixed term loan. We don't absolutely need to open the checking account right now, so are not willing to take the risk if it will result in a hard pull (potentially to all three CRAs). It's just frustrating and very poor business not to be able to get an accurate, consistent answer that can be trusted.

[jsucool76]

---

@OptimalFICO wrote:

Here are some more actual email and chat responses:

"edited: An Interest Checking account can be opened online or by calling the Contact Center. Since you are an existing customer we have your information on file which will be used during the application process."

"edited: For any Ally Bank account that is applied for, we do perform a credit check, but it is a soft inquiry, rather than a hard inquiry.  That is, it will take several soft inquiries to affect your score."

"edited: In response to your e-mail if you open a interest checking account or a money maket account there is a hard hit aganist your FICO score.  The credit score could be pulled from any of the three credit reporting agencies."

Via Online Chat:

I spoke with an agent who said Ally would perform a hard inquiry to open a checking account, even though I am an existing customer with a savings account, cuz it would be considered a new account. BUT, if I only wanted to open a second savings account or CD, this would only entail a soft pull.

Upon asking which credit reporting agency the hard pull would be from, she replied it could be from any of the three. I asked her to double check all of this, she returned to the line and advised Ally would do a hard pull from all three credit bureaus!

Another agent upon my second try asking which credit bureau the hard inquiry would be from replied that it would be from two of the three credit bureaus!

---

That's priceless. I've never heard anyone say too many SPs would hurt your score. 

[BigBS]

Realize this thread is a couple of years old, but thought I would add for those that may be interested that LMCU rates are still at 3%.  I talked with them this morning about opening an account and whether an HP would be pulled.  The CSR confirmed that an HP would be pulled from TU (only CRA they deal with).  Once approved for membership no other pulls are necessary even for future account opening - additional membership requests (family member, etc.) would require an HP.  I think I may join seeing that the rate is at least 2 years old and have the HP done in the event that I buy a house next summer and it would have fallen off.  The 3% beats the .85% that AMEX is giving and I thought that was pretty good in today's economy.

[Anonymous]

The LMCU 3% is a reward checking account, meaning that you need to do 10 debit card transactions a month to qualify.

For some people this is a really good deal, for others perhaps not.

[VirtualCuriosity]

---

@BigBS wrote:

Realize this thread is a couple of years old, but thought I would add for those that may be interested that LMCU rates are still at 3%.  I talked with them this morning about opening an account and whether an HP would be pulled.  The CSR confirmed that an HP would be pulled from TU (only CRA they deal with).  Once approved for membership no other pulls are necessary even for future account opening - additional membership requests (family member, etc.) would require an HP.  I think I may join seeing that the rate is at least 2 years old and have the HP done in the event that I buy a house next summer and it would have fallen off.  The 3% beats the .85% that AMEX is giving and I thought that was pretty good in today's economy.

---

They will HP you even if you do not complete the app.  I understand that you have to check the box to allow them too after you put you info in, but I saved the app for a later date without hitting complete while comparing another CU and they pulled the TU report.  After a few conversations with customer service, I realized that the sarcasm and lack of the small local bank feeling made it easy for me to tell them to disregard the account offer.  My emergency liquid savings isn't intended to make money, I have accounts for that.