USAA VS Community Bank VS Credit Union

[Denny33142]

I know this topic does not have anything to do directly with credit but since this forum is so helpful i thought i would ask it here anyway.

I have been Banking with Wells Fargo for the past couple of years and i now want to move to another bank because they are going to start charging $7 a month for even their basic checking account, It is not really about the money (which is not much) but more of a moral reason, i think it's ridiculous that a bank wants to charge you for holding onto your money.

So i have been looking around and have found 3 possible candidates:

USAA: I have heard nothing but high praise from this bank, they offer free checking regardless of balance.

Ocean Bank: This is a community bank that only has locations in south florida, the advantage of this one is that its not a big bank but still has a lot of branches around my area, they offer free checking regardless of balance.

Dade County Federal Credit Union: This is my local Credit Union, I have not researched too much about them but have heard that all Crdit Unions are good.

What do you guys recommend? All i really want to do is go to a bank that is not constantly looking for new ways so gouge money for their customers.

[DaveSignal]

USAA = best bank ever.

I am also a member at NFCU, but only for their credit cards.   USAA has the cleanest looking website of any bank I have seen.  You can access ALL of your accounts from it, whether USAA or not, and see balances, recent transactions, pay bills, all from the main 'my accounts' page.  It is so easy and fluid.

You can deposit checks simply by taking a picture and uploading it.  Available balance increases immediately on your checking account.

Customer Service is great and has helped me with anything I have ever asked for.

All ATMs are free.   If another bank's ATM charges you, USAA will refund the charge to you.

There are NO CHARGES for anything.  I can not remember ever having been billed any kind of fee for anything.  

There are many other benefits, but you will see when you sign up what I am talking about.

USAA is the best!

[greeneman21]

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@DaveSignal wrote:

USAA = best bank ever.

I am also a member at NFCU, but only for their credit cards.   USAA has the cleanest looking website of any bank I have seen.  You can access ALL of your accounts from it, whether USAA or not, and see balances, recent transactions, pay bills, all from the main 'my accounts' page.  It is so easy and fluid.

You can deposit checks simply by taking a picture and uploading it.  Available balance increases immediately on your checking account.

Customer Service is great and has helped me with anything I have ever asked for.

All ATMs are free.   If another bank's ATM charges you, USAA will refund the charge to you.

There are NO CHARGES for anything.  I can not remember ever having been billed any kind of fee for anything.  

There are many other benefits, but you will see when you sign up what I am talking about.

USAA is the best!

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+1, I wholeheartedly agree with everything said, ATM refunds are generally within 48-72hrs. Also my direct deposit showed up hours before my old credit union used to. Their app is by far the best banking app I ever seen or used.

On the main page, I have my renter's insurance, auto loan, my checking, savings, CC's, including Discover's account info, right there on one page! its great, the customer service is 2nd to none, even better than Discover's imo, which says alot. Also if you ever move, your banking will almost not be affected vs going local.

[greeneman21]

Oh let me add,  if you miss the local branch, don't. USAA allows you to do online what local branches force you to pay a visit. Example, you can create and change your debit and CC pin#. Also you can choose your CC due dates, initiate a check stop payment, request cashier's check to be mailed to you for a nominal fee $3 i believe, also take a pic of a check and they instantly credit your account. A unique feature is you can xfer $$$ to any account for free, I link my credit union to my USAA checking to xfer $ back and forth (free of charge). You should really give USAA a try, their customer service is open late.

[greeneman21]

One last note they also give various "pre-approvals" and notify you of those products (also check the "offers" tab). When you first sign up they do a soft pull of your EQ file, their pre-approvals are legit, not some trick to get you to apply just to decline you.

[marty56]

I don't have any info on USAA but I do all my banking and loans thru a local CUs rule!

[Denny33142]

I went ahead and opened an account with USAA, it only took about 5 mins to open that account and depositing the money was extremely simple, i also like that the savings account actually offers a decent interest rate.

Unfortunately i don't think i will be able to take advantage of the mobile phone deposit since the requirements to be eligible seem to be pretty steep, considering that they advertise the Deposit@Home so much it should just be included with the checking account.

Either way i have only had the account for 1 day and i am already seeing a massive improvement over WF, considering how easy it was to open the account i should have made the switch long ago.

[DaveSignal]

I think maybe you need to be able to qualify for one of USAA's credit cards to get the deposit@home.  I'm sorry I forgot about this pre-requisite.  But you are not far from that.  I bet if you got your EQ up to where your TU and EX are, you would qualify.

[Anonymous]

I've definitely been thinking about moving to USAA, but Ally has also caught my eye.  Has anyone had any experience with Ally?  Ally's savings rate is 0.84, which is quite a bit higher than most any other bank out there.

In regards to USAA, you don't have to be a full member to bank with them or apply for CCs do you?  And what exactly are the qualifications to be a full member? My dad served in the army, but he doesn't actually have any services with them.  Would he have to sign up for at least a savings or checking account/CC in order for me to qualify for full membership, or would simply having a parent that served qualify me for everything?

[DaveSignal]

USAA membership requirements