I’m finally moving my banking away from a big corporate bank. I’m not normally a boycotter, but over the years not only has that bank tried to ruin the rest of the country, they’ve also made a noble effort to screw me, personally, so there are macro and micro reasons to go through the pain of moving accounts.
I looked at the local credit unions and locally-owned banks, but finally decided to move to USAA. USAA started as an auto and property insurance program for military officers, but it has expanded over the years into a full-service financial services company. You need to meet eligibility requirements to buy auto and property insurance from them (and if you do, check out their rates), but their bank is open to everyone.
As with all their other services, the bank has been a pleasure to deal with, both over the phone and via the Internet. Somehow, even though they have no shareholders and redistribute profit to members, which means that they should be withholding their productivity, they manage to do a better job than corporate banks.
R-Jud
mistermix, your first link (“eligibility requirements”) is FUBAR.
Benjamin Cisco
I just switched as well, and concur with your assessment.
soonergrunt
Your “eligibility requirements” link goes 404.
And yes, USAA is an awesome service. They also have a new car buying service that can save a member quite a bit of money. I bought a 2010 Ford Focus SE through the service and saved $4,700 through the program. I paid slightly over dealer invoice, and the whole deal was done in less than an hour.
mistermix
Fixed the link, thanks for the heads-up.
PeakVT
USAA is definitely one of the
goodbetter guys in the financial services industry. I have no complaints about its service and I’ve been a customer for 22 years now.JPL
I’ve been a long time USAA member because my father was retired military, I was allowed to tag along. They give rebates up to $15.00 a month for ATM fees and I think they were the first bank that allowed you to scan in your deposits.
I hope that you are as satisfied as I am with their services.
OT..Did anyone watch Williams on GMA? I had tuned him out but heard him say as a black man, I think NPR was trying to find an excuse or something to release me. This is not a quote but it sounded like he played the black card.
joe from Lowell
I love my local bank, which has never bought, sold, or owned a mortgage-backed security.
Bobbyk
which means that they should be withholding their productivity
Why is this necessarily so?
kommrade reproductive vigor
Smart move. Go small, go local.
John S.
Credit unions rock. When my wife began teaching a couple years ago, we switched to Brightstar Credit Union which was founded by Broward county teachers.
Their online banking sucks, but their service and rates are great. I have an auto loan and my credit card through them along with a checking account. Bank of America and Chase can kiss my ass.
DecidedFenceSitter
I got in thanks to my father serving and being on his insurance in my teens.
Now my mortgage, home insurance, car insurance and banking is with USAA.
I’ve never had a problem, and even when my debit card got used inappropriately they put the hold and called me to check.
JimF
I joined Navy Federal Credit Union when I was enlisted and have never left. I can recommend them as well. They are more restrictive the USAA however. https://navyfederal.org/about/eligibility-checklist.php
Phyllis
I’m lucky (in a way) to belong to both USAA & Navy Federal, due to my late husband. Both are great, and both were so wonderful to deal with after his death.
USAA car insurance rocks, btw. They have a benefit where if you need roadside assistance, just call their 800 number, tell them where you are, and sit back. Someone comes to tend to you, no paperwork, no follow-up phone calls, nothing.
Carol
@JPL: Williams is ridiculous to the extreme. I have heard more black leaders and more African leaders on NPR than I have everywhere else, and for far longer. And NPR covers the whole spectrum of our lives-not just the controversial ones such as crime and drugs, but obscure authors, the Harlem Renaissance, and social issues from top to bottom.
You haven’t mentioned Community Banks. I deal with one, (Northside Bank) and they have been wonderful. They handle the mortgage for my condo conversion, and are reasonable with me when it comes to that. They hold my mortgage, and everything is safe and secure that way.
Go local with your food, and go local with your money. They both taste better that way.
stuckinred
I’ve been with USAA for 30 years, not because I’m a vet but because my dad was a Navy Officer. I have all my insurance and a couple of mortgages with them. Years ago my x hit a kid on campus that just walked out in front of her. We were concerned and went to the hospital and it turned out he was ok (even though his head went through the windshield). USSA took over and we basically never heard another word. I do keep my primary banking with a small local bank after finally dumping BofA last year.
stuckinred
@Phyllis: We locked ourselves out of the car in the middle of nowhere in Southern Va on a Sunday and USAA had a guy there in 30 minutes. I tried to give the tow truck driver a little xtra and he would have none of it!
Michael
I’m a 20 year USAA customer. Top class banking, really great car insurance rates, so-so on homeowner’s insurance rates (but fairly decent on homeowners’ claims service). They’ve also got a professional lines brokerage for products they don’t offer themselves, with a nicely competitive rate structure.
The homeowners’ rate thing is more likely related to their companywide geographic spread in the Southeast, which is going to result in a somewhat higher incident frequency due to weather.
I recommend them highly.
MattF
Good for you, it’s time I did that. I moved to the DC area about 30 years ago and signed up with a local bank– they were the only ones who would take my traveler’s checks and start an account. After six (six!) buyouts by larger and larger banks over the years, my accounts are now part of the Wells Fargo ‘family’– and it’s probably time to start over.
bob h
Presumably they are not members of the Chamber of Commerce?
Brendancalling
I moved my money to a credit union after tolerating TD Bank’s abuse for way too long. I love it: the rates are better, and I have twice as many free ATMs (in Philly, ATMs at Wawa convenience stores are free, and nationally 7-11 ATMs are free for credit union members).
evap
As I posted in the previous thread, I am a long-time credit union member and I love it. They are friendly, helpful, offer good rates on mortgages, credit cards, etc. And because they are non-profit, they have no incentive to abuse you. Mine is through work (attached to the university I work for), but I think it’s fairly easy to find a credit union you can join.
Carol
Credit Union Locator
singfoom
Another USAA member. Nothing but good things to say about them.
Suck It Up!
So just to be clear, the “Other Individuals” link on the site is for people with no military connection whatsoever?
Rommie
I open a Credit Union account a few months ago when I got my new job, and now I’m *trying* to close my regular bank account. They make it as hard as they can, of course, so they are going to make me yell into the phone eventually. Feh.
That bank account was a local bank when I opened it in the dark ages, but after 3 mergers, it’s in the hands of Big Evil. I lived with it until they decided recently that I was going to have to pay them to hold my $$$. [play Price is Right failure sound]
Herb
The best part of USAA is that I can DEPOSIT CHECKS WITH MY iPHONE! Still so happy about this.
Nick
I’ve been a USAA member for 10 years. I can’t say enough good things about them.
As an Academy grad they offer a career starter loan that is ridiculously inexpensive ($24,000 at 1%, payments start once you graduate and have that military paycheck), that allowed me to pay off some debt, buy a car, buy my class ring and set up my first investments.
There’s a novel business concept: a $24,000,000 investment by USAA gets 1000 new customers every year, treat those customers well and grow your customer base.
Big banks should take a message from them and learn not to piss all over the customers.
Pat
“Top class banking, really great car insurance rates, so-so on homeowner’s insurance rates (but fairly decent on homeowners’ claims service).”
I have auto, property, and personal property with USAA. Having lived in Florida and watching Katrina insurance situations, my key question is – if I have a problem, what company do I think will pay? I’ve always felt more likely to get a fair shake from USAA compared to others. Not sure if it’s true or not… But it’s their reputation.
The iPhone app to take a picture of a check for a deposit sounds awesome.
https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=deposit_at_mobile_main
I’ve had NFCU for over 15 years now. Father in the Navy. Mortgage and banking. Used to be hard to find ATMs, it’s a lot better now.
Always great customer service.
mistermix
@Suck It Up!: Yes, I’m in USAA because my Dad was a member, so I don’t have experience doing banking as a non-member, but it says that you can.
@others: On the “bank locally” angle, my take is that being a USAA customer helps them give members of the armed forces a fair shake with their financial service needs. Nothing against credit unions or community banks, which are also good choices.
Johnny B
I grew up in a small town in southeastern PA. I am lucky to have a bank formed in the 1860s which is independent and locally owned. The service is great, and there are no shanigans. Best part, the bank was formed to provide financial support for the Union army in the Civil War. So, in my own way, I feel I am still supporting efforts to defeat the Confederate Party.
I strongly recommend finding a locally owned bank, rather than one of the multinational banks run by the banksters.
ChrisS
Thanks for the tip. I was a member of Keesler Federal Credit Union when I was active duty, but I wasn’t a huge fan of their remote customer service when I got out. However, in the meantime, internet banking has progressed to the point where I don’t need the brick and mortar bank so much. As a veteran, I think USAA will beat the snot out of Bank of America when it comes to providing customer service and not being, well, evil.
Angela
@Brendancalling: I just moved to Philly; what credit union are you using?
AnnaN
We switched our bank accounts over to USAA about two months ago when our local Colorado bank started applying bullshit fees and playing fast and loose (after ten years) with time lines on charges vs. direct deposits.
We have had USAA as our car and home insurance for 15 years and love them. We’ve had only three claims with them over the years and they responded promptly and efficiently on all accounts. And those end of the year disbursement checks aren’t huge, but a nice surprise nonetheless.
Good choice, mister.
TXSMR
We’ve been w/USAA for years. Got a quote from a local Allstate agent (gave in to the telephone badgering, bad), it was great, but as I said to my husband, who knows how long that rate would last? Neither of us would dream of leaving USAA for Allstate, State Farm or any other large insurance entity that has a proven record of screwing its customers regularly.
We bank only w/credit unions (for checking, savings, mortgage). Our goal is to have only credit union & usaa credit cards (my fault that we’re not there yet, I admit it).
One of the nicest things about USAA is that they are able to give us the same great rates in other countries for vehicle, renter’s insurance, etc., EXCEPT Canada.
So, if you have to flee the country, provided Joe Miller & teabaggy pals have not erected a cold-war-era fence to keep us in, you can get the same great USAA benefits anywhere except Canada. Flee to Mexico (which may shortly become safer than the US) or elsewhere. Start building a raft that can make it to Haiti or something.
MaryKate
We had USAA for years because my husband’s father had been in the Army (as a dentist)–loved the banking, mortgage, insurance, car buying, everything. Then my husband left and I thought that USAA would kick me to the curb, but actually I get to keep my accounts, inc. the car insurance (although apparently if I remarry I’ll have to get car insurance elsewhere). They were extraordinarily helpful with the whole creating-new-accounts and dealing with all the financial nightmare of the divorce–even had financial planning specialists talk to me about “have you thought of this, and this” etc etc. Wonderful people. And I deposit checks with my Android phone!
Michael
@Pat:
I think you absolutely get a fair shake out of them on claims service. My auto claims and solitary homeowners’ claim 10 years ago were handled very well.
My whining about the rate on my homeowners’ coverage is only due to the fact that my area experienced significant increases (even though I didn’t have any claims) related to weather events in Fall ’08 and Winter ’09. I’m advised that those increases will roll back for the next renewal.
Lurker
I’m working on cutting big banks out of my life, too. I’ve heard good things about USAA, but right now I’m switching to Alliant Credit Union for their high-interest savings, checking and health savings accounts. Their network of 80,000 ATMs doesn’t hurt, either. :-)
Carol_V
Thanks to my veteran father, I’ve had USAA for 25+ years for auto/property insurance, and used their banking for about 5 or 6 years. I also have to use a local bank because local merchants occasionally get pissy about checks from non-local banks, and the difference in service levels is a daily revelation. The local bank is clueless, uncommunicative, and has a Web site that’s mediocre at best (and don’t get me started about the credit union’s execrable, barely usable Web site). USAA is clear, courteous, and with a world-class Web site and user interface for managing all your accounts. They also pioneered user agreements and legal documents written in plain English instead of legalese.
someguy
Pretty good service if you can ignore their right wing politics and financial services fat cat ties.
Er, I guess it’s okay, I mean, so long as they show me the money…
MaskedBandit
Also a USAA member (due to my father’s service) and fan. I’ve only got one complaint: USAA really dropped the ball on the deadline for when we closed on buying a house this summer. It took them several additional days past closing to get all the figures right and wire the money to the seller’s mortgage bank. In Utah, you don’t get the keys until the money is sent and the county clerk verifies and records the transaction, so we couldn’t start moving in as expected. Fortunately, we had a month-long overlap between our rental contract and the house closing, so it wasn’t too onerous. The terms were really good, so a burp at the beginning is nothing to cry over.
In 2004, a 100-year hailstorm came down over Socorro, NM, and I watched my new, 2-month old Honda Element get smashed by soft-ball hail. While the initial damage estimate was $10k in damages, the total turned out to be above $14k, as every exterior panel was dented, the windows smashed, and the exterior plastic trim destroyed. Fortunately, USAA handled it all without complaint (I had total coverage for the new car).
The insurance agent was initially leaning toward declaring the car totalled, but decided against it. It probably would have been easier if they had. I have traumatizing images of my “naked” Element from the repair shop, all panels removed, leaving little more than an exposed gasoline-powered platform with seats.
JMC in the ATL
I use USAA for my banking, but I do not have a military connection, so I cannot be a full member.
As an important FYI, the remote / photo deposit feature (I.e. Taking a photo of your check by smartphone or scanning and transmitting by phone) is only available to full members. The rest of us need to mail them in or use a USAA ATM, which don’t really exist outside San Antonio.
In terms of customer service They rock
different church-lady
OK, I’ll say it: “That bank” is Bank of America, right?
FeFiFo
I switched to a local credit union when local banks kept screwing up my account (including not depositing my deposits) and have never had a problem. In fact, when I purchased my house about 8 years ago, the loan officer worked with me to improve my credit rating before she put the paperwork through, and got me a better (and fixed) rate. My CU also doesn’t sell their mortgages to any third party. Credit unions are one of the few financial institutions I still put my trust in.
mikeyes
AARGH!!
You let the cat out of the bag, now everyone will want USAA service.
Like the others, I have been a member for a long time and use them for virtually everything. I am not aware of any political bent to their services but I do know that no one can match their costs or services in the insurance end of things. We also use them for financial services and have never regretted it. Because the members are also the owners, we usually get a nice check at the end of the fiscal year.
None better.
Mnemosyne
I keep thinking about switching to my company’s credit union, but I’m reasonably happy with my smallish regional bank (it’s only in four states: California, Oregon, Washington and Texas) that’s owned by a Japanese company.
There are persistent rumors that it’s going to be taken over by one of the big banks and if that happens, I am outta there and my money goes into the credit union.
El Cruzado
NWFCU and as happy as I can be with them. Recently refinanced with them. They service the mortgage for the duration and it’s owned 100% by Freddie.
I figure having the money where the Agency folks do means it’s gonna be safe. I got in by friend referral, of course.
catclub
If you have checked money market account interest rates, you will find they are about 0.08% – far less than 1%.
There are a few accounts – look carefully – I found Gulf Coast Cummunity Federal Credit Union – but there are others,
which have a 3.56% checking account for balances UP TO
$25,000 if you use their debit card 12 times a month.
Is it worth it? 3.56% of $25000 is about $800 but you have to remember to use the debit card.
Why these limits? I am not sure. I figure this keeps rate jumpers out so it is relatively stable money.
Holden Pattern
Went with my local CU a few years ago when BofA bought Capital One, which in my view converted them to the kind of pure undiluted evil that killed Tasha Yar.
They do sell some of their mortgages through to Fannie or Freddie, but they retain the servicing obligation, so you always deal with the same people. And it’s actually pretty hard to find anyone who doesn’t sell some or most of their mortgages through to Fannie or Freddie.
Probably going to move my primary credit card over to them next year, and away from the giant evil bank where it is now. I don’t pay interest — pay everything off every month — but I’d rather a local outfit got the transaction skim.
I do wish they had the scan&send deposit feature though — that would be very handy.
colleeniem
Just another member of USAA chiming in on the chorus of its awesomeness. I wish that more people could join. Just a heads up though, there are no local branches, but mail and internet services are first rate.
fbihop
I’m a member of a locally-owned credit union (since I was 16 thanks to my dad). I have always wondered why anyone would put any money into a big bank instead of a credit union. Is there any advantage to being in Bank of America vs. a good local credit union?
Anonymous At Work
John,
WTF?! The scandal here isn’t that BoA sucks but that you were eligible for USAA and didn’t use it. My dad got me in the door and I don’t do anything except through them, including rent cars (hint: best way possible, so many fees/traps removed).
Justin
I’ll give a shout out here to Johnson Bank, with whom I banked when I lived in Wisconsin. Never a bad experience, pretty complete online banking, and when I was there, no fees for any sort of transaction involving a machine.
Redleg
LOL! I switched to USAA for all my banking stuff early this summer. I have been a member since 1987 and have liked their services.
TOP
I’ve told everyone I talk to (about insurance, which, sure, I don’t do every day) about how USAA is the most fantastic company I’ve ever dealt with. A big ‘amen’ to everyone’s praises for the company.
I have always been pleased with them whenever I’ve had call to deal with them–seriously, there’s a level of quality to their employees in customer service that cannot be matched elsewhere.
I had a situation several years ago where my car was broken into; the agent I dealt with actually went out of his way to find more money for me on the payment–he started suggesting possibilities that I hadn’t initially thought of, and got a bunch of work related losses covered, to the tune of an extra three to four hundred bucks, with no questions asked other than my word.
A really great company, and I am so grateful to be eligible through my Navy dad.
DaddyJ
Yep, big fan of USAA. They’ve never tried to screw us, unlike other big financial institutions we’ve had dealings with.
I would really like to be able to go back to thinking about banks as dull, stodgy institutions and bankers as dull, stodgy, cautious people. But maybe that was never really true.
maus
USAA is great, I love ’em. It would be nice to have a local branch for cash deposits, but everything else is pretty sweet.
eponymous
I’ll add to the kudos for USAA as I’ve been a member for almost 25 years. I haven’t really taken advantage of their banking services, but I use almost everything else (credit card, auto insurance, and home insurance). No problems whatsoever with claims and I’ve had several with my vehicles over the years (and more recently when severe weather damaged the roof on my home).
dcdl
Bank at a local credit union and have a credit card with them and one with USAA. Have never had a problem with USAA. Love the rates.
Zuzu's Petals
I use USAA for all my insurance, but didn’t go with their financial services because they’re rates weren’t super great.
My son uses their banking services and swears by ’em, even though it seems a bit of a hassle to deposit money.
I went into their office building a few years ago, and they had a sign posted in the lobby to the effect of “No tank tops, shorts, and flip flops will be tolerated. We dress professionally and we expect our clients to do so as well.”
The military vibe … it runs deep.
ETA: I must say I also don’t care for the occasional message I get about legislation they support or oppose. I guess a lot of insurance companies do it, but I resent having my premiums go to pay for that stuff.
Zuzu's Petals
@mistermix:
My dad joined in 1937 when he lived in San Antonio, and so had one of the lower membership numbers.
USAA started up in the ’20s when a small group of San Antonio Army officers got together and decided to form a type of mutual benefit auto insurance company…that is, they all insured each other. In those days military members had a hard time getting a decent rate because they moved so often. It grew really fast.
JoyfulA
@someguy: My husband is a big fan of USAA; me, not so much, especially after I got that missive from the CEO urging me to contact my congressman in opposition to proposed new financial laws.
JRon
Smaller the bank, the better the service, fees, everything. I have never once heard of an exception to this rule.
@Zuzu’s Petals: Reminds me if when our Blue Cross rep came talk to us about our premium increases and instead lectured us on why we should oppose the health bill.