Posted on 04/19/2020 5:10:36 AM PDT by paladinkc
Hands down Ally is the best internet bank. It has a 5 star rating with Bauer, and is all around excellent in terms of interest rates, easy-to-use website, good customer service (with no 10 minute phone wait times) and no fees for transfers.
A lot depends on what you do most frequently. Do you need hi-limit ACH transfers, hi CD rates or the ability to use any ATM machine with no fees? Ally will probably win out on most of these transactions.
I just switched from a “big bank” to a local credit union because of banking fees.(haven’t received the first fee from my credit union)
Called around before the switch asking about fees and one National Bank told me if I put in too many deposits/amounts in one month I would be charge a % of the amount deposited - REALLY - no one would use that bank.
Good luck.
If you are a veteran, USAA.
I use PNC. They don’t charge fees as you describe, and have a fairly intuitive internet and phone app system.
I’ve heard good things about USAA.
As far as banks go, it depends on your lifestyle. For example, if you travel a lot internationally, BofA is going to be a lot better bet than Wells Fargo. If you travel a lot domestically, look at the bank’s footprint. If you are Mormon, avoid BofA - last time I looked, they had no branches and only one ATM in the state of Utah. If you stay local, a local or regional bank is probably going to be better than a multinational.
Know your pattern (checks? online banking? direct deposit?) and look for accounts where the fee structures minimize costs for what you do.
If you have less than $250k in the bank, deposit insurance is generally going to be the same across the board.
USAA insurance is also great. When I have I anyone pitch insurance to me I say we have USAA, and their response is always “OH. Nevermind. We can’t compete with them “
Seriously, any veteran should be with USAA.
Yes, I wish I qualified for their insurance. I did disaster loans for a while. It was always a fight explaining to the person needing the loan what they needed to tell their insurer to get to me so I could get them their money. Had one with USAA. The guy with USAA got on the phone with me, he understood what I was saying, got me what I needed in the way of documentation, and we got that one wrapped up very quickly. Much less pain for their customer who didn’t have to be the middle man on the discussion, made my day easier, and an unexpectedly pleasant experience.
free checks?
Ally Bank and CIT Bank are both very good.
For regular people’s regular use, credit unions are better than banks most of the time. A lot of them can do inter-credit union transactions, so you don’t have to go to your own credit union to get cash. I have been to my own credit union maybe three times in the last 20 years. Sometimes I have lived in a different state even. I did notice yesterday, though, that these inter-credit union transactions don’t seem to be available right now.
Huntington Bank! Have been excellent for the 20 years of my business!
We have at least five accounts at the before mentioned bank and there are multiple transfers each month.
No fees.
Our local S & L is no different than any bank in town and it’s loan rates are really not competitive.
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