Banking, aka being an adult...-any new bank suggestions?

"Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras" (jegoingout)
08/17/2019 at 10:37 • Filed to: None

I’ve had TD Bank since...well forever, hell before they were even TD in New Jersey and were still Commerce Bank. Anyway, I’ve had my fair share of issues with them recently and have considered changing banks. I’ve done some late night homework and came to several conclusions:

1. I rarely use my debit card, most purchases are just out on my credit card and immediately paid off.

2. I never carry cash on me these days

3. If I ever get some spare cash for some reaso , I usually just toss it in my cars cup holders as gas money.

So I started looking at online checking accounts like Ally, but don’t know a single soul who has one. Any one on here have one? Any other suggestions for a new bank?

DISCUSSION (25)

BeaterGT > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 10:41

Also in NJ, switched from TD to PNC for those free Wawa ATMs. Charles Schwab for backup/international use.

AestheticsInMotion > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 10:44

I’m a huge proponent of online checking accounts, and currently have three, plus my credit union. It’s set up like a waterfall.

First pool at the top holds $500 and gets 7% interest. That’s the credit union.

Then the cash flows down into the next pool and earns 4% interest on the first $4000. That’s T-mobile checking.

The final pool is with Redneck Bankin’ (no I’m not making the name up). They give me something like 3.5% on up to $ 20,000.

I also used CIT bank for awhile, but wouldn’t recommend them despite good rates because of their awful app and web UI.

If you’re a T-mobile customer, please sign up for T-mobile checking. Their app is better designed than any bank app I’ve ever seen, the customer support is fantastic, and everything works seamlessly. They give you a debit card too. Unfortunately you can't get the 4% unless you're a wireless customer.

Redneck bankin is good too, but they make you jump through some hoops to earn the high interest rate. The always live help is a nice touch though.

Any questions in particular?

Spanfeller is a twat > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 10:44

I’ve been looking up N26; it’s got really mixed reviews

Under_Score > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 10:47

I have USAA everything because my parents do. It’s easy to use, but since I got the Discover, I haven’t used my debit. Just treat the Discover like a debit and you’re good.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 10:48

I don't know if they're in your area, but I've done most of my banking with BBVA Compass for about the last 10 years or so and been pretty happy with them. They've only managed to piss me off once in that time.

vondon302 > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 10:58

Credit union.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 10:59

I stick with a regional chain for my banking but really it’s just a receptacle for my direct deposit. I live off my credit cards and just pay them off each week, so the only transactions out of my checking account are rent checks, CC payments and cash withdrawals. I can manage everything through the app/online so I never even have to set foot in the bank.

Nibby > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:16

just give all your money to me. setup your direct deposit from work into my checking. you’ll never have to worry about money aga in!

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:20

We use PNC for our brick and mortar bank since their app is generally fine and the have locations all over should we need a branch or ATM. We have a credit union account but they aren’t super convenient but its nice to have one if you want to use any of their services.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:20

I know ‘ big evil corporation’ but I’ve had nothing but positive experience from Bank Of America, perhaps it’s just the local office which is great.

My brother uses Chase, and they have some really good credit cards which we both use . He uses Ally for savings and being an online only bank hasn’t ever been a problem .

For Sweden > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:25

If you travel internationally, Charles Schwab has a checking account that charges no foreign exchange fees and refunds all ATM charges. It's incredible.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:31

Local credit union.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:49

I’ve used Charles Schwab since about 2010 and have never even considered another bank. Being an online bank, I have difficulties obtaining more than $1000 in cash same day. But that’s not something I do frequently so I have workarounds when needed. Anyways, the international ATM fee reimbursement and no fees for any international purchases are great. Sure I have credit cards with no fees but I like having a debit card that way too. Just because cash in foreign countries is usually nice to have and very easy to get via an ATM. Schwab are also the most friendly people to call for sure! I’ve never had a single issue and sing nothing but praise for them. I even earn interest on my zero balance, zero fee required checking account. I’ve actually finally run out of checks from the batch they gave me at the start just from paying rent so I might have to buy some.

For savings I use Barclaybank since they have 2% interest also with no balance requirements. I also have checking with USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union but I don’t use them. Mostly just backups since they were free and I have other products with them. Also great customer service with those. I hate traditional banks as you can see!

Fun fact, with the ATM fee reimbursement I once got back $30 or something at the end of the month due to a trip to Vegas. Those damn atms charged $8 per transaction. I didn't worry about it though since I knew I get all of it back.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:53

I use Capital One 360, which was originally ING Direct. It’s cool because they inherited the ING rules. The only problem is when you really need to get a lot of cash out, as the ATM limit is only $1000.

facw > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 11:55

I have Charles Schwab as my primary bank. Their interest rates aren’t as good as other online banks (to the point of being basically irrelevant today), but they reimburse ATM fees which is super convenient.

If you are never using cash, you might look for something that pays more interest (though if you are looking to earn money, any checking/savings account is going to be a terrible investment).

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 12:11

Big proponent of having at least one credit union account, can’t go wrong.

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > AestheticsInMotion
08/17/2019 at 13:33

I had no ideal a wireless carrier would have a banking service. Is it actually FDIC as t-mo or are they contracting through another bank and splashing their name on it? Either way, sounds interesting but I'm not a customer with them, went to Google Fi for wireless.

Grindintosecond > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 13:33

It wouldn’t hurt to start looking at some local credit unions and the like. Good ones don’t sell home loans off to wholesalers and note collectors such as Wells Fargo but keep the money local and use it in the local economy. Unless you get a VA loan and then those tend to get sold off no matter what. As adulting comes on stronger, those things will matter and when you need to talk in person about what you need for a home mortage, loans, etc, it matters being able to walk in and talk. So check that option out. They’ re generally competitive as well.

Old Red Wagon > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 13:40

I use USAA for my checking account. I never use my debit card, only if I need to withdraw money which is extremely rare. Use my credit card for most purchases as I get 2.5% cashbacks with every purchase. That’s also with a USAA credit card.

I was using Ally for a few years as they had a pretty high yield interest savings account. Ally has been great but recently moved the bulk of what was in there to a Wealthfront savings account. Has a 2.32% interest rate. No minium to get that rate and no monthly fees. I’m starting to look into investing as I’m trying to get a bigger return but still doing lots of research.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 14:02

I use Navy Federal. Now this may not be an option for you if you weren’t in the service or don’t have a family member who has been, or aren’t a government employee. However I would look around at credit unions.

There are many advantages including interest bearing checking with no minimum, money market savings accounts with higher interest rates, very low loan rates on cars, mortgages, etc., and some good credit card options. Oh and they refund a chunk of ATM fees (up to like $20) each month if you use out of network ATMs. They issue Visa debit and credit cards and are part of the Co-Op network, so you get free transactions at Co-Op ATMs, which include 7-Eleven, so its very very easy for me to find a no fee ATM.

And they are pretty low hassle - remember, banks are for-profit institutions, credit unions are member owned so there isnt a need for them to try and sell you more crap.

Again, you may not be eligible for Navy Fed, but Id look into other credit union options.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > For Sweden
08/17/2019 at 15:31

Many CCs do this and would be a better choice in case of fraud... Although no foreign exchange transaction fees are also nice for ATMs when you get cash.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/17/2019 at 15:38

A little added info on why it’s cool: You need credit to open an account, but they have no overdraft fees and only charge a relatively low APR on overdrafts up to the limit. The APR is crazy high compared to when it was ING, but if you run slightly over by keeping that checking balance really low, it’ll only cost you a tiny bit. This is how almost all European banks work to my knowledge. I think I’ve paid less than a quarter in the 15+ years I’ve had accounts with them.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2019 at 15:45

Avoid Bank of America. We got rid of them as a bank , but then our mortgage was sold to them and we had to deal with them again. We tried switching to two payments a month and they “didn’t know how to apply the second payment” and then charged us late fees because the normal once-a-month payment wasn’t the full amount. The b astards told us the only way we could make payments twice a month was to call them after the payment was made and tell them to apply it to the mortgage.

We were super happy when the mortgage was sold to another company. I guess we were too much of a pain in the ass for them to deal with.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/17/2019 at 15:49

We also have a couple local credit union accounts that came with my wife that we keep at the maximum balance to earn the peak returns available and use the checking when we need substantially more than the ATM limit with some advance notice ( Capital One 360 will bump your limit and their ATMs will issue whatever your limit is at their cafes if you’re lucky enough to have one. For a long time they only had two of them - one in NYC and one in Los Angeles - before opening one here in Bellevue, so there was no way for me to withdraw more than local ATMs would allow before that... ).

For Sweden > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/17/2019 at 15:55

Definitely just use it for ATMs and not general purchases