Does UFB Direct Bank give a bonus?

[terry1156]

I see that <A HREF="http://www.ufbdirect.com">UFB Direct</A> is now offering a 3.20% rate. Since this isn't as good as EmigrantDirect APR at the moment, I don't think I'll open an account UNLESS they give a bonus of some type. Does anyone know if they give bonuses for opening an account?

[markber]

I see that UFB Direct is now offering a 3.20% rate. Since this isn't as good as EmigrantDirect APR at the moment, I don't think I'll open an account UNLESS they give a bonus of some type. Does anyone know if they give bonuses for opening an account?

You can possibly get a $125 gift certificate from GiftCertificates.com if you redeem sign-up 17000 AA miles from UFB Direct and 1500 AA miles from Points.com on Points.com website. It will cost you ~$10 so your final bonus will be only $115. See the following post for more info.

Mark

[terry1156]

Interesting. Have you done this?

I have a couple of questions.

1) To claim the Billpay 5000 point bonus it says that you need to keep $1500 in the account (not only the $200) to get it for free:

<i>Paying your bills from your Checking account is easy. Just enter the name and address of the company or individual you would like to make a payment to, or choose from the list of companies and addresses we provide. Enter the amount and click submit. The name and address is stored for any payment you desire to make in the future.

* Online Bill Pay is offered free of charge to customers who maintain a $1,500 checking balance.</i>

But I couldn't find the charge if the account balalnce was lower than $1500. Do you know what the cahrge would be? Since there is a 12 month requirement to get this bonus, bill pay fees could possibly wipe out a good chunk of the money.

2. Since 5,000 miles are dependant on the direct deposit for opening a savings account and 5000 for direct deposit for the checking account and you can't do both direct deposits at once, is there any problem switching the direct deposit from one to the other account after three month required period?

[genchan]

I have some interest in this bank. I see that they have raised their interest rate to 3.3%so it's even ahead of Emigrant Direct now. The problem is that Bankrate has them marked as "underperforming" Does that mean I should be worried about my money if I put it into that bank?

[tke248]

What UFB is offering is not the same type of accounts as ING or Emigrant, its a money market account which I thought means you can loose money, someone correct me if im worng!!

[genchan]

Originally Posted by tke248

What UFB is offering is not the same type of accounts as ING or Emigrant, its a money market account which I thought means you can loose money, someone correct me if im worng!!

ING is a savings account, Emigrant Direct is a money market account.

[msanto]

Originally Posted by tke248

What UFB is offering is not the same type of accounts as ING or Emigrant, its a money market account which I thought means you can loose money, someone correct me if im worng!!

Yes, there are differences between savings accounts and money market savings accounts, but what you're thinking of is the old money market accounts that mutual fund companies sell. Those are not FDIC insured. All of these (Emigrant Direct, UFB Direct, ING Direct) are FDIC insured, so you can't lose your money.

[UFBDirectRep]

I am a Marketing Director at UFBDirect.com. I will be happy to answer any questions that you might have concerning any of the deposit products offered on UFBDirect.com. I’d also like to take this opportunity to inform you about our May special. We will automatically deposit $25 to all new accounts opened and funded in the month of May with a minimum deposit of $200. I’d also like to remind you that UFB Direct offers an APY of 3.30% for money market accounts, which is the highest rate in the country according to www.bankrate.com (5/9/2005). I look forwarding to fielding your questions. Feel free to visit the site at www.ufbdirect.com or call Customer Care at 888-580-0049.

Sincerely,

Joe Leibrandt
Marketing Director
Affinity Financial Corporation
Joe.leibrandt@affinityfc.com

[2moretrees]

Originally Posted by UFBDirectRep

I look forwarding to fielding your questions.

How long does the $200 have to remain in the bank? Are there any penalties if withdrawn early? Any possible fees if certain criteria aren't maintained?

[UFBDirectRep]

Your deposit of $200 must remain in your account for 120 days or you will be charged a $30 fee.

Thanks,

Joe

[al0061]

As we 'speak', I'm in the process of trying to open a UFB account, to get the great rate and the bonus, in spite of BankRate's 'below industry standard' rating.
I couldn't find any reference to the length of time the funds must remain in the account, so thanks for that information, UFBRep. You might want to have that added to the website, with the 200 minimum deposit info.
The bonus is only during the month of May, so if you're putting it off, don't.

The site is nothing like ING (darn) or Emigrant Direct (Yippee). You can't link an account to the UFB account from the UFB site. You can from your own bank's site, according to the Customer Care rep. (She was very nice, and only somewhat helpful.) After applying, your initial deposit must be either mailed (they have ties through Mailboxes Etc. for free 'mailing' of deposits') or initiated online from another account.

After the application was completed, I was taken to a questionnaire page, similar to Emigrant or ING. I can't remember which. When I saw these questions on Emigrant/ING, they were surprisingly correct, such as 'You had a loan in XX month/year. Who provided the loan?' The questions on UFB are so far off base, it actually worries me, and prompts me to check my credit report again. After answering None of the Above to all of them, I am still waiting for their system to finish processing my answers. (The system is 'powered by Equifax'. I'll be checking my credit info with them.)

Still waiting for the 'reply' from the questionnaire. I might have to give up.

Anyway, That's my experience so far, with trying to open this account.
I'll keep you posted.

Any advice, UFBRep?
Anyone else have any experiences to share?

Torch - aka al0061

Edited to add: Hi Genchan. The EmigrantDirect account is actually listed as a savings account, not a money market.

I'm still waiting for the questionnaire response...Not a great experience, on the account-opening front.

[al0061]

Update on this morning's experience.

Well, after waiting about 30 minutes for the response, I had to give up and get ready for work. I did try logging in with my selected user name and password, and that didn't work. I tried getting to the application page again, and I got a great big 404 error.

I just called Customer Care again, and they said I was in their system, in 'review status' and that I should get an email in two days that will allow me to login and start the process of funding the account.

At least I didn't have to re-apply. That would have been annoying.

Torch - aka al0061

[al0061]

Latest update, if anyone's interested.

I got the email from UFB on 5-12. I can log in now, and see my zero balance. I struggled with choosing a method for funding the account. I decided to try sending it online from my bank account, by setting UFB up in my payee list. Since I'm leery of this 'not really an internet bank' situation, I decided to send only the minimum 200 required for the bonus, for now. That will go up if this is successful.

I did learn something useful in the process. After I logged in, I was amazed at the general icky-ness and non-functionality of UFB's website. The links didn't work properly, and it was just very frustrating to use.

Then it hit me. I use Mozilla Firefox as my browser. I tried it with Internet Explorer, and it was just fine. The links worked and it looked better.

Not intending to derail the thread, I strongly recommend using Firefox or another browser over Internet Explorer. I've been using it for most of a year now, and I don't get ANY spyware or viruses to slow down or damage my computer. I still run the spyware finders and have antivirus, but they never find anything. My computer runs as well as the first day I turned it on. (I built it myself to save money, and it's really, really fast.) And Firefox is FREE and really easy to install and really easy to use and has more features than IE and it's so much safer. (sorry. love the thing.)

But I digress.
I'm not a programmer, but I work for a small software company and work closely with programmers every day.

Every single one of them tells me that when they create a web page, or a web application, they always program it for usability in Firefox, because if it works there, it works everywhere.

UFBDirectRep, with the current trend away from Internet Explorer, (Microsoft is down to only 90% market share as of last week, from 99% last winter) I would suggest that you recommend to your company that they update the website to work properly on Firefox and Opera.

Well, anyway, back to the UFB thing. So I'll let you know when the deposit gets there, and how it goes.

So far, so good.

Torch - aka al0061

[terry1156]

Torch,

Thank you for your detailed comments about the process. If the UFB who guy posted in here comes back and didn't do so only to promote his company, you've given them a lot of valuable information on how they can improve their system. They'd be stupid not to follow up on it.

I haven't signed up yet and wanted to know if you feel it has been worth the trouble? I can tell from your post that it won't be an easy process so after having come this far, would you do it again for the $ or spend the time doing something else?

Also, I whole heartedly agree with the firefox browser comments.

[al0061]

Hi Terry,
I'll know better when my 200 gets to its destination, but overall, and Firefox notwithstanding, it hasn't been that bad, if you don't object to making a couple of phone calls to find out what's what. And I have to blame the Firefox situation for my initial sign-up problems, for lack of proof otherwise. (Although the same type of questionnaire elsewhere worked just fine...hmmm.)

What makes me 'iffy' is that you can't link it to an account for internet transactions. Being a semi-geek, I do most things by computer, so this is an important feature for me. As long as this transfer from my bank to UFB works, then I'll call it good enough.

For lesser-geeks, they do have the free Deposit Mailing feature through Mailboxes, Etc., but be aware that it's done via UPS Ground and requires a form each time. The forms are printable from the website, as are deposit slips, if you're mailing funds in any way.

They say I'll get a free ATM card, and deposit slips in some sort of new account package, although I don't have any details yet.

I'll keep you posted (so to speak) when my funds get there. If you do decide to give it a go, don't use Firefox, or you'll get the same sloppy impression that I did.

It's a shame though, because Firefox has made my Internet experience so much better, I hate using IE for anything. (I've also built a small Linux box, so I can learn the ins and outs of a Linux OS. Trying to gradually move away from Bill. There's definitely a learning curve there, even for semi-geeks, but all the software is available for free!! Love it, so far.)

Torch - aka al0061

[al0061]

Well, the 200 made it safely and quickly to UFB and I received an email notification of the fact yesterday morning. (Didn't have time to post about it yesterday.) Checked online and there it was.

Checked this morning, and they've made 100 of the 200 available. Interesting. I wonder how long the 'hold' on the rest of the funds will be. (Not that I'm thinking of withdrawing anything. It's staying right there!) I also wonder when the bonus will be credited. I'll keep you posted on that.

So, despite the Firefox issues, this has seemed very easy and quick! Very quick! 5 days from start to 'funded'. Doing it online through my bank was a good idea. I just made sure to include the routing number And the account number in my 'payee' file.

Now I can move more money over. I'm waiting for my first interest payment from ING before I move money around.

Hmm. Something just occured to me. Since there's no linked account, I wonder how I'll get money out? Maybe I'll find out more about that before moving more money in. I'll want easy access for emergencies. I'll let you know.

Torch - aka al0061

[mehmeh]

i read on another forum, that u can get the money out by opening a ufb checking account as well. it's also the same minimum, no fees deal as most of these internet banks, as of now.

so basically, transfer it from savings to checking and withdraw it with a check to urself ..

[al0061]

Thanks, mehmeh. That's an idea.
I've sent an email to UFB's customer service with a few questions. Asking about withdrawal methods is one of them. Another is about when the 25.00 bonus will be credited. And I asked if they send a new account package, and what it might contain. I'll let you know what they say.

In thinking it over, for me, the 'no linked accounts' thing could prove to be problematic. I don't want or need another checking account. No matter what, I think the process will be worth it for the bonus, but I'm rethinking putting more funds in this one for the overall small increase in return over Emigrant and ING, and their genuine ease-of-use.

Live and learn.
Torch - aka al0061

[UFBDirectRep]

I've received some personal e-mails asking about the May promotion, so I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify my previous statement. Each customer is only eligible for one $25 bonus. You wouldn't get $25 for each new account you open. Existing customers can fund one new account each to get the $25 bonus, and it can't be a transfer from an existing account.
There is a $30 fee for withdrawing funds before 120 days have expired.

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

[al0061]

I received a reply to my inquiries to UFB Customer Service. Here is the text of my inquiry and the reply. (By the way, I did it through UFB's 'Bank Mail'. Nice that they answered right away, within a day. And they 'addressed' me formally, by name. A nice touch.)

Inquiry
To Whom it May Concern: When does the $25 bonus get credited? Also, since you don't have 'linked' accounts through your site, could you please outline the ways one can make withdrawals? I don't plan on taking money out, but I do need to know how it can be done.The site is a bit unclear about the details of some stuff. Will I be getting some sort of package in the mail? I saw mention of an ATM card. Is that for all accounts or just checking accounts?Thanks for your help

Reply
Qualifying accounts will receive the bonus once the promotion has ended (May 31). You may make withdrawals on the account via an ATM card (automatically ordered), by requesting a cashiers check (free) or wire transfer ($10 fee on domestic wires). You should receive the welcome packet in about 7-10 business days. If there is anything else we can help you with please let us know. Sherry Customer Service

Torch - aka al0061