Banking Advice - Washington State

[zschwarzmiller]

Hello,

So I have been giving it a bit of research and trying to figure out what I think the best banking system would be for me... And I was curious what others who are into this type of stuff thought of it / had any advice for me that would possibly be better idea!

I have done a lot of research after I realized I HATE BANK OF AMERICA.

I called them to close an account I had no money in and they closed the WRONG account on accident and took OVER 1 month to mail me all the money I had in the account... Bank of America = piece of ****.

Now that we cleared that out, I would like to share what I have found and see what other people may recommend to me:

First of all, I do not have a job and because of this I do not have a 401k, so I have not taken that into consideration at all... (Maybe I should? I am not sure yet...)

I use 3 different banks for different purposes...
1. USAA (Online Financial Institution)
2. Capital One (Online Financial Institution)
3. BECU (Boeing Employee's Credit Union) - Physical Bank Locations in WA State

I opened a BECU account because I live in Washington State and any person living in WA is able to open an account with them. I also wanted a physical location to deposit cash and checks. They are a smaller bank, easy to deal with and fast when calling (aka: no machine for 10 minutes trying to understand what you want). I keep $500 in checking / $500 in savings at BECU because they offer 6% APY on the first $500 in each account. Beyond this your money there is pointless because other banks offer higher interest.

This is where I then move the money online (all accounts are linked). I keep my savings account in Capital One as money I have access too but do not necessarily need to touch... They gave me a debt card but I really have never used it as I don't touch the money unless I need too and then I can just transfer it online. They offer a Money Market Rewards Savings Account which is 1.01% APY (this rate can change at any time, but is typically higher than other banks on average). Also they give you rewards, like a credit card would give based on your daily average balance. I also have a credit card with this bank that I use ONLY when traveling as their credit cards give you 0% foreign transaction fee's which can be quite nice as most banks charge 1-3%. This bank has no physical locations. Do everything online or telephone.

I also use USAA for a couple things... I keep enough money in my checking account as cash that I want to use,... If I use the debt card as a credit card USAA gives me a reward of 1/2% cash back. I do not use the USAA savings account at all as there is no minimum requirement for cash in USAA and their interest is not as high as Capital One. Also one thing that is very nice and convenient about USAA is that they pay for ATM withdrawal fee's out of ANY ATM up to $15. So I have never had to pay to use an ATM with them and I can go to any ATM machine. Nice when home as well as traveling. I also have a credit card with them just to build my credit, I only use it about once a month as there are no rewards. I also use USAA for my brokerage account as they offered 25 free trades as well as $4 trades after that. Other trading sites like etrade cost about $10-13 per trade, that add's up pretty fast! This bank has no physical locations. Do everything online or telephone.

All of the accounts are linked together so I can easily transfer funds between them and they all offer ATM cards so I can withdrawal money if needed.

This is what I have found working best for me thus far... I am curious what anyone thinks who has also done research. If you have any better advice for me please let me know!

Also if there is another place that would be good maybe like a financial form to post this on please let me know.

Thanks!

Zach

[investingnoob]

I also live in Washington state. I've used becu forever and love them. I use Ally bank online for better rates also. I considered getting chase because their banks are everywhere for convenience. But I don't want to deal with the switching.

[kork13]

I use USAA for just about everything. I use other banks (mostly Pentagon Federal FCU and Charles Schwab) for better interest rates, branch locations, or credit cards (Schwab gives me free international transactions and 2% cash back everywhere...that's my primary credit card), but USAA is my primary bank. I route everything through them, get my paycheck sent there, and just parcel out my money online from my USAA accounts as needed. They're flexible and provide outstanding customer service, so even now that I'm living in Japan, I find them very easy to use. Right now I'm securing my car and apartment (I just moved here), and need to provide various companies with payments/deposits of nearly $8000-worth in cash Yen (~¥660,000). One email to USAA, and the next morning (today), they told me I can take it all out of my accounts from any ATM at my convenience. I've never had a bad experience with them, and many very positive experiences.

In general, I would just recommend finding the 1-3 banks you prefer to work with, and do that. More banks = more hassle, IMO. It looks like you've got about a similar setup as I do, so unless you're unhappy with the service you're receiving, I'd stick with what you've got.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

I agree - BofA is the ABSOLUTE WORST!

I too live in WA, and I've always had good experiences with BECU. I also use Ally and HSBC Direct for online savings accounts. They currently offer higher rates than what you're getting from Cap One.

Overall, it sounds like you've got a decent setup for your needs. So, my only recommendation would be to think about opening a new online savings account and moving your savings from Cap One to enjoy the higher rates.

[James00]

Sad to read your experience.

[Ashleywatson]

I am living in Washington state, its really very sad to know about your experience. Do not lose heart there is many other option to deal with just go through online,this will really help you.Best of luck.