Usaa ?

I have had a checking account in good standing with BOA for over 35 years and even though I could easily set up a checking account with USAA, I haven't done so.
I am thinking I will though afer talking with someone from that co today.
They offer a lot which I have been in the dark about until just recently when my life took a drastic turn. Won't go into the details though.

Any comments about USAA and their free checking and other services ?

[neatdesign]

Re: Usaa ?

I LOVE USAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been a member of USAA since 1991, the year I went to college. I started out with a $500 USAA MasterCard, which my mom cosigned for me so I could have an emergency card at college.

Now, 15 years later, I still have that MasterCard. I also have two free USAA checking accounts (only use one at the moment), a USAA consumer loan, a USAA auto loan, USAA auto insurance on two cars, and a USAA Roth IRA.

After all these years, and having had so many products and services from USAA, I can honestly say, without any hestitation whatsoever, that USAA is hands-down the BEST company I have EVER done business with.

They have absolutely the best customer service there can possibly be. In 15 years I can count only one time that USAA messed something up, and even then it wasn't a big deal and was resolved right away. Any other minor hiccups have been resolved quickly and without hassle or frustration.

I think some people are afraid to bank with USAA because it is not set up like a traditional bank -- that is, it doesn't have local branches that you can just walk into to deposit a check or whatever. They also don't have their own ATMs, so you have to use other banks' ATMs which charge fees. But given my long history with USAA, I can honestly say that they make up for it in other ways that make it worth doing business with them.

For instance, you can mail deposits to USAA in prepaid envelopes, and they are usually cashed in 3-4 days (at least in my experience). Even better, if you need the deposits cashed sooner, you can send them to USAA via The UPS Store for free, where they're overnighted and in your bank account within one business day.

You get 10 free ATM withdrawals per month; after that it's $2/withdrawal. In addition, USAA refunds you up to $15/month in fees other banks charge to use their ATMs, anywhere in the world. So basically, unless you withdraw cash using ATMs all the time, the ATM usage is practically free. (We rarely take out cash, but when we do we just ask for cash back at the grocery store when we pay using our USAA debit card.)

They are very reasonable when it comes to international transactions. I've used my USAA MasterCard and debit card all over the world (Costa Rica, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, England) and have always been impressed with the conversion rates. For the 3 months I lived in New Zealand, I never had any problems withdrawing cash using my USAA debit card.

The Web Billpay service is awesome. I've been using it now for several years and have never had a problem with it. You can set up e-billing, automatic payments, one-time payments, etc. With the exception of the monthly rent, ALL of our bills get paid online -- even those going to billers who don't offer electronic banking. USAA cuts a check to them and I have never had a check arrive late. (Knock wood!) One of the check recipients is my own mother, she loaned money to me and I make payments to her monthly. She's told me that she sometimes gets the new check so quickly, she hasn't even gotten around to depositing the previous month's check yet!

The auto insurance is great, although luckily we've not had a lot of car problems where we've needed it. I think I've only filed a claim once, when my car was damaged by an unknown driver in a parking lot. Within a couple of weeks of filing the claim I had a check in hand. The roadside service has been helpful on the couple of occasions we've had to use it -- very prompt, and always extremely polite people helping us.

Probably the one thing that I value most about USAA is their customer service. If I have a general question, I usually just email them and get a response within a couple of days. If I call any of their 800 numbers, I get through to a live person either right away or with a 1-2 minute wait. They are always extremely pleasant and helpful, and on occasion have gone out of their way to help resolve something for me, even when they didn't have to.

Although this probably doesn't apply to most people reading this thread, one thing that we've found particularly nice about dealing with USAA is that it has experience working with customers who aren't US citizens. For instance, they accepted Mark's UK driving record for insurance purposes because he didn't have a US driving record. Most auto insurance companies would've either turned him away completely or charged him THOUSANDS of dollars unnecessarily. However, my existing insurance policy only increased about $20/year when Mark was added to the policy.

I know I sound like a commercial for USAA, but my comments are sincere and honest, based on my 15-year history with the company. I've never known a USAA customer who was anything but impressed and happy with their service.

~ Jenney

[piggybank4]

Re: Usaa ?

I think you forgot to mention one thing --

You have to be military (or blood related to someone in the military) to join USAA.

Maybe they've changed it?

[neatdesign]

Re: Usaa ?

I think you forgot to mention one thing --

You have to be military (or blood related to someone in the military) to join USAA.

Maybe they've changed it?

Primarily, yes -- but not necessarily.

For instance, I was eligible for USAA membership because my father was an Army officer. My husband -- who is not even a US citizen, and even before he because US permanent resident -- was eligible for USAA membership solely because he's married to a USAA member. I've never served in the military, and my husband and I certainly aren't blood-related!

It's worth looking at their website -- they have a special section where you can look to see if you're eligible for membership:

USAA : Find Out If You Are Eligible

I remember passing along this link to someone in another forum once, and it turned out that she was eligible because her ex-husband was a member AND she'd never remarried. She didn't know this and actually became a member several years AFTER they'd divorced. Ended up saving hundreds of dollars on a trip to China she'd arranged through USAA's travel services.

I didn't mention this in my first post because the OP clearly stated that he's eligible for USAA membership.

~ Jenney

Re: Usaa ?

Jenny,
Thanks for your reply.
I have actually been a member of USAA for almost 22 years!
My soon to be ex-husband <retired military> failed to mention much about USAA to me and I didn't think to ask. . We always had separate checking accounts during this marriage so I kept my accounts at Bank Of America which I had had for many years.
My son from a previous marriage has also been a member of USAA for all these years and didn't know it.
I only found out I was a member when I was informed since my husband is no longer living here I couldn't be on his insurance policy anymore and I needed to start my own policy.
I had a long talk with a very helpful rep and learned so much.

I contacted my son who lives in another state and he called USAA and now has car insurance with a saving of $48.00 A MONTH!!! And it's a better policy!!
He is thrilled! And he also now has free checking and a saving account at USAA as do I.
I still have my BOA accounts but am closing them as soon as some debit card purchases
go through.
My son and I feel we are in safe water with USAA instead of the shark infested ones where they are chomping at the bit to gouge a person with fees!
I actually never had a problem with BOA, but the bigger that bank got, the worse the customer service was.
I know what you mean about calling USAA. I have called them several times in the past few days and never waited over 2 minutes to speak with someone.
Calling BOA was so frustrating. After listening to that long recording I was kept on hold so long waiting to speak with someone, and more than once I was cut off and had to start the process again.
Bonnie

[Fern]

Re: Usaa ?

FYI, you don't have to be military to get a USAA credit card. I've had one for years and am non-military.

[creditcardfree]

Re: Usaa ?

Thanks for this thread. My husband is military and we have only used USAA for auto and home insurance. We've been very happy with them and I would agree on the customer service...including how easy claims were handled. We've just moved and need to look into a new bank. I may just consider USAA. Most of our deposits will be direct, so that makes it easy.

My only issue (and its a small one) is that I keep/save my change and then take it to my brick and morter bank to deposit it.

Again thanks for the topic...very timely for me.

[neatdesign]

Re: Usaa ?

My only issue (and its a small one) is that I keep/save my change and then take it to my brick and morter bank to deposit it.

Yeah, see that's one of those little things that is a drawback to banking with them. It's not a big deal, but it's still nice to have the option.

When we have a lot of change built up, we go to our local grocery store where they have a Coinstar machine. You pour your change in and it gives you a receipt, which you then hand over to the cashier and get bills back, or you can put it towards your grocery purchases. It keeps 10% of whatever you put in (so, for $10 in change you get $9 back), but we so rarely use it that it's not that important to us.

~ Jenney

[MarianneJ]

Re: Usaa ?

I called a few years back to see if I was eligible for a USAA account since my father was in the military years ago. Unfortunately, they told me since he never had an account back when he was in the military it was too late for him, and thus no luck for me either. I am still really disappointed and feel that USAA membership should be open to all ex-military no matter how many years they have been out of the service.