Big Bank, Local Bank, or Credit Union.

[+ BlueSky]

Consumer Reports surveyed its subscribers about banking (warning: pay wall) :

In our survey of some 49,000 subscribers, all four mega banks scored in the bottom fifth of our overall bank rankings.

 

 

It’s not because their services were poor—our readers were satisfied with them overall. Rather, survey respondents told us they found better banking alternatives at more than 60 smaller banks—including some that operate mostly online. They were also more satisfied with the services they got at credit unions, especially when it came to customer service and fees.

I use one of the big banks and am mostly satisfied. But I've had run-arounds with the bank bureaucracy. They lost a large deposit once that took weeks to find. But I've not really found credit unions to be much better. Anyone a fan of CUs or smaller banks?

[sincitymix]

Consumer Reports surveyed its subscribers about banking (warning: pay wall) :

In our survey of some 49,000 subscribers, all four mega banks scored in the bottom fifth of our overall bank rankings.

 

 

It’s not because their services were poor—our readers were satisfied with them overall. Rather, survey respondents told us they found better banking alternatives at more than 60 smaller banks—including some that operate mostly online. They were also more satisfied with the services they got at credit unions, especially when it came to customer service and fees.

I use one of the big banks and am mostly satisfied. But I've had run-arounds with the bank bureaucracy. They lost a large deposit once that took weeks to find. But I've not really found credit unions to be much better. Anyone a fan of CUs or smaller banks?

 

My CU is hands down the best.

[gallahadesquire]

I need a new car, and will finance locally so the Credit Union has local money to lend out.

 

I use Bank of America (by acquisition) that is hooked up with Merrill Lynch (by my broker bailing from Morgan Stanley). There service is impeccable.

[rustyrex]

Online bank is the daily driver and my CU is the backup. Wouldn't trade it for a big bank at all....the fees and the attitudes that I've had to put up with aren't worth the hassle. I prefer to interface with a computer screen than an teller because I truly don't need to deal with that "personal touch." My job requires me to work with the general public everyday I don't need to experience it along with the lines and waiting for people to deposit $20 in pennies. My CU used to be small but now they have gotten bigger and they are getting as bad as a big bank. The other day I as forced to use a password to deposit cash to my own account!!! If it wasn't for their amazing rates I would be online banking only with my small bank.

[rvwnsd]

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'll preface this by saying I work for a medium-sized regional bank.

 

In San Diego and Phoenix, the local credit unions have a fee structure that is in line with most large banks, i.e. minimum balance of $1k - $2K or direct deposit to waive the monthly service fee. Thanks to laws giving unfair treatment an advantage to CUs, they are allowed to join up with other CU's in a "shared branching" arrangement that allows clients of each affiliated credit union to use branches of other affiliated credit unions. Now, if BB&T (primarily East Coast), BMO Harris (primarily Midwest and Arizona), and Bank of the West (guess where?) tried to allow their clients to use each other's branches how would that go over?

 

From personal experience, when I tried a credit union they were absolutely horrible. They claimed that they were not required to follow consumer protection and dispute resolution laws nor were they bound by VISA association rules governing debit card transactional disputes. They learned the hard way that they were incorrect. This CU happens to have fee rules similar to major banks, yet they get great marks for their fee structure. I don't get it.

 

All that being said, I think credit unions that serve a defined membership base, such as a company's employees, are great institutions. Friends who use those types of CUs give them overwhelmingly positive marks, mainly because the CU employees are not only the members' bankers, but they are their colleagues. Those organizations are also set up by the employer to serve the employees. There's something to be said for that.

 

Online banks can be wonderful or not so wonderful. You have to be careful about mobile deposit hold policies (mobile deposits are not governed by reg CC, the regulation that requires banks to make the first $200 of deposits available the next day and sets strict limits on the length of time the remaining funds can be held). There is one online bank that states they make mobile deposits available after a five-day period. What they don't tell you is the funds do not earn interest because instead of putting a hold on the funds they simply do not post the deposit to the account until the sixth business day. Even the evil empires of BofA and Wells don't pull that nonsense. Ally Bank, however, is actually pretty reasonable.

 

My advice: If you are satisfied with your bank, don't switch.

[+ bashful]

30 years ago, I transferred to a new job in my present location. At the time, my company had an arrangement with a local bank for free checking, and also had it's own credit union, but just for savings and loans.

 

Through many mergers and acquisitions, the local bank for checking became Chase, and I'm grandfathered into a free checking account so long as I have a direct deposit each month over $500. That same credit union now offers more financial products, including checking.

 

However, I've resisted having checking and savings at the same place as it would be too easy to transfer funds from savings to checking. I like that savings are a bit more difficult to get my hands on, thus giving me time to reconsider impulsive purchases.

[+ BlueSky]

I compared rates on CDs and Savings accounts. The local credit unions were beat by the online banks. I have an account with CapitalOne360 that I've been pleased with.

[+ bashful]

I compared rates on CDs and Savings accounts. The local Credit Unions I looked at were beat by Online Banks. I have an account with CapitalOne360 that I've been pleased with.

 

My company credit union usually, but not always, has the best rate on savings.

[rvwnsd]

I compared rates on CDs and Savings accounts. The local credit unions were beat by the online banks. I have an account with CapitalOne360 that I've been pleased with.

Yup, they and Ally offer the best rate on low- to no-minimum balance savings accounts. They are actually decent to deal with. I only had one issue with CapOne 360 that was bungled miserably, but my primary bank (at the time, Citibank and, no, I do not work there) straightened it out for me.

My company credit union usually, but not always, has the best rate on savings.

Like I said, company credit unions can be great. However, I'd still check out the online banks. They tend to pay even higher rates, mainly because they do not have all those branches and ATMs to maintain.

[amused1]

Started with a small regional bank decades ago. Great service and rates. They were bought out by a big bank and tumbled IMO. Moved to a local bank and I love it. The fees and rates aren't much better than the big boys but the service I receive is phenomenal.

[jawjateck]

My primary bank is a small local bank with 3 branches. Love it and know many of its employees personally. I have an account with a larger regional bank, just in case I need funds when traveling. I hate the 4 mega banks and refuse to use them. I also have completely free banking with my online brokerage account. Most people don't know this option exists. They print checks for free, no monthly fees, no minimums, mobile check deposit, same day credit, free ATM and reimburse fees other banks charge, bill pay, etc, and there is no requirement that I trade securities to retain the perks, although they have made plenty of money from my trading over the past 18 years. If one of my other banks imposes fees, they will be dropped immediately. I had another bank implement fees a few years ago. I closed that account.

[+ Keith30309]

Thanks to laws giving unfair treatment an advantage to CUs, they are allowed to join up with other CU's in a "shared branching" arrangement

LMAO

 

All good advice.

 

I use a brokerage bill pay service; I’m happy to say I’ve not stepped into a bank branch in over a year. I wish I could get back all the time in my life I spent standing in teller lines.

[DiscoveringMe]

I used to work for a large company that had an employee credit union and loved it. I found I always got the best interest rates. Whenever I bought a new car, I would get pre-approval from my credit union and bring it to the dealership. Their financing companies would always match the interest rate which prevented me from having to go back to the CU to get a check cut.

 

The biggest downside I found to my CU was the inconvenience of finding the right ATMs and lack of online banking capabilities. Although today I rarely use cash and thus rarely go to the ATM.

[craigville beach]

I use a local mutually owned bank and two credit unions. I have found the credit union staff to offer better service.

[mike carey]

The biggest downside I found to my CU was the inconvenience of finding the right ATMs and lack of online banking capabilities. Although today I rarely use cash and thus rarely go to the ATM.

I have most of my accounts at a big bank here, and also one at a CU. So far I'm only using the CU online. It appears that things work differently in Australia than they do in the US. For as long as I can remember (well not precisely because I can remember before there were even credit cards) supermarkets have allowed you to withdraw cash with any purchase, so although I also rarely use cash now, I could always get it there. (They now allow you to use their self-serve checkouts to withdraw cash even without a purchase.) There was never a fee and they accepted all bank cards. ATMs did charge fees, but all the CUs were aligned with one of the big banks and the small number of CU ATMs and that bank's could be used without a fee by customers of both. Other than that, you could use any ATM you wanted to, you would just have to pay a fee if it wasn't your bank. Recently all the banks abolished that fee. I suspect that part of the reason is that they can see that ATMs will be little used soon and they want as many people as possible to use theirs.

[+ Charlie]

I started out with regional banks sixty years ago, but they kept getting eaten up by bigger banks, and now most of my accounts are with one of the four mega banks that has devoured my other banks. I have never felt that there was a great difference among banks in terms of the service I have received, and I have never had any serious problem with any financial institution. Nevertheless, I always keep at least one account--checking or savings--with a smaller bank, just in case there is some sort of catastrophic problem with the mega bank, and I keep my mortgage with a different institution.

[+ deej]

I started out with regional banks sixty years ago, but they kept getting eaten up by bigger banks, and now most of my accounts are with one of the four mega banks that has devoured my other banks. I have never felt that there was a great difference among banks in terms of the service I have received, and I have never had any serious problem with any financial institution. Nevertheless, I always keep at least one account--checking or savings--with a smaller bank, just in case there is some sort of catastrophic problem with the mega bank, and I keep my mortgage with a different institution.

 

This is pretty much my situation.

 

The last time I re-evaluated my banking, I'd been growing more and more discouraged by the C.U. I was using. Their VISA debit card kept getting rejected at point of sale. When I complained they'd say "the cashier is doing something wrong". Um, no. Not unless it's cashiers at every store in town.

 

I ended up with one of the mega banks just because there was a handy branch, figuring I'd eventually move elsewhere. Then "too big to fail" started happening, smaller banks started failing left and right, and I decided to stay with mega-bank because it was less likely to go belly up. (Complicating matters, I was wire transferring large sums in the process of settling my mother's estate. I wanted the bank I was transferring money into to BE there.) I've been as happy with them as with anyone else, and never pay any fee (except for wire transfers).

 

I have an account I don't actually use with a midwestern mini-mega bank. They required opening it to issue a mortgage. I keep enough money in it to make mortgage payments.

 

I've been considering a credit union. Flexibility is a good thing.

[OneFinger]

All my accounts are with credit unions. The only exception is a Bank of America credit card that is linked to an airline frequent filer account. I HATE banks.

[+ BlueSky]

The biggest downside I found to my CU was the inconvenience of finding the right ATMs and lack of online banking capabilities. Although today I rarely use cash and thus rarely go to the ATM.

 

I may open a CU account because of the ATM convenience. They have an ATM right at the place I work so I could easily walk over and get cash. I usually make at least one ATM run a week because I still use cash pretty frequently. Also, that CU is part of a network that seems to include all the other CUs in town. So it's probably a better fee-free network of ATMs than my megabank.

[OneFinger]

I may open a CU account because of the ATM convenience. They have an ATM right at the place I work so I could easily walk over and get cash. I usually make at least one ATM run a week because I still use cash pretty frequently. Also, that CU is part of a network that seems to include all the other CUs in town. So it's probably a better fee-free network of ATMs than my megabank.

I have CU accounts in Utah and Oregon but work in San Diego. I'm able to access my CU accounts from San Diego without any problems. This includes both withdrawals and making deposits.

[+ BlueSky]

I have CU accounts in Utah and Oregon but work in San Diego. I'm able to access my CU accounts from San Diego without any problems. This includes both withdrawals and making deposits.

I'll probably go ahead and open an account this weekend. It's worth a try.

 

I like the idea of having accounts at several institutions: there's no reason to keep your eggs in one basket. I've known people who've had their main checking accounts locked up for a week or more because of some bank error.

[OneFinger]

I'll probably go ahead and open an account this weekend. It's worth a try.

 

I like the idea of having accounts at several institutions: there's no reason to keep your eggs in one basket. I've known people who've had their main checking accounts locked up for a week or more because of some bank error.

FYI, my CU accounts are part of CO-OP Network ATMs. Be sure that the CU you select has nation-wide access.

[+ deej]

So it's probably a better fee-free network of ATMs than my megabank.

 

Maybe not. My mega-bank reimburses a fixed amount for any "foreign" ATM fee. If the fee is only $1.50, well I've made money on the deal.

 

Of course, I only use the ATM a couple times/year. ATM fees are big money makers for most banks, and the more often you use the ATM the more likely you are to incur those fees. MANY banks charge a service fee for more than (pick a number) ATM visits per month.

[Walker1]

Big bank, just the convenience , any place I go to -they are there. They are there in many countries too. Less hassle, especially ATM fees out of network. I used to be part of a credit union before-not much difference, bank branch is a bank branch.

[rvwnsd]

...So it's probably a better fee-free network of ATMs than my megabank.

Depends on the megabank. USBank's ATMs are all part of the Allpoint network. Citibank offers its customers free usage of Allpoint ATMs, including those at 7-Eleven, many of which accept deposits. In researching credit unions as part of my above reply, I found that many of the Co-op (credit union shared network) ATMs are Allpoint ATMs, which means the CU is using USBank's network.