USAA Teen Accounts?

ESRBob · 03-10-2008, 10:24 AM

Anybody use USAA's Teen credit card or checking accounts? Am thinking of setting one up -- they refund ATM fees. (Not sure if this is actually a good lesson to impart to the kids or not!) I've had so much trouble getting checking and credit card accounts for minors that I was pleasantly surprised they seem to want the business...

LOL! · 03-10-2008, 10:40 AM

Although I have a USAA checking account, I prefer WellsFargo. We have checking, brokerage, IRAs all for free at WF. As part of this our teenager has free checking and savings at WF with a debit (not credit) card. Her allowance is an auto-billpay from our account into hers.

stephenandrew · 03-10-2008, 11:19 AM

We have teen accounts for both of our kids with USAA. No problems at all in terms of account access, making deposits, being refunded for ATM fees, etc. I would not hesitate to recommend them for your kids' banking needs.

Nords · 03-10-2008, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRBob

Anybody use USAA's Teen credit card or checking accounts? Am thinking of setting one up -- they refund ATM fees. (Not sure if this is actually a good lesson to impart to the kids or not!) I've had so much trouble getting checking and credit card accounts for minors that I was pleasantly surprised they seem to want the business...

Their insurance customer service is tops. Hopefully they're up to the same standards on the banking side.

I don't know if you'll have this problem, but our kid struggled to balance her checkbook (sloppy handwriting leading to math errors) until she started doing it with Quicken. The "cool" software was also a lot more attractive than last millenium's paper.

I think it's better for a kid to carry an ATM card or a credit card than a wad of cash, especially around high-school bullies & thieves. We have our kid's credit-card limit set at $400. I just wish there was an easy way to take my name off the account when she turns 18, because she has a perfect payment record that'd be a good start on her FICO score.

Not sure there's any advantage to having a debit card, let alone putting one in the hands of a teenager.

mickeyd · 03-10-2008, 02:43 PM

Our two kids had USAA CC, checking accounts and savings account as teens. They are now adults and still have USAA accounts, as well as USAA insurance. Probably is a successful marketing venture for USAA.

headingout · 03-10-2008, 02:55 PM

We've had USAA checking/savings for my teen son for 3+ years. We swapped the credit card for a debit card on the checking account, to simplify things. ATM reimbursements work great and are realistic IMHO, because we get the same on our grown-up checking account.

I'd recommend USAA highly. Customer service is excellent. Web site is excellent. They are very progressive on technology, rates, features in my experience, while still being stable and reliable. More agile than most "big banks" but still have that heavweight quality.

OldGuy · 03-10-2008, 06:26 PM

USAA's banking capabilities are quickly catching up with their legendary insurance expertise (I'm a 39-year member looking forward to that 40th anniv.). I ER'd out of the financial services industry, and held off on moving our banking relationship to USAA. But their checking & savings products are top-tier. They offer no-fee ATM cards - but with no branches of their own, they refund other banks' ATM fees charged on your USAA debit card!
Now if they could only get their "deposit-at-home" feature to work more than ~80% of the time, life would be even better...

Rustic23 · 03-10-2008, 06:43 PM

I have had two mortgages with USAA. The first GREAT. The second, the worst experience I have ever had with a company. They changed to GMAC as their originating company and it really was bad. I have had not complaint with Insurance, Banking or investing. Well, investing, I think their choice of index funds is a little lacking in diversity.

mickeyd · 03-10-2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldGuy

USAA's banking capabilities are quickly catching up with their legendary insurance expertise (I'm a 39-year member looking forward to that 40th anniv.). .

Look forward to receiving a kickback of 10% of your SSA on your 40th anniversary with USAA P&C.

**REWahoo** · 03-10-2008, 07:15 PM

I'm two years away....

tiredofwork · 03-10-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyd

Look forward to receiving a kickback of 10% of your SSA on your 40th anniversary with USAA P&C.

About 9 years left for me before I can collect my senior bonus. SSA balance approaching $10K - how about you?

**REWahoo** · 03-11-2008, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiredofwork

SSA balance approaching $10K - how about you?

About the same here.

ziggy29 · 03-11-2008, 08:29 PM

I've had nothing but good experiences with them, with insurance and banking. I don't do much investing with them, though I have a small Roth IRA and an asset management account which is all in cash right now. Surprisingly, their FDIC-insured money market fund has been yielding more than their non-insured fund (USAXX). I'd use them more for brokerage, but to my knowledge they don't reinvest dividends on stocks.

I'm not a huge fan of most of their funds -- a handful are pretty good, but most are mediocre -- but I do like the Capital Growth fund (USCGX) which has been pretty impressive, and they may have the best gold and precious metals fund on the planet (USAGX). I'll use them for these funds and maybe a little bit in a couple of other decent funds, but these seem to be keepers to me.

mickeyd · 03-12-2008, 05:18 PM

Just checked my USAA account online and I see that I received a $450 credit on 2/23. Must be my 10% SSA senior distribution. I guess I must have about $4000 in there now.

03-10-2008, 10:24 AM	#1
ESRBob Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,278	USAA Teen Accounts? Anybody use USAA's Teen credit card or checking accounts? Am thinking of setting one up -- they refund ATM fees. (Not sure if this is actually a good lesson to impart to the kids or not!) I've had so much trouble getting checking and credit card accounts for minors that I was pleasantly surprised they seem to want the business...

03-10-2008, 02:43 PM	#5
mickeyd Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: South Texas~29N/98W Posts: 2,288	Our two kids had USAA CC, checking accounts and savings account as teens. They are now adults and still have USAA accounts, as well as USAA insurance. Probably is a successful marketing venture for USAA. __________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.

03-10-2008, 06:26 PM	#7
OldGuy Dryer sheet aficionado Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 36	USAA's banking capabilities are quickly catching up with their legendary insurance expertise (I'm a 39-year member looking forward to that 40th anniv.). I ER'd out of the financial services industry, and held off on moving our banking relationship to USAA. But their checking & savings products are top-tier. They offer no-fee ATM cards - but with no branches of their own, they refund other banks' ATM fees charged on your USAA debit card! Now if they could only get their "deposit-at-home" feature to work more than ~80% of the time, life would be even better... __________________ Those who were seen dancing were thought to be crazy by those who could not hear the music. Friedrich Nietzsche.

03-10-2008, 07:15 PM	#10
REWahoo Administrator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 11,606	I'm two years away.... __________________ [Closed for renovation]

03-11-2008, 08:29 PM	#13
ziggy29 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 2,377	I've had nothing but good experiences with them, with insurance and banking. I don't do much investing with them, though I have a small Roth IRA and an asset management account which is all in cash right now. Surprisingly, their FDIC-insured money market fund has been yielding more than their non-insured fund (USAXX). I'd use them more for brokerage, but to my knowledge they don't reinvest dividends on stocks. I'm not a huge fan of most of their funds -- a handful are pretty good, but most are mediocre -- but I do like the Capital Growth fund (USCGX) which has been pretty impressive, and they may have the best gold and precious metals fund on the planet (USAGX). I'll use them for these funds and maybe a little bit in a couple of other decent funds, but these seem to be keepers to me. __________________ FIRE Clock: Retired. Since it feels like I'll never be now. waiting for the government to privatize the gains and socialize my losses in my 401K...

03-10-2008, 10:40 AM	#2
LOL! Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,298	Although I have a USAA checking account, I prefer WellsFargo. We have checking, brokerage, IRAs all for free at WF. As part of this our teenager has free checking and savings at WF with a debit (not credit) card. Her allowance is an auto-billpay from our account into hers.

03-10-2008, 11:19 AM	#3
stephenandrew Dryer sheet aficionado Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 37	We have teen accounts for both of our kids with USAA. No problems at all in terms of account access, making deposits, being refunded for ATM fees, etc. I would not hesitate to recommend them for your kids' banking needs.

03-10-2008, 02:55 PM	#6
headingout Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 80	We've had USAA checking/savings for my teen son for 3+ years. We swapped the credit card for a debit card on the checking account, to simplify things. ATM reimbursements work great and are realistic IMHO, because we get the same on our grown-up checking account. I'd recommend USAA highly. Customer service is excellent. Web site is excellent. They are very progressive on technology, rates, features in my experience, while still being stable and reliable. More agile than most "big banks" but still have that heavweight quality.

03-10-2008, 06:43 PM	#8
Rustic23 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Lake Livingston, Tx Posts: 1,028	I have had two mortgages with USAA. The first GREAT. The second, the worst experience I have ever had with a company. They changed to GMAC as their originating company and it really was bad. I have had not complaint with Insurance, Banking or investing. Well, investing, I think their choice of index funds is a little lacking in diversity.

03-12-2008, 05:18 PM	#14
mickeyd Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: South Texas~29N/98W Posts: 2,288	Just checked my USAA account online and I see that I received a $450 credit on 2/23. Must be my 10% SSA senior distribution. I guess I must have about $4000 in there now. __________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.

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