Charles Schwab service, features & quality?

[SnowballCamper]

I have been a long time USAA customer. The key advantage has been to have banking, insurance, and brokerage all in one place. I'm sure I could have shopped around and found a better deal here or there, but the convenience has been great, and the customer service has been outstanding.

However, they are giving up the brokerage and transferring all the investment accounts to Schwab. I'd like to hear from current and former Schwab clients about your experience. We have two Roth IRAs, a Coverdell ESA, and a regular brokerage that would be affected. We don't do any trading strategy beyond buy and hold / rebalance regularly (ETFs and MFs, with a couple stocks currently).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dash man]

I’m interested in this myself. We’ve had much of our money with USAA for decades and love the convenience. DW does have her 401k at Fidelity, so we’re trying to decide whether to switch to Fidelity or let our accounts go to Schwab. Any input is appreciated.

 

[brewer12345]

I have been a Schwab customer since 1998. I have a fidelity account (solo 401k) and have had a vanguard account in the past. Schwab is better than vanguard by a long shot and about equal with Fido (except that I think Schwab offers better banking services).

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Schwab customer for decades (I think since 1979). Very satisfied.

Just helped a friend transfer everything from USAA to Schwab. She had been paying .45% to .85% for index type funds instead of the much lower ratess at Schwab (or anywhere else).

 

[braumeister]

Very happy with both Schwab and Fidelity. Had a Vanguard account for years but lost patience with their relative backwardness (mainly talking about their website) so I left them.

Have been a USAA insurance and banking customer for decades, but the bank has been going downhill (surprisingly) in the last few years, so I'm gradually moving away from them, although the insurance is still the best I can find anywhere. Never used them for investments.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I have been a Schwab customer for over a year now. I find their customer service excellent. They are very knowledgeable and very courteous. Aside from that I like their ATM card , which reimburses ATM fees world wide and TBH is the reason I went with Schwab because I plan to travel.

ETA: I would also like to mention that the checking account pays interest from Schwab. I transferred a Wells Fargo checking account to Schwab checking and I am convinced I did the right thing. Schwab doesn't charge to reorder checks, Wells Fargo charges for everything.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've been a Schwab client for decades now. Excellent website/services. Easy to navigate and very capable. Excellent live help desk when needed. I've had one really good FA (no fee) but most aren't that great, even when you have a 7 digit account balance. But I self direct so I don't use/need their FA services very much anyway.

 

[target2019]

As the USAA situation unwound, I engaged a Schwab rep online, and the brokerage account was moved within 5 days.

My experiences with Schwab over past 7 years are flawless.

 

[T-Minus]

We moved from USAA financial services to Schwab about six years ago. We have been very happy with the service and products, and haven’t looked back. No regrets here.

 

[bja1234]

Been with Schwab over 30 years....customer service AAA

 

[Gotadimple]

You can't go wrong with Schwab (or Fidelity IMO). They are customer focused, easy to contact on any method you choose, and very clear in their instructions for how to set something up. If you need more help and their is an office in your city, you can walk in and get help.

Fees for their products are more than reasonable, especially if you are staying with what you bring over from USAA. I looked into their robo-investment service, and while fees are low, I was unimpressed with their proposed slate of investments. Like many here, I self-direct my accounts with them.

 

[target2019]

If you have USAA mutual funds or ETFs, confirm with Schwab before moving if their are trading costs.

We sold all USAA MFs before moving, as the cap gains happened to be low at the time.

 

[gwraigty]

Schwab customer for over 10 years. To add to the other positive comments, they have a 1.5% cash back Amex that deposits the cash back monthly to your brokerage account. I seldom use it, as the Fidelity Visa pays 2%, but it's still a great back up card to have.

 

[OldShooter]

Decades happy customer here, too.

If your account is over a threshold (either $100K or $250K, I don't remember) they will assign a specific rep to you. Rep's job is basically to take care of you, help with administrivia, answer questions, run their analysis tools for you, etc. I am not even sure my rep is allowed to sell me anything. You can read Schwab's compensation policy on their web site.

Our reps (2 or 3 over the years) have all been very experienced and very satisfactory, but if you get a rep that you don't click with, just request another. When you get your rep name, run him/her at https://brokercheck.finra.org/ to learn about their experience and other info.

I have heard stories of Fido reps pushing insurance or annuities. I have never had even a whiff of that kind of thing at Schwab. In all these years I don't think anyone has tried to sell me anything.

Finally, I have a Schwab checking account and debit card. Very convenient when transferring money from investments. ATM charges are 100% reimbursed even international ones and there is no foreign transaction fee. The only hassle is not having a local teller line for the once or twice a year I need more than ATM level cash, but DW keeps a Wells checking account. I online transfer from Schwab to her and she gets the cash. The only negative is that Schwab's credit card offering is with Amex and Amex is refused many places overseas due to their high fees. So I don't carry that one.

 

[molly312]

Both Schwab and FIDO very good. We are longtime customers. I do agree that the banking seems to be better at Schwab.

Vanguard lost our business. They can't seem to handle anything very complicated and their TOD rules are very limited.

 

[LiveBelowMeans]

Long time Schwab customer. Been very happy. Also have small amounts at Vanguard and Fidelity. Prefer Schwab. jmho

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I've been with Schwab since somewhere around 1990 and have always been very happy with them. The closest brick-and-mortar office is three hours away, but I have never seen a need to visit them since I moved to my current location 10 years ago. Their online presence is excellent IMHO. The bank account is linked to the brokerage account, it has an easy-to-use bill-pay feature, and I deposit what few checks I still get via their phone app. The rare occasion I need to call them, they pick up the phone quickly (in the United States, although it could be anywhere in the country) and have never failed to take care of whatever it was I called about. I could go on, but basically I have been completely satisfied.

 

[SnowballCamper]

Thank you all so much. Sounds like we don't have much to worry about.

 

[Dash man]

Thank you all so much. Sounds like we don't have much to worry about.

Yes, thank you to the OP and all responders!