2soon2tell
Recycles dryer sheets
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- 471
Nords,
Congrats on being invited back to the conference.
Congrats on being invited back to the conference.
USAA's invited me to San Antonio!
- Thread starter Nords
- Start date
ls99
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- May 2, 2008
- Messages
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+1
By the way, I am a new member of USAA, as in their Medigap policy and part D, which is really Humana.
I have never received such superb communication/customer service from any outfit, ever. Pass it on.
target2019
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
they also push annuities.. GASP
https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/advice_financial_rules_to_break?sf6563448=1&sf6716174=1
M-I-L purchased three annuities at USAA. Primary reason was to provide "insurance" for spouse. It actually looks like a good move now, as they can add extra cash to the annuities at 3-5%. Or not.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
- Messages
- 23,057
Congratulations, Nords.
I've been a USAA member for over 32 years now. No complaints at all.
I've been a USAA member for over 32 years now. No complaints at all.
Thanks, I'm taking notes and I'll pass all of this on.
Ally, you're absolutely right about only "inheriting" membership if your eligible ancestor joined. I think the auto insurance membership requirements cause more confusion than any other aspect of the company. I still end up e-mailing USAA once or twice a year to make sure of the response to a reader's membership question.
My daughter is supremely happy with the pricing on her auto policy.
I've had my share of screwups with all portions of their website and their customer service as well. (I have a conservator's account there now for my father, in addition to managing my spouse's account.) I guess the common theme is that they'll keep trying until they get it right.
Ally, you're absolutely right about only "inheriting" membership if your eligible ancestor joined. I think the auto insurance membership requirements cause more confusion than any other aspect of the company. I still end up e-mailing USAA once or twice a year to make sure of the response to a reader's membership question.
My daughter is supremely happy with the pricing on her auto policy.
That pops up right away on their retirement planning calculator, too. I haven't compared prices to Vanguard but their CFP Scott Halliwell says that they try to offer above-average service at a below-average cost. They're never going to beat Vanguard, and maybe only compete with some of Fidelity's products, but they get a lot of customers from Edward Jones & FirstCommand.
I've had my share of screwups with all portions of their website and their customer service as well. (I have a conservator's account there now for my father, in addition to managing my spouse's account.) I guess the common theme is that they'll keep trying until they get it right.
I'm a big fan of USAA, and like most USAA fans I'm very sensitive to any sign of possible slippage in their first-rate customer service. I think there are signs of this in their mortgage business.
1) Like a lot of folks, I was disappointed when USAA sold my mortgage 5 years ago. I guess this is so commonplace that it's just expected that the folks who originate a loan are just the front-end paperwork doers, and that virtually all loans get sold. But I got the loan with USAA because I like their customer service, and I wanted to keep that customer service for the duration of the loan. As it happened there were no problems, but it was a letdown.
2) When I called USAA for mortgage info earlier this year it appeared that they'd taken a further step in the same direction--just routing USAA customers to Wells Fargo directly. From my post at the time:
So, not a question but a request: If USAA can't make money by writing mortgages and providing top-notch service, I'd prefer that they just get out of the business rather than debasing their name and reputation by linking up with inferior companies providing an inferior customer service experience.
Overall: The insurance is great, the bank is pretty darn good (especially by current standards of retail banking), the MFs and investment products--probably best to search somewhere else. Sounds quaint in this cynical age, but I really believe USAA has my best interest at heart when I deal with them.
Congrats on getting the invitation, enjoy the trip!
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JPatrick
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2005
- Messages
- 2,610
Over the years I've purchased quite a number of new cars for us and for the kids. Until recently I had financed every one.
USAA was always my first stop for a loan, but I never sealed the deal because each and every time their rates were higher than Penfed and /or the local credit union.
I do think their customer service is great, but without the product you lose business.
USAA was always my first stop for a loan, but I never sealed the deal because each and every time their rates were higher than Penfed and /or the local credit union.
I do think their customer service is great, but without the product you lose business.
2soon2tell
Recycles dryer sheets
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USAA member since '69. I have had very few complaints over the years.
I have a little insight into the Cadet loan program. Essentially they go the the Service Academies and offer the cadets $35K or so at .9% with a 5 yr payback period. They give them the loans their Jr yr when they are committed and of course the loan term runs with their service oblication and is taken directly out of their pay. Minimal risk.
At USAFA cadets once bought Corvettes. Today I don't see that as much. In fact I have 2 cadets coming to my house in the next week to discuss what to do with their loans? IMO they are really "buying in" a life time of USAA membership with the cadets.
At USAFA cadets once bought Corvettes. Today I don't see that as much. In fact I have 2 cadets coming to my house in the next week to discuss what to do with their loans? IMO they are really "buying in" a life time of USAA membership with the cadets.
Pajaro
Recycles dryer sheets
Thanks for asking Nords!
I'm really happy with USAA, but have a couple of things I'd like to change. I'll cut to the chase first, then add the details:
1) Waive credit card foreign transaction fees for all military members overseas
2) Make a call routing system that knows I'm in Europe even if I call using Skype
1) USAA currently waives credit card foreign transaction fees for deployed military members. Their definition of deployed is to be on deployment orders (you have to send them the orders and they must say "deployed"). I'm OCONUS on PCS orders and am 7 hours from the nearest US military installation, but for them I don't qualify for waived foreign transaction fees. However, I have less access to the BX/NEX and APO/FPO than most deployed members.
In fact, by their rules, someone could come to my location on deployment orders and not pay foreign transaction fees. So, I did the cheap thing and got a credit card from PenFed which has no foreign transaction fees. I now find myself looking at PenFed products more and more, when I used to go to USAA for everything without question. I like having all my banking in one place. However, the convenience of having all my banking in one place is not worth $100 a year in fees. Bottom line: I would happily use my USAA credit card if they would waive my foreign transaction fees.
2) I use Skype for all my calls from OCONUS to USAA. The USAA call routing system can't figure out where I'm calling from, so it assumes I'm in San Antonio. So even though USAA has dedicated service reps in San Antonio at 3AM Central Time fielding calls from Europe, I have to wait until 2PM in Europe because the system says I'm calling outside business hours. I have explained this to many, many reps. They all say they will put a note in my file saying that I'm calling from Europe, so I should get routed to a human next time instead of the automated service. Unfortunately, it never works. Banks in Europe are closed by this time, so doing a transaction with USAA and my European bank usually takes a day.
As an example, I call a human at USAA at 2PM European time to request a temporary increase in my ATM limit so I can take out enough cash to deposit in my landlord's bank account to pay the rent. However, my landlord's bank in Europe is now closed, so I have to wait until the next day to pay the rent. That's not a big deal in itself, but now I have a risk. If someone steals my ATM card and figures out my PIN in the next 18 hours (yea, small chance, but it happens), they now have access to a lot of cash. Instead, I could go to the ATM immediately to pull out the cash, but now I have a lot of cash on hand for the next 18 hours that could be stolen or destroyed in a fire. I would prefer to call USAA at 8AM in Europe, increase the limit, take cash out of the ATM at my landlord's bank, and at 8:10AM pay the rent at the teller 5 feet away from the ATM. This greatly reduces the risk.
I might even go so far as to suggest cutting out the middle man. Why can't I use the website to make a temporary increase in my ATM limit?
Thanks,
P
I'm really happy with USAA, but have a couple of things I'd like to change. I'll cut to the chase first, then add the details:
1) Waive credit card foreign transaction fees for all military members overseas
2) Make a call routing system that knows I'm in Europe even if I call using Skype
1) USAA currently waives credit card foreign transaction fees for deployed military members. Their definition of deployed is to be on deployment orders (you have to send them the orders and they must say "deployed"). I'm OCONUS on PCS orders and am 7 hours from the nearest US military installation, but for them I don't qualify for waived foreign transaction fees. However, I have less access to the BX/NEX and APO/FPO than most deployed members.
In fact, by their rules, someone could come to my location on deployment orders and not pay foreign transaction fees. So, I did the cheap thing and got a credit card from PenFed which has no foreign transaction fees. I now find myself looking at PenFed products more and more, when I used to go to USAA for everything without question. I like having all my banking in one place. However, the convenience of having all my banking in one place is not worth $100 a year in fees. Bottom line: I would happily use my USAA credit card if they would waive my foreign transaction fees.
2) I use Skype for all my calls from OCONUS to USAA. The USAA call routing system can't figure out where I'm calling from, so it assumes I'm in San Antonio. So even though USAA has dedicated service reps in San Antonio at 3AM Central Time fielding calls from Europe, I have to wait until 2PM in Europe because the system says I'm calling outside business hours. I have explained this to many, many reps. They all say they will put a note in my file saying that I'm calling from Europe, so I should get routed to a human next time instead of the automated service. Unfortunately, it never works. Banks in Europe are closed by this time, so doing a transaction with USAA and my European bank usually takes a day.
As an example, I call a human at USAA at 2PM European time to request a temporary increase in my ATM limit so I can take out enough cash to deposit in my landlord's bank account to pay the rent. However, my landlord's bank in Europe is now closed, so I have to wait until the next day to pay the rent. That's not a big deal in itself, but now I have a risk. If someone steals my ATM card and figures out my PIN in the next 18 hours (yea, small chance, but it happens), they now have access to a lot of cash. Instead, I could go to the ATM immediately to pull out the cash, but now I have a lot of cash on hand for the next 18 hours that could be stolen or destroyed in a fire. I would prefer to call USAA at 8AM in Europe, increase the limit, take cash out of the ATM at my landlord's bank, and at 8:10AM pay the rent at the teller 5 feet away from the ATM. This greatly reduces the risk.
I might even go so far as to suggest cutting out the middle man. Why can't I use the website to make a temporary increase in my ATM limit?
Thanks,
P
timwalsh300
Recycles dryer sheets
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Investment advice and options are the only aspect of USAA with which I've been unimpressed. As I was graduating college I spoke with one of their advisers and she told me to split my savings between the Capital Growth (with an expense ratio of 1.34%) and Cornerstone Strategy (1.31%, now called Cornerstone Moderately Aggressive) funds. Really? I put my money into the S&P 500 fund instead. Then I moved to Vanguard when I saw that they offered more index funds for half the cost or less.
The career starter loan is what brought me to USAA. In 2008 the terms for ROTC grads were $25,000 for 60 months at 1.99% if your paycheck went direct deposit to your USAA checking account. There was some other incentive to have the payments automatically drafted from your checking account. At the time, of course, you could buy a CD for 4-5% and turn a guaranteed profit. Some people did. Today, not so much. Most of us used it for some combination of buying a car, funding a Roth IRA, and providing some liquidity before our paychecks started rolling in. I paid off my loan early when I realized that I had lots of cash sitting around earning much less than 1.99%.
Tim
The career starter loan is what brought me to USAA. In 2008 the terms for ROTC grads were $25,000 for 60 months at 1.99% if your paycheck went direct deposit to your USAA checking account. There was some other incentive to have the payments automatically drafted from your checking account. At the time, of course, you could buy a CD for 4-5% and turn a guaranteed profit. Some people did. Today, not so much. Most of us used it for some combination of buying a car, funding a Roth IRA, and providing some liquidity before our paychecks started rolling in. I paid off my loan early when I realized that I had lots of cash sitting around earning much less than 1.99%.
Tim
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ejw93
Recycles dryer sheets
USAA's homeowner's insurance is boilerplate- it's only set up for primary residences.
If you move out of your home and rent it out (or buy an investment property), USAA insists on insuring you for the 'actual replacement value'.
This is great protection if you are insuring your primary residence.
However, if you are insuring a rental property, you may only wish to insure it for your purchase price.
Hypothetical Example: You own an investment property out of state that you bought for $131K.
Option (1) USAA will insure you, but they insist of insuring you for an assessed replacement/rebuild value of $189K, and that you MUST rebuild the investment property if it gets destroyed. If the home gets destroyed, you've just bought yourself a one-way plane ticket to go babysit a major construction project out-of-state.
Option (2) Other insurance companies will insure the investment property for a dollar value you assign. In this case, you insure the $131k purchase for $141k ($10k added to cover the cost to have the site bulldozed slick and cap off the utilities). You've got your $131K investment back, you're made whole, and you can re-deploy the cash to purchase another investment property (or some other investment if you choose) the next week. You do not have to take time away from your j*b to go and manage a major construction project 3 time zones away.
...would be nice to see USAA adjust their homeowner's insurance model to allow option 2.
Note: In the very hypothetical example above, the property owner chose USAA anyhow b/c their premium was much less than the Option 2 insurance vendor.
If you move out of your home and rent it out (or buy an investment property), USAA insists on insuring you for the 'actual replacement value'.
This is great protection if you are insuring your primary residence.
However, if you are insuring a rental property, you may only wish to insure it for your purchase price.
Hypothetical Example: You own an investment property out of state that you bought for $131K.
Option (1) USAA will insure you, but they insist of insuring you for an assessed replacement/rebuild value of $189K, and that you MUST rebuild the investment property if it gets destroyed. If the home gets destroyed, you've just bought yourself a one-way plane ticket to go babysit a major construction project out-of-state.
Option (2) Other insurance companies will insure the investment property for a dollar value you assign. In this case, you insure the $131k purchase for $141k ($10k added to cover the cost to have the site bulldozed slick and cap off the utilities). You've got your $131K investment back, you're made whole, and you can re-deploy the cash to purchase another investment property (or some other investment if you choose) the next week. You do not have to take time away from your j*b to go and manage a major construction project 3 time zones away.
...would be nice to see USAA adjust their homeowner's insurance model to allow option 2.
Note: In the very hypothetical example above, the property owner chose USAA anyhow b/c their premium was much less than the Option 2 insurance vendor.
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Thanks, everyone, keep 'em coming.
Every few days I've been e-mailing your comments (and feedback from the blog and other discussion boards) to the USAA PR staff. (You stay anonymous.) USAA's PR people farm it out to the USAA execs who will be briefing us so that we can expect them to be ready for interrogation. Like a good nuke, I keep a tickler list and I query their progress. The other nukes at USAA really appreciate reliving the good ol' days.
Let me share the general response to most comments. These are my words, not USAA's, but they paraphrase what I get from conversations & e-mails:
USAA prefers to spend the vast majority of their operating profits on core member services. They give some back through the subscriber savings account and they have to fund their insurance reserves (to the extent required by law) but, like Vanguard, they do not have to make a profit for their shareholders.
This means they'll spend money to streamline business processes like the call center or check deposits or insurance claims. They'll spend millions on advertising to a certain demographic if they expect those new members to be at least as well-behaved as the existing members. I've been told that there were [-]running gun battles[/-] spirited debates at USAA HQ for months over whether to form a partnership with NASCAR or the NFL. So far NFL is paying off big-time.
They've also licensed their USAA credit cards to dozens of veteran's organizations for more customer affinity dollars-- primarily to generate cash for the capex to comply with greater regulatory oversight on credit cards.
That member service philosophy extends to the majority, not the minority. USAA has been steadily chipping away at the rewards features of its credit cards & debit cards because of higher regulatory compliance expenses. Their other option would've been to get rid of debit cards entirely, but the majority of their members want the service even if it has less reward. USAA has also not implemented business checking because (in their opinion) only a minority of members want it. We bloggers have the opinion of "build it and they will come", so the dialogue continues. USAA is beginning to comprehend that they are seriously pissing off thousands of small-business entrepreneurs who are also military spouses (and very vocal on social media) so I expect that this will eventually be implemented with a monthly fee.
USAA's member-service philosophy also extends convenience only until it bumps into security (and liability). For example the comment about being able to temporarily change ATM features can be implemented, but the Security Center knows that it can also be hacked. USAA's #1 source of website activity originates in the People's Republic of China-- USAA does not have any customers in that country. USAA burned themselves badly in the 1990s on a computer system that was overdesigned and underpowered, and they ended up writing off millions of dollars. Today they have to make a business case for security (liability) before they'll even start analyzing the software/hardware requirements.
I've almost always found USAA's property insurance to be more expensive [EDIT: "than Armed Forces Insurance"], and I think it's because USAA knows what it costs to send out adjustors and process claims. The other companies are chasing market share by cutting premiums below costs, and the only time we pay the consequences is after the hurricane when customer service is overwhelmed-- it takes a month for the adjustor to show up (let alone cut a check). Personally we've always insured our properties with Armed Forces Insurance. We carry extremely high deductibles in the hope that we never need customer service or have to process a claim. However I think AFI is operating on the brink of undercapitalization and would have a hard time handling a major hurricane in an expensive area like Hawaii. We can handle the risk and we're saving the thousands of dollars of annual premiums.
We've gone with USAA auto insurance under the same "whoever's cheapest" concept because we don't carry collision or comprehensive. We've been fortunate to get great member service, but I hardly ever use it.
USAA's investments CFPs will never be able to compete with Vanguard or even Fidelity. Their staff spends a lot of time & effort on hand-holding and managed accounts, and they're just trying to beat out the Edward Jones & Ameriprises. They're pretty much running that business at cost, and they're not taking soft-dollar arrangements from the other fund companies.
SamClem, that's a good comment on Wells Fargo. I'm a Berkshire shareholder but I'm aware that WF is not exactly praised for their customer service, and I'll see if USAA will take on the member-service aspect of that problem. USAA must be saving a ton of money by outsourcing to WF, but I can't wait until WF tries to foreclose on a deployed Reservist because the bank doesn't understand the rules...
Every few days I've been e-mailing your comments (and feedback from the blog and other discussion boards) to the USAA PR staff. (You stay anonymous.) USAA's PR people farm it out to the USAA execs who will be briefing us so that we can expect them to be ready for interrogation. Like a good nuke, I keep a tickler list and I query their progress. The other nukes at USAA really appreciate reliving the good ol' days.
Let me share the general response to most comments. These are my words, not USAA's, but they paraphrase what I get from conversations & e-mails:
USAA prefers to spend the vast majority of their operating profits on core member services. They give some back through the subscriber savings account and they have to fund their insurance reserves (to the extent required by law) but, like Vanguard, they do not have to make a profit for their shareholders.
This means they'll spend money to streamline business processes like the call center or check deposits or insurance claims. They'll spend millions on advertising to a certain demographic if they expect those new members to be at least as well-behaved as the existing members. I've been told that there were [-]running gun battles[/-] spirited debates at USAA HQ for months over whether to form a partnership with NASCAR or the NFL. So far NFL is paying off big-time.
They've also licensed their USAA credit cards to dozens of veteran's organizations for more customer affinity dollars-- primarily to generate cash for the capex to comply with greater regulatory oversight on credit cards.
That member service philosophy extends to the majority, not the minority. USAA has been steadily chipping away at the rewards features of its credit cards & debit cards because of higher regulatory compliance expenses. Their other option would've been to get rid of debit cards entirely, but the majority of their members want the service even if it has less reward. USAA has also not implemented business checking because (in their opinion) only a minority of members want it. We bloggers have the opinion of "build it and they will come", so the dialogue continues. USAA is beginning to comprehend that they are seriously pissing off thousands of small-business entrepreneurs who are also military spouses (and very vocal on social media) so I expect that this will eventually be implemented with a monthly fee.
USAA's member-service philosophy also extends convenience only until it bumps into security (and liability). For example the comment about being able to temporarily change ATM features can be implemented, but the Security Center knows that it can also be hacked. USAA's #1 source of website activity originates in the People's Republic of China-- USAA does not have any customers in that country. USAA burned themselves badly in the 1990s on a computer system that was overdesigned and underpowered, and they ended up writing off millions of dollars. Today they have to make a business case for security (liability) before they'll even start analyzing the software/hardware requirements.
I've almost always found USAA's property insurance to be more expensive [EDIT: "than Armed Forces Insurance"], and I think it's because USAA knows what it costs to send out adjustors and process claims. The other companies are chasing market share by cutting premiums below costs, and the only time we pay the consequences is after the hurricane when customer service is overwhelmed-- it takes a month for the adjustor to show up (let alone cut a check). Personally we've always insured our properties with Armed Forces Insurance. We carry extremely high deductibles in the hope that we never need customer service or have to process a claim. However I think AFI is operating on the brink of undercapitalization and would have a hard time handling a major hurricane in an expensive area like Hawaii. We can handle the risk and we're saving the thousands of dollars of annual premiums.
We've gone with USAA auto insurance under the same "whoever's cheapest" concept because we don't carry collision or comprehensive. We've been fortunate to get great member service, but I hardly ever use it.
USAA's investments CFPs will never be able to compete with Vanguard or even Fidelity. Their staff spends a lot of time & effort on hand-holding and managed accounts, and they're just trying to beat out the Edward Jones & Ameriprises. They're pretty much running that business at cost, and they're not taking soft-dollar arrangements from the other fund companies.
SamClem, that's a good comment on Wells Fargo. I'm a Berkshire shareholder but I'm aware that WF is not exactly praised for their customer service, and I'll see if USAA will take on the member-service aspect of that problem. USAA must be saving a ton of money by outsourcing to WF, but I can't wait until WF tries to foreclose on a deployed Reservist because the bank doesn't understand the rules...
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timwalsh300
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2009
- Messages
- 131
Thanks for presenting USAA's side of things.
I'm surprised that you find the property insurance to be expensive. Our renter's insurance seems to be priced very well. I got quotes from Liberty Mutual a few weeks ago after learning about an alumni association discount, and their price for both renter's and auto insurance was much higher than what we pay at USAA.
What have they done to "chip away" at credit card reward features? Their World Mastercard is our primary card, and I've been happy with it. At the end of the year it works out to ~1% cash back for us without any hassle.
Tim
I'm surprised that you find the property insurance to be expensive. Our renter's insurance seems to be priced very well. I got quotes from Liberty Mutual a few weeks ago after learning about an alumni association discount, and their price for both renter's and auto insurance was much higher than what we pay at USAA.
What have they done to "chip away" at credit card reward features? Their World Mastercard is our primary card, and I've been happy with it. At the end of the year it works out to ~1% cash back for us without any hassle.
Tim
Good point-- my editing window was still open so I clarified that to "more expensive than Armed Forces Insurance".
USAA was heavily invested in Hawaii when Iniki rolled through here in 1992. At one point (1998?) they stopped insuring Hawaii homes unless you were a first-time home buyer. Last time I checked their rates (2011) they were quoting nearly $5000/year vs AFI's $900. But again that's USAA's exceptional customer service, whereas I'm paying for rock-bottom customer service because we're willing to self-insure for a lot of the damage & repair delays. If I could get a $50K deductible and a 25% hurricane deductible then I'd take it.
I've never seen any companies beat USAA's vehicle insurance.
The big fuss last year was USAA canceling the rewards program on the debit card, which I believe was 2%. USAA used to give huge discounts on gas (like 5%) for their Mastercard, but it's been years since I've seen that.
I've been happy with their USAA Mastercard too, but it's my backup card. My primary is an Fidelity Rewards Amex that returns 2% on everywhere it can be used (mainly Costco). Of course I use the USAA card when I'm overseas and when I'm renting a car, so the Amex isn't always the best choice.
Pajaro
Recycles dryer sheets
Hi Nords, I just read your blog and can confirm that USAA has refunded my CC foreign transaction fees since at least the 10th of November! I didn't even have to call them. They evidently used my address on file to apply the benefit. It also looks like USAA's exchange rate is better than PenFed's. As a test I bought the exact same item with my USAA CC and my PenFed CC in Spain within a few minutes of each other in Europe a few days ago. As of 3 days later, the USAA charge is U$S 4.97 and PenFed is U$S 5.01. Looks like USAA is back to being my go-to CC again! Thanks, Pajaro
You're welcome!
We flew home yesterday (boy are my arms tired) and I have a lot to catch up on. But USAA started reimbursing the fee last month. Here's the first of several blog posts with answers to some of the questions:
USAA blogger conference: initial report
Pajaro
Recycles dryer sheets
I just found out that the USAA benefit to refund the foreign transaction charge is good for only 12 months per PCS, regardless of the PCS length. Since they back dated my benefit to begin on my arrival date, it has now expired. I will begin using my PenFed credit card tomorrow. It was nice while it lasted!
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