OH the JOYS of changing banks....

[FD1000]

Interest on our loans are great. Could gain 1% more by moving our savings but its OK.. Not a whole lot, easily available and FDIC insured. I love walking in and being greeted by name... One day walked in, 15 minutes later walked out with an open check for up to $25K to buy a truck. Didn't get one then,
But last year called them and gave them the info on the truck we were looking at.... 5 minutes later approved....

Every time I bought a vehicle, the dealership gave me a better rate than any bank or CU. I was approved in just one minute because this is how long it takes. If you have a great credit, it's much easier.
BTW, over the years the Penfed CU reps helped much more with disputes than the Fidelity ones. This is where customer reps matter.
Fidelity and Schwab are better than your bank. I don't care that much about smiles, I care about services I can do with ease. How many banks with real branches let you use all ATM and refund your fees? How many of them waive all fees abroad on ATM and/or CC?

 

[Koolau]

Interest on our loans are great. Could gain 1% more by moving our savings but its OK.. Not a whole lot, easily available and FDIC insured. I love walking in and being greeted by name... One day walked in, 15 minutes later walked out with an open check for up to $25K to buy a truck. Didn't get one then,
But last year called them and gave them the info on the truck we were looking at.... 5 minutes later approved....

Yeah, local is really nice sometimes. I had one young lady teller at my CU who said she recognized me by my shirt! (Kinda loud Hawaiian Aloha shirt at a mainland CU).

 

[jazz4cash]

I can't believe all of the peeps on here still using a credit unions to hold their money when their interest rates suck. I followed my parents for years to a credit union getting terrible interest rate returns on my money and I'm glad I found out about online banks paying 4 times the interest any brick-and-mortar bank would ever pay as I was taught let your money make you money not just collect dust. And now I use only 1 brick &mortar bank for my checking and when I finally change my residency for hopefully the last time that will be with an online bank as because before we all know it all transactions will be digital anyways.

I have three credit union accounts for convenience but I don’t keep much cash there. I suspect many other ‘peeps’ are similar. I keep as little as possible at BofA for billpay and some at Penfed (2.8% apy) but I mostly use Marcus online savings which pays 3.65% as far as FDIC accounts. Fido MM funds has the biggest chunk.

 

[old medic]

And todays added joys...... Since we have to drive an hour to get to a bank.....

We have been made aware that adding cash at retail locations using a barcode may be declined because you have an account number that is less than seven (7) digits. There are two temporary solutions as we work through this technical issue: Use the barcode to add cash to your share account, which has seven or more digits. Once the funds are added, you can log into the app and transfer the funds to another account, such as your checking account. Use your debit card at Walmart locations only to add funds to the account of your choice. There is a $3.74 retail service fee per transaction, which we will reimburse within two days. We are working to find a solution and will reach out to you when the problem is fixed. We apologize for the inconvenience.

 

[Koolau]

And todays added joys...... Since we have to drive an hour to get to a bank.....

​

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ We have been made aware that adding cash at retail locations using a barcode may be declined because you have an account number that is less than seven (7) digits. There are two temporary solutions as we work through this technical issue: Use the barcode to add cash to your share account, which has seven or more digits. Once the funds are added, you can log into the app and transfer the funds to another account, such as your checking account. Use your debit card at Walmart locations only to add funds to the account of your choice. There is a $3.74 retail service fee per transaction, which we will reimburse within two days. We are working to find a solution and will reach out to you when the problem is fixed. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Unbelievable! I can't imagine why they can't make this w*rk seamlessly.

 

[indiajust]

This is exactly why I consolidated with Schwb bill payer services. My attached account pays everything direct. Moving house 4 times since then takes a few minutes. I just change my contact info inside schwb.

I used SECU in raleigh for years. Accounts closed when ex wife moved and we divided assets. When I sold the house and left a few years later, I had to cash one of the buyers checks for something ancillary to the closing. I went to the exact same branch, manager, teller and they KYC/AML me. Never again.

 

[CaptTom]

I've been with Penfed CU for over 20 years. It's all online....
One CC gets you 2% cash back on everything, no limits.
Another one I just opened is Pathfinder for travel without a yearly fee. They paid for my global entry=$120 + 4X points (can convert to cash) on every travel expense (airline, cruises, taxis, hotels, ferries, trains, car rentals) + you get 50K points...

Interesting. I got away from using PenFed way back when they dropped their cash-back program and tried to convert everyone to "points." They grandfathered my 5% on gas at the pump, which is now the only thing I use PenFed for. Back then I also remember their interest rates became un-competitive compared to other options. I really haven't looked at them much lately.

I have a small amount in their "Premium Savings" account, and just enough in their regular savings to remain a member.

The 2% on everything card sounds like it might be worth a look.

I knew my PenFed card had no foreign transaction fees, but at 0% cash back I haven't been using it for travel. Another no-fee card I carry offers 1.9% on everything, so that's what I've been using. That Pathfinder might be worth a look. I'm just leery of playing the "points" game. I know what cash is worth. Points always seem too nebulous for me.

 

[Koolau]

This is exactly why I consolidated with Schwb bill payer services. My attached account pays everything direct. Moving house 4 times since then takes a few minutes. I just change my contact info inside schwb.

I used SECU in raleigh for years. Accounts closed when ex wife moved and we divided assets. When I sold the house and left a few years later, I had to cash one of the buyers checks for something ancillary to the closing. I went to the exact same branch, manager, teller and they KYC/AML me. Never again.

I guess they fear regulators more than they fear customers.

 

[Koolau]

I know what cash is worth. Points always seem too nebulous for me.

Right, and they can change the value of points at their discretion - even after you have earned them. I hate points.

 

[old medic]

In the last week I have requested a call back 5 times... wait times stated ranged from 3 to 24 seconds...
I still haven't gotten a call yet.

 

[indiajust]

Things I don't miss. Closed my last bank account in 96. Closed credit union account in 03. 22 years of living easy. I don't think I will live long enough to see a decentralized crypto something get simple enough to replace my current system.

 

[Koolau]

Things I don't miss. Closed my last bank account in 96. Closed credit union account in 03. 22 years of living easy. I don't think I will live long enough to see a decentralized crypto something get simple enough to replace my current system.

So where do you keep cash? Investment company? If' you mentioned it in the past, I have forgotten. (Checking, savings, CDs, etc?)

 

[pb4uski]

I can't believe all of the peeps on here still using a credit unions to hold their money when their interest rates suck. I followed my parents for years to a credit union getting terrible interest rate returns on my money and I'm glad I found out about online banks paying 4 times the interest any brick-and-mortar bank would ever pay as I was taught let your money make you money not just collect dust. And now I use only 1 brick &mortar bank for my checking and when I finally change my residency for hopefully the last time that will be with an online bank as because before we all know it all transactions will be digital anyways.

I think you are painting with a very wide brush. At times, credit unions can be VERY competitive. Back around 2019, the likes of PenFed, Navy Federal, Suncoast, and GTE Financial and other credit unions were offering very attractive 3.0-3.5% CD rates and I was opening accounts and making six-figure CD purchases because it was so much better than other fixed income options available at that time.

When we moved to Texas, I decided to go with a Schwab bank account since we are other than a couple HSA's consolidated at Schwab. Then if we move again I don't have to do anything and there is a Schwab office nearby but I haven't had to go to a Schwab office for anything for a couple years.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I use the online savings account for my savings because the interest rate is so much higher than my bank. I had been banking at the same bank for the entire 28 years I have lived here.

When the largest data breach occurred a few months ago, with unknown people having access to our Social Security and all our banking information I decided I needed a separate account to pay my bills and have my pension check get deposited. Like anything new it’s a pain to set up as far as bill pay, etc.

The only thing I use my old account for is to get my Social Security check and to receive any refunds from the IRS or if I need to pay the IRS I do it through that account only. I leave very little money in that account now.

 

[Out of Steam]

When the largest data breach occurred a few months ago, with unknown people having access to our Social Security and all our banking information I decided I needed a separate account to pay my bills and have my pension check get deposited. Like anything new it’s a pain to set up as far as bill pay, etc.

The only thing I use my old account for is to get my Social Security check and to receive any refunds from the IRS or if I need to pay the IRS I do it through that account only. I leave very little money in that account now.

I've been waiting for implementation of a bank merger to do this, hoping that the compromised account information will be changed by the merger. But if the breach is continuing, that won't help. In any case, our emergency savings are with a different (online) bank.

 

[indiajust]

So where do you keep cash? Investment company? If' you mentioned it in the past, I have forgotten. (Checking, savings, CDs, etc?)

When Schwb added attached cash management feature i dabbled. When they added free automated bill payment service, I jumped. With free worldwide ATM, I am completely hooked. Have not put a stamp on a bill or bought envelopes in decades. (nor have I slipped and forgotten to pay a bill or paid a late charge) Thus I prefer to autopay with the service than bill to a credit card. If my card gets skimmed or anything goes wrong, it is so much less stress when there are no credit card autopays to fix. With a little finagling in Quicken I can project payments into the future for budgeting too.

While i think of cash as many buckets with individual purposes, the total amount goes up and down with large sales/purchases of stock, structured loan payouts, etc. and is all held in one lump. It shows up in the brokerage account statement, though it has different purposes depending on anticipated expenses/income projections.

 

[pb4uski]

^^^ Sounds overly complicated to me.

I do use a Schwab Bank checking account for our checking account and I also use the account projection in Quicken for cash management.

 

[indiajust]

^^^ Sounds overly complicated to me.

I do use a Schwab Bank checking account for our checking account and I also use the account projection in Quicken for cash management.

My biggest issue with my approach is that the investing and spending transactions are blended together in my main taxable account. All the other accounts are easy to confirm performance, since I have not started drawing down yet. I could correct this by adding another taxable account, keep my cash allocation there with all the bill payer and spending in one account... while all the taxable investing would be in the other. (with budgeted transfers)

Its a tradeoff between yet another account, vs keeping up with mental accounting on how much of my cash is in what bucket. When I started with schwb, the account structure was separate, at some point post divorce I started doing it combined.

My biggest complaint today is that it makes it impossible for me to discuss investment returns on my taxable side, since it is blended with spending.

Thus I have what I call "after life" returns. After food/beer/rent/taxes. After life. Which is just a net worth chart.