Bank or Credit Union...

KatieCutie05 · March 2016

What bank do you use? are you happy with it? We currently have Wells Fargo but after our recent Fraud I want to change because dealing with the bank has been the biggest headache of all and i'm ready to switch. Its the best time to do it too since they had to close our accounts and open new ones and give me a new debit card so we have to change all our electronic payments and direct deposits anyway. Its been a month and no checks and I'm literally fighting with the bank because they essentially stole money from us.

Is a Credit Union worth it? I'm not sure what makes them so great other then loan rates, but we don't take out a bunch of loans or anything. Apparently we can pay 18 dollars a year to join a certain non profit organization to be eligible for Coastal Federal near us. My husband and I are eligible for 2 other credit unions but theres no branches in our state so it wont work.

Otherwise maybe SunTrust. We did Wells Fargo because we wanted to have branches available to us when we travelled, especially near our family but that just doesnt seem worth it to me anymore.

julieanne912 · March 2016

I've got both. I have a Chase checking account, and that's where all my direct deposits go, and it's my main bank account. I opened it as a Washington Mutual account about 15 years ago, and then eventually Chase took over. I like it because there are Chase banks everywhere. Also my folks and my BFF bank with Chase so it makes it very easy to transfer money between us if needed. I've never had any issues with them, but I'm sure some people have since it's such a large bank. I'll probably eventually change over to the credit union totally but I've had this account so long it'll be a big pain.

For the credit union, I mainly opened it because eventually I'd like to have access to some of their loan options, and their savings rate is slightly better than Chase. My accounts there are now joint with my husband, only because it makes transferring money between us easier. My savings account is with them. They are also part of an ATM network so I can use ATMs at do deposits at the other credit unions in the network, if I ever need to when I'm out of town or something. I know my mom's credit union has the same deal, so that might be worth looking into.

als1982 · March 2016

We use a local bank for our primary, I have an account at another local bank, for my mad money and H uses Google Wallet for his. I personally like local for a variety of reasons, including because we can walk there. It's my understanding the benefit of a credit union is a higher interest rate on savings, but we don't keep more than $1,000 in savings, so we don't really care about that, it's more about being fee-free for us.

maple2 · March 2016

I have used both types of places as we've moved over the years, and honestly, it just depends. At times I've chosen the credit union b/c it had higher interest rates and lower fees. At other times, the bank had higher interest rates and lower fees. If you are looking to switch, I would just check out all the places you think might work and then make a decision after getting hard numbers from each.

Currently we have accounts at 2 different regional banks. The first is where our mortgage is and the second is the one that is most convenient for us. We get all ATM fees reimbursed with the first bank, so we just use that bank to get money if we travel. A feature like that may be useful to you if you travel frequently.

lbonga1 · March 2016

I switched from BofA to Fidelity about 9 months ago when I started working independently because my BofA checking account would have charged me a fee for not having a certain $ direct deposit every month. I've been a little annoyed with Fidelity too though, because I have no way of depositing cash, the three checks I've tried to deposit with the app gave a "can't be read" error, and the two times I wanted to link an external account to transfer money, it wouldn't let me do it on the website so I had to go to a branch. I'll probably just leave it at this point though, since it's such a hassle to transfer everything over.

I have been receiving offers to open a Chase checking where they'll give $300 if I set up direct deposit. I haven't been able to open one since I'm waiting for my new, non-expired drivers license in the mail, but we used the offer for FI before it expired. He got the bonus within a week after receiving his direct deposit. I've gotten the offer again since we used it for him, so I'll probably wait to receive my license and go open one too. I heard if I just transfer money from my Fidelity account it will count as a direct deposit.

ETA: I was rambling and didn't really answer your question! I think there are some credit unions were you only have to make a one time donation to become a member, but then you might not have a branch near you. I think credit unions are mostly good for low loan rates and high interest rates for the savings accounts. But you can use on online bank for the savings account since it's usually just as high. I think Ally is around 1% interest.

short+sassy · March 2016

I think credit unions tend to be a better customer service experience, overall. And they do tend to have slightly better benefits on their checking accounts and slightly lower interest rates on their loans. But then, unless they let you use any ATM free of charge, it is less convenient if you are looking for a branch "on the go".

Nowadays, I feel like banks are pretty much the same and don't see much difference in any of them.

hoffse · March 2016

We have a car loan through a credit union because it's a killer interest rate. We might re-fi through them later on this year too.

Otherwise, we use Wells Fargo and Fidelity for all of our banking. I'm thinking of switching over to Fidelity completely, just to streamline everything. Fidelity has free checking and ATM withdrawals worldwide. If an ATM charges you a fee, they reimburse it. It's great.

brij2006 · March 2016

We bank with a local bank and a credit union. Love them both!

Never have any issues with getting money while traveling or using our debit cards for everything. We've been very happy.

Had an account with Chase and Washington Mutual when I lived in Chicago. Worst experience ever. I closed those out and did banking by mail back to my tiny bank in my hometown. We probably won't ever bank with anyone else.

Mustard76 · March 2016

We bank with two large (almost) national banks. We have out mortgage, checking account (used to pay said mortgage) and two credit cards with them. I work for a bank, so our primary accounts are where I work. Checking, savings, allowance accounts, and we each have a credit card there as well. I had an auto loan through my dad's credit union when I was 19 or 20, but other than that, I've never dealt with one and I'm not likely to do so. Working at the bank makes things infinitely more convenient though.

cbee817 · March 2016

We bank at both. M&T bank has our checking accounts, girls' savings accounts, large savings account, and our mortgage there. The credit union has our CD ladder and vacation fund. The credit union has better rates for savings/CDs but our bank has a much quicker turn around time for transfers, checks cashed, they have branches/ATMs all over our area, and their hours are more flexible than the credit union. I really like both.

labro · March 2016

We don't but I wish we did. We have our primary savings with Chase and I know we'd find better interest rates for it at a CU. However, we apparently get a lot of side benefits because of the multiple accounts, and account values so H is reluctant to leave...plus our mortgage is with Chase anyway which brings some other (minor) benefits. We've also kept my accounts open with USAA to maintain the relationship there. They've always provided excellent customer service and their rates are marginally better (although again, it's so marginal that this stuff doesn't really matter).

dragonstarjk · March 2016

We have our vehicle loans (just one now) at a credit union because of the miniscule interest rate. Other than that, all of our accounts are at a local/regional bank--I work there, so it makes sense, although we both had accounts there before I started working there.

Every financial institution, whether bank, credit union, what have you, is going to have positives and negatives. It all depends on what features are most important to you. A lot of small credit unions don't have as many options for mobile banking, online bill pay, electronic statements, etc., and those things are a requirement for me.

You are at risk for fraud regardless of which type of institution you choose, and it's rarely the bank's fault-although many people like to place blame with the bank. Not saying that's the case here, just a statement in general. May I ask how WF stole money from you?

KatieCutie05 · March 2016

Well most of the fraud was in our savings account. but there was also a valid deposit that we made in there for $375. I told them 10 times that one was ours. But they entered it as a fraud claim and we didn't find out until a 375 dollar withdrawl showed up in our savings account as a claim reversal. My husband called them and they withdrew the claim. 10 days later we still didn't see our money back so i call them and they told me they cant reverse it after its already gone through so i'd have to contact the merchant. um no thats not even possible! After 30 minutes on the phone with them trying to get them to understand what the problem was she finally just says she'll have to email this person in this other department to ask him and it takes 48 hours to hear back. thats where we are standing now.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2016

we bank and have our mortgage through a small local bank. our car loan is serviced through credit union. I like the way we do things, I don't think I'd consider banking with a national bank, I've never had a problem banking locally.

LillibetteV · March 2016

We use a bank that's regional to the Northeast and I love it, but my husband isn't as big of a fan. We have direct deposit which waives the account maintenance fees, and I honestly have no idea what other fees might be like because I don't overdraw my account or use out of network ATMs. I little forethought goes a long way in avoiding unnecessary fees. We also don't have loans except for our mortgage (which is through Quicken) so I don't know if their rates are any good. Basically - if I don't use it I don't worry about it!

What I DO use is direct deposit and online billpay. I like the bank primarily because we get $20 every.single.month deposited into our savings account because we have direct deposit and billpay on our checking account. Free money works for me! My husband gets annoyed because he thinks their online interface isn't that great, but I honestly can't figure out what is so bad about it - it works fine for me.

vlagrl29 · March 2016

credit union all the way! We are with community america and get 4% interest on the first $1500 in our savings accounts PLUS you get a percentage of money back at the end of the year depending on how much $$ you keep with them.

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