The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: islwynn on November 23, 2013, 11:54:18 AM
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We are looking into finding an all online bank. Our brick and mortar bank just started charging more fees for things that had formerly been free. Getting tired of it.
Has anyone had any experience with Ally bank? Or have any other online banks you'd like to recommend?
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Mostly, I am a member of a ton of credit unions, many of which do not have branches in my area. They all have some sort of brick and mortar presence, but it may be 3K miles from me. I have one local (may add more since my super-convenient local just moved) for the odd cash deposit and such.
Credit unions are great. They tend to have no fees unless you really screw the pooch like overdraft a check or something, and even then it's usually lower than a big bank. They are all member-owned non-profits, you are the shareholder. Most of them have some sort of "field of membership" limitations on eligibility, but there are often easy ways around it.
For starters, I would recommend Alliant for its great savings rates and fast ACH. The savings rates are not too noticeable presently of course, but comparatively competitive, and in times of higher rates they have historically been extremely competitive. Also, Pentagon for its great mortgage products and rewards credit cards to rival any bank. Both have fields of membership that can be entered with a small, one-time charitable donation. ($10-15 or so.)
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I joined Capitol One (formerly ING) a few months ago, and I really like it. Customer service is great. Savings rate (APY) right now is .75%. If you do a couple fairly easy things, you get a $50 bonus shortly after you open an account.
I like being able to (with a couple of clicks) create multiple savings accounts. You could have "New Bike", "Camping Vacation", "Retirement Party" savings accounts.
Here is my referral code, should you decide to go this route. (I think I would get $20.) Thanks in advance if you use it.
https://r.capitalone360.com/RT88UFGSfy
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I really like Simple (http://www.simple.com). It lives up to it's name and is very simple. I also like it because is has neat features "older" banks don't have.
If you like them, I can send you my invite code. We won't get any cash bonuses using invites but you do have to be invited to get in.
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Ally's customer service has become a disaster. I switched after 5 years with Ally to Alliant in October.
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For starters, I would recommend Alliant for its great savings rates and fast ACH.
In my considerable experience with online banking, Alliant has, by far, the best and fastest ACH transfers. I am extremely happy with Alliant CU.
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We are VERY happy with ING. Have been using since 2008. No fees. Easy to transfer from other bank accounts. Easy to "pay" other people. Linked to Sharebuilder, which we also use. Love the ability to set up bucket accounts for our emergency fund, home tax/ins, vacations, etc
Referral code: https://r.capitalone360.com/7WfyxQ7c4f
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Fidelity CMA: https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/fidelity-cash-management-account/overview
Free ATMs, free checks, mobile deposits and great app, BillPay, FDIC deposit sweep. The last one serves no purpose (to me at least), but it's kind of cool.
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I really like Schwab. Free checks, decent website, reimburses all ATMs fees worldwide, mobile check deposit up to $10,000 and nice customer service. I think it's the best kept secret in the banking world.
They do have some weird ways of doing things though. To connect a third party checking account to your Schwab checking, you have to fill out a form and mail it in! What is this? 1999? But you can electronically connect the brokerage account they automatically open for you (no cost) to your third party account. Odd.
Other than that weirdness, they're great.
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I've used Ally for about 4 years and haven't had any issues with their customer service. I like the ATM fee refunds, so I can use ATMs anywhere. In the past year or so they implemented online check depositing (where you upload a photo), which is pretty handy. No complaints.
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ING/Capital One 360 has treated me well. I recommend them. I previously had a savings account with EmigrantDirect, but their interest rates have lagged behind and they don't have a checking account option, so I don't have any money with them anymore.
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As I posted above, I like Capitol One. I just received an e-mail from them today about some kind of Black Friday "sale" they are having. Maybe there will be some big promotion for new members? Not sure, but you may want to check out their website on Friday. They say their sale will last until 11:59pm on 12/2.
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I really like Schwab. Free checks, decent website, reimburses all ATMs fees worldwide, mobile check deposit up to $10,000 and nice customer service. I think it's the best kept secret in the banking world.
They do have some weird ways of doing things though. To connect a third party checking account to your Schwab checking, you have to fill out a form and mail it in! What is this? 1999? But you can electronically connect the brokerage account they automatically open for you (no cost) to your third party account. Odd.
Other than that weirdness, they're great.
I've heard the same thing and have been thinking about switching.
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I also like ally
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Check out the Black Friday sale at Capitol One. Sign up for checking and get $125. sign up for savings and get $75. I have not yet read the fine print. The offer is only good for a day or two.
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Everbank is awesome. Best online bank I've tried. Solid customer service. Good tools etc. Higher interest rates than most.
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Been with Schwab for years, no problems with checking, roth, 401k and a taxable account. Website is nice and easy to use. You get zero transaction fees on a half dozen Schwab etf's that cover the broad market, with etf fees similar to vanguards. Instant transfers between checking and brokerage accounts. 100% reimbursement of all atm fees domestically (not tried internationally). Have had to call costumer support a few times and was always as good an experience as you could hope for. Have not used there mobile app or mobile-take-a-picture check deposit but I assume it works, I have to snail-mail the physical check to them deposit normally takes a two/three days. Back in the day they even paid a good rate on cash in the checking but those days are long gone.
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I use Citi for checking and American Express Personal Savings for savings account. Transactions are done with 2 clicks. No minmal balance, no fees, gives 0.85% APY (started with 1.1% though).
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If you're eligible for membership, then check out USAA. I've been a member for over 25 years and they're simply outstanding at everything they do. From customer service to claims help to investment advice for free, I love USAA. My USAA accounts include:
Checking
Savings
Roth IRA
Traditional IRA
Car Insurance
Homeowner's insurance
Term Life
Mastercard (zero balance *grin*)
And all my kids have USAA accounts too. They're innovative -- among the first to have mobile banking; online bill pay; mobile check deposit via photo or scan, and yet conservative in their financial management. LOVE USAA!
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We have used Schwab as our main checking account, which is very convenient since almost all our brokerage accounts are with them as well. They are really handy for billpay, transactional stuff, ATM fee rebates, and deposits are a snap with the mobile deposit doowacky on their app. However, for CD and other things we use credit unions. So we have CDs with Pen Fed and Navy Federal, a car loan with Navy, and I set up my HELOC with Hanscom Federal CU.
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Check out the Black Friday sale at Capitol One. Sign up for checking and get $125. sign up for savings and get $75. I have not yet read the fine print. The offer is only good for a day or two.
Thanks for mentioning this. I already have accounts at the local credit union, but I'm gonna sign up for the free $200... looks like you have to keep $500 in the savings account for 30 days (15% return over that time) and do 5 debit transactions over 50 days for checking.
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Forgot to mention about Everbank: automatic ATM fee reimbursements anywhere in the world.
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Russ, if it's not too late, please consider using my referral code:
https://r.capitalone360.com/RT88UFGSfy
They might even accept it after the fact, as Ting did for me when I signed up there.
If anyone else reading this is thinking about Capitol One, please use my code. For two referrals, I get a $100 bonus. (Personally, I think it's kind of lame that they require TWO referrals--plenty of us will be able to send along one referral, but will get no bonus for that. :( But I don't get to make the rules!)
Thanks!
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Russ, if it's not too late, please consider using my referral code:
https://r.capitalone360.com/RT88UFGSfy
Gladly!
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I have one referral just need one more (today!) if anyone is interested! I really am happy with ING/capitalone. Have used them for many years.
$75 for new savings (for you or your kids) and $125 for checking. All free accounts.
https://r.capitalone360.com/7WfyxQ7c4f
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I think the offer is good through midnight tomorrow (12/2).
https://home.capitalone360.com/?isBus=false&customerType=1
(And thanks, Russ!)
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NintyFour - your link doesn't look like the other referral links. No referral id or whatnot.
My husband and I have had joint ING/Captial One savings and checking accounts for years. Would I be able to refer one (or both) of us for a separate account? We have a single joint local bank checking account, so if a new account has to be linked to a different account, we're out of luck.
eta: I read the fine print, must be a new customer. Dang.
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If anyone still needs a working referral link: https://r.capitalone360.com/f27nPrRD5f
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NintyFour - your link doesn't look like the other referral links. No referral id or whatnot.
Hmmm...I think this is the same as I posted above. Hoping it works. Grabbed it right from my Capitol One account where it says "Refer a Friend."
https://r.capitalone360.com/RT88UFGSfy
If someone could let me know that it works, I would be grateful!
Thanks!
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seemed to work fine for me ninetyfour
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Great. Thanks again, Russ. Hope you like your experience with Capitol One.
It might seem silly, but one little feature I like is that you can create multiple savings accounts and name them "Trip to Paris" or "Summer 2015 Vacation" or whatever you want.
One thing to be aware of is that transfers to and from Cap One and your local bank, say, are not instantaneous. One trick I learned is that transferring into your Cap One checking and then into your Cap One savings is quicker than transferring directly in your Cap One savings.
Also, customer service has been great so far.
Anyway, thanks again!
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There are just a few hours left for you to take advantage of the "sale" at Capitol One. You would get $125 for opening a checking account and $75 for opening a savings account. You'd have to jump through a few hoops to get the money, but it's fairly easy, free money.
And I would get $50 for two referrals.
I'll resist being obnoxious and repeating my referral code. It is in a recent post of mine, just a few posts before this one.
Thanks for your consideration!