Online Banks: Ally vs Capital One vs Simple

[P1]

So I've been nickle and dimmed with monthly service fees long enough so I'm looking for a fee free online bank as I need to keep my mustachianism into a higher gear. I don't have much money right now so the interest isn't a big factor for now, and certainly once I have more dollars to rub together I'd move those to higher interest bearing accounts anyway.

So I'm really concerned with ease of use. Will need to set up direct deposit and then re-link all my online billing accounts. Only need to write the occasional check. Currently a renter who POP money's rent every month so ease of use setting up and possibly changing that a factor as well.

So any mustachians use online banking? Any recommendations?

[Jags4186]

I use Ally.  Customer Service has been excellent.  I have yet to be charged with a fee.

What I like most about Ally is that they don't sell a lot of stuff...so I'm not bombarding by ads.  I used to have capital one 360 and was always getting emails about investment account bonuses, venture capital one cards, etc.

[nanu]

I use Ally as well. Haven't used any of the other options (only a local credit union and Bank of America prior to that) so can't attest to those.
So far (4-5 months) has been great - no fees at all (in fact, got reimbursed ATM fees when used another bank's ATM), very convenient to use,
and their customer service was great the one time I contacted them.

[randommadness]

I use Ally as well. Haven't used any of the other options (only a local credit union and Bank of America prior to that) so can't attest to those.
So far (over a year) has been great - no fees at all (in fact, got reimbursed ATM fees when used another bank's ATM), very convenient to use.

fixed that for me.

[FrugalWad]

I use Capital One, since I've had that account while it was still ING Direct. I like that I can have 25 different savings accounts, renamed to whatever I want (car tires savings account, PS4 savings account, etc). The .75% interest is nice, and they have one of the highest CD rates at 2.25% for 60 months with a low or no minimum.

I was looking at Synchrony earlier. They have a 1.05% savings account.

[TheDude]

I use Alliant CU. They have branches but none around me so for me its an online account. I like that they give me instant access to mobile deposit checks up to 20K. They also pay a decent interest rate and have pretty quick ach service.

[johnny847]

I like Schwab. No minimums nor fees like most online banks.

But what's cool about them is free ATM fee reimbursals at bank ATMs worldwide. And no foreign transaction fees either. Making it a fee free way to get local currency while abroad.

Note that in general an online bank won't allow you to do cash deposits. I think Capital One 360 may be an exception - they may let you deposit money at their capital one local branches. Not sure about that particular example.

But for most people the lack of cash deposits isn't an issue.

[ghsebldr]

I use capitol one, formerly ing. Never had a fee and I like the easy link to my sharebuilder brokerage account. Free transfers from any savings acct to any brokerage account at sharebuilder.
I must have my spam filters set right because I can't remember ever getting a sales pitch from ing or cap one.

[Doubleh]

We've had Ally for a couple of years and been very happy. Last year we opened checking and savings accounts with capital one for the signing bonuses (I think about $200).

Nothing wrong with c1 I certainly wouldn't call it bad. But we closed it in the end as it didn't offer anything that Ally didn't. Ally just seemed smother and better thought out with slicker UI on the website and mobile app, and easier workflows for getting set up, configuring online transfers etc. At the time I closed the c1 things like interest rate and accessibility were very similar.

In short if ease of use is you main concern I would definitely go for Ally

[cars+FIRE]

Like the others I had an ING account that converted to Capital One 360.  Recently pulled my money out of that and into Ally.  I like Ally's website better, and they currently have a better interest rate.

Otherwise, they're pretty comparable.  It's definitely worth it to have an online savings account for your emergency cash as compared to what a B&M bank will offer you.