Comments on: DFA Weekly Link Rally: What is your favorite bank?

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:23:30 +0000

Welcome W.T. – it seems like using online banking and local credit unions is the preferred option for a lot of folks… myself included.

By: W.T.

W.T. — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:13:42 +0000

I really like Wright-Patt Credit Union. They have great products, great rates, great service and I find their Internet banking to be really easy to use, both their site and the accessibility via other tools (I use mint.com to keep a snapshot of all of my accounts).

I have used Chase, but will shut that account down in the next few weeks.

By: BG

BG — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:47:47 +0000

Bank of America never gets any love, so I’ll give them some.

I’ve been using them for 15 years now, and they have a very nice setup for checking accounts. It is _the_ nicest web GUI that I’ve seen so far. For general purpose, “free” checking, online-bill-pay, BofA will always be my choice. However, I don’t like their loan rates / CD-rates / savings-rates, etc…

Hence why I use a bunch of banks — one for checking, one for short-term savings, one for loans, one for CDs, etc — pick the best back to suit the job.

By: Robert Espe

Robert Espe — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:05:31 +0000

I use ALLY bank, and have a local bank account for check deposit, and access to cash. No complaints, but people should be aware that ALLY does not have ING’s sub-account feature, and that their MMA accounts with the best rates only allow 6 withdrawls a month, so planning is a must. The contract they send you really is written in plain English, which is kinda cool.

Also relevant is that since ALLY is GMAC reorganized after collapse, most of their good rates exist to attract new customers, and will likely be unsustainable (and probably will be gone in another year), and only time will tell if they will fail again. The money is still FDIC insured, but some people don’t want the hassle.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:53:53 +0000

Hmmm, I used to use Ally back when they were GMAC… I’ll have to check into them again and write a review on them. Thanks Janice.

By: myfinancialobjectives

myfinancialobjectives — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:20:30 +0000

I too started my ING savings account a while back due to the buzz. I keep my Checking with Wachovia to take advantage of their Way2Save feature (which I love and just wrote an article about yesterday), but I do love my ING.

I’m thinking of looking into Navy Federal being in the Navy and all, I hear they have some nice perks.

By: Janice

Janice — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:32:29 +0000

I’ve been happily banking at ING for five years now, and I have absolutely no complaints. It’s true, ING makes banking fun! However, I’ve come to realize there are other options that have advanced online banking, and these options are quite relevant for me. After exhaustive research on my part, I’ve decided to make the switch this month to Ally. Ally offers everything ING offers – and more. Yes, Ally has higher interest rates, but I agree with Matt in that this alone would not entice me to switch banks. So what is it about Ally? Ally lets you write paper checks from your online account. And they furnish them for free – forever, not just your first order. This eliminates my having to keep a brick and mortar bank (I was using Wells Fargo – it pleases me to no end to be able to close that account). Additionally, while ING offers free ATM usage at Allpoint ATM’s (which for me entails parking and trotting into Target for cash), Ally lets you use any ATM’s – as often as you want to – and they will refund all fees into your account at the end of the month. In my opinion, these additional services make Ally a better option than ING.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:55:56 +0000

I had HSBC as a credit card back in the day, but I’ve never used them for banking…

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:54:25 +0000

Yeah, like I said in an earlier comment… for most people rate differences don’t deserve nearly the attention we normally pay them, because for the average saver the difference is so minimal. Ten times the interest earnings can typically be realized from simple monthly budgeting… but few people pay it as much attention.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:52:02 +0000

Awesome. Sounds similar to our set up.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:51:29 +0000

Have you ever tried ING Direct? I encourage you to... I hated most every bank until dealing with them. I am very happy there.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:50:06 +0000

I use ING & a local CU. CU is used mostly as a clearinghouse for paper deposits.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:49:23 +0000

Awesome DB… don’t ever take them for granted. A great bank is like a great spouse… they’re very hard to come by!

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:47:52 +0000

I used Ally for savings back when they were GMAC… never had any qualms.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:47:13 +0000

Wow, no complaints with 5/3? That’s a first!

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:46:28 +0000

Rates don’t deserve nearly the attention we pay them… unless someone has $100,000+ in the account, interest paid is so minimal. The amount of interest people earn is typically way less than the amount of money they squander by not having a firm budget in place.

I’m not saying rates don’t matter, I’m just saying most peoples time is better spent focusing elsewhere. I should write a post about this… I think I will.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:42:15 +0000

I’ve never used USAA… I’ll have to check into it.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:41:40 +0000

Yeah, I used 5/3 for a few years and had to terminate that toxic relationship… they were by far the worst bank I ever had to deal with!

By: David

David — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:30:30 +0000

My least favorite bank is HSBC Direct. They have some of the worst customer experience I’ve encountered since Dell went full steam ahead with their outsourcing of technical support.

ING remains my favorite just because it is extremely simple to use and rates on a whole have been generous since the beginning. I use Wachovia simply because I have roommates and need to deposit their checks quickly, but then I initiate the EFT transfers through ING to get it in my account to start earning some extra bucks.

By: Craig/FFB

Craig/FFB — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:49:03 +0000

ING Direct has awesome customer service! I’ve been with them for years and never had a problem.