What's so great about USAA's checking?

[otowngirl]

This is a S/O of Swizzle's gym post..

We have several accounts, policies, etc. through USAA, but our checking is through another bank with local branches, ATMs, etc. Should I switch everything over to USAA? If so, why?

[midnightmare81]

Besides that its FREE and the customer service is FANTASTIC?! That's enough for me!

We do have an account with another bank however in the event that USAA's system is down, or for depositing cash

[Deleted]

I can deposit checks via iPhone and have immediate availability. My paycheck always processes faster - my coworkers get their paychecks on a Friday, and mine is available on Thursday. They refund other banks' ATM fees up to a certain amount. The customer service is the best. I like having all our accounts in one place - it makes paying insurance and credit card bills so easy.

[otowngirl]

My bank also offers the depositing checks via iPhone, which is amazeballs. The ATM reimbursement is intriguing, though. My bank not only doesn't reimburse, they charge ME a fee for using another bank's ATM. *Rage*

[jigsy]

I love the ATM benefit. DH travels all over the country, and it is awesome for him to be able to use whatever ATM he stumbles on in the airport.
They used to give cash back on debit purchases, but not anymore
austomer Service is great. I had an issue with my building withdrawing my rent 2x in a week which cause an overdraft fee, but after I explained the situation, they refunded it with no issues

[Deleted]

Jan 2, 2013 16:46:40 GMT -5 otowngirl said:

My bank also offers the depositing checks via iPhone, which is amazeballs. The ATM reimbursement is intriguing, though. My bank not only doesn't reimburse, they charge ME a fee for using another bank's ATM. *Rage*

Oh yeah, USAA charges no ATM fees. I don't remember the refund limit, but we've never hit it. Of course, now I don't have to worry about it at all since there is a USAA ATM a few blocks from my house!

[luvmagoldn]

Jan 2, 2013 16:34:56 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

I can deposit checks via iPhone and have immediate availability. My paycheck always processes faster - my coworkers get their paychecks on a Friday, and mine is available on Thursday. They refund other banks' ATM fees up to a certain amount. The customer service is the best. I like having all our accounts in one place - it makes paying insurance and credit card bills so easy.

All of this! And on the rare instance we needed to deposit a check over $10,000 we used the UPS store across the street. They have an arrangement with USAA.

[nevermind]

We are in the process of switching to USAA. The first thing I noticed is that the customer service is awesome and available online. There are no fees (they even refund ATM fees from other banks) and things like mobile deposits are free (our current bank does mobile deposits but charges $.50 per deposit). I think it's because they are designed for military people that are around the world so they cater to people that can't drive down the road to a branch

[catmt]

Everything. The customer service is phenomenal. If you have other accounts with them, you can transfer money in and out checking and have it be available immediately.

[zarapipe]

Ditto everything that has been said above!!
Plus the have an awesome app for your phone so I can pay bills, check balances and transfer funds very easy.

[audette]

Everything. Refunding other banks atm fees, using the debit card internationally, customer service, fraud detection, willingness to overnight new cards when unapproved activity was caught on our account, depositing at UPS stores (or by smartphone, once we have those), only billpay being super easy to use, even for companies not fully integrated into their site, the ability link it to our savings for overdraft protection without fees, and so on, and so forth...

The _only_ complaint I have about USAA's chequing accounts is the lack of chipcards. International travel is somewhat inconvenienced by the lack of this type of card, and considering their primary customer base and that base's periodic international living accomodations, it's mindboggling that they do not yet offer chipcards for those who want them.

But, we're happy with them, and solely bank with them.