Fradulent Credit Card Charges (gaming related?)

[Strazos]

Certain US gov't agencies qualify for membership as well, FYI.

[Selby]

It's worth looking into for the Auto Insurance alone if you're able to qualify, IMO.

I agree.  The times I've needed them, even big insurance companies like State Farm and Progressive rolled over and played dead and gave me what I want on the first try.  My ex wife's insurace basically ignored her problems when the other lady's insurance stopped responding and then dropped her right after the claim was settled (5 months after the wreck that the other person caused).  Everyone tells me they can get me "a deal" on their insurance plan, but I'll gladly pay a few dollars more a month to have a company that fights for me when I need them to and doesn't treat me like dirt when I have a claim.

[Chimpy]

USAA rocks.

Especially their Insurance. All of those "save money using us! just let us get you a quote!" companies would charge me at least 20% more than USAA does for less coverage.

I am pretty sure the dividend Merusk spoke of is only for the Insurance portion of USAA though, I think the bank operates differently.

[Selby]

I am pretty sure the dividend Merusk spoke of is only for the Insurance portion of USAA though, I think the bank operates differently.

Yeah I think it's only for the full member\insurance portion.  I get a couple of bucks to my account ($2.01 last time I think) and a quarterly statement every so often.

[KallDrexx]

Good insurance is great.  My cars have been hit 6 times so far (when the car was parked), and only 1 time has someone left their information.  They paid out the repairs for all 5 of the other ones, and haven't increased my rates at all.  Meanwhile, I know people who went for cheap insurance  and their premiums go up any time any other insurance can't be pinned for the cash.

[MuffinMan]

Whenever you have a not at fault claim make sure to get a letter explaining it. I had a claim 5 years ago that every insurance company thinks was my fault.

[KallDrexx]

Whenever you have a not at fault claim make sure to get a letter explaining it. I had a claim 5 years ago that every insurance company thinks was my fault.

Good idea I never thought of that.  I wonder how easy it is to get the police records, as in all my instances the police reports had it written that I was parked properly and not at fault.

[WayAbvPar]

Yet another reason to QUIT USING BANKS if you have any possible alternative. One of the comments made me laugh, however...

Way to Netflix it BoA

God I hope they lose a metric fuckton of customers/money/stock value.

[Rasix]

Probably won't change things for me.  Although it'll be annoying to get charged for the 2-3 times a year I actually have to use it.  I don't think I'll be leaving a $20k balance in it to avoid the fee.

[HaemishM]

This isn't just the big banks. Just about any commercial bank is going to be rolling this kind of stuff out, and they will be changing every single checking type account they offer. The days of "Free Checking" are over. Turns out they were making an absolute shitton of their profit just off of overdraft/NSF fees over the last few years, more than you would think. Most banks will now give you a "Lite" checking account, which will not let you use checks, limit the number of teller visits and in person deposits you can make and will in essence be a no frills online banking account. The better accounts will all have no monthly fee if you have a certain amount or deposit a certain amount a month, but they will ALL charge you a fee to use your debit card. This is actually one good result of the banking regulations that passed last summer. Yes, you have to pay a monthly fee, but trust me when I say this, the banks are doing a lot less practically fraudulent business because of it.

[kildorn]

I'm pretty happy with USAA for banking right now, though.  They certainly don't act like any banks I'd previously belonged to.

From everything I've heard about them, USAA runs its services to benefit its members rather than stockholders.  It's how companies should be run.  Much like a credit union though, not everyone qualifies for it.

USAA++ (though I'm a cheaty member, since my mother was military)

Everyone should qualify for their core banking services these days, but not everyone gets all the perks as we learned. Like my fiance can't get their deposit@home service because she'd need some random other things like an auto loan through them. But I get them just by being a military account.

But they've always been unbelievably helpful when doing absolutely anything finance related. Edit: and for laughs any time a bank calls me and says I should switch, I say I have USAA and they go "oh, well then. Have a nice day!" instead of launching into a sales pitch.

[Merusk]

Insurance companies do the same thing.  It's very amusing.

[WayAbvPar]

If you can't find a credit union to use (which beggars belief, but I guess there are some places around the country where they are scarce...Seattle area is decidedly not one of them), then at least use a local bank that might give you a reacharound at least. Having a local branch to go into is a nice idea, but honestly- how often are you going into the bank? I have been in a branch of my CC twice in the past 15 years- once to get a car loan, and once to check prices on housing loans. I never carry cash unless I specifically need it, and do all my bill paying/banking online.

[Murgos]

I have USAA but they don't insure autos in Mass.

I typically use BofA for my day to day checking, it's just been more convenient, and loans through USAA or Navy Federal Credit Union.  I may end up switching everything over now though.

[kildorn]

I have USAA but they don't insure autos in Mass.

I typically use BofA for my day to day checking, it's just been more convenient, and loans through USAA or Navy Federal Credit Union.  I may end up switching everything over now though.

Is the bolded new? My car is insured via USAA. I believe there's an extra rate tacked on by the state for them being an out of state insurer however. I never looked at how much it was, because I just love using USAA for everything.

[Chimpy]

Problem I had with using USAA was that they refuse to give me a fucking debit VISA or MC with my account, they only give me a Maestro card which works pretty much nowhere.

If Chase starts charging me fees I guess I will have to move all of my banking back to USAA or maybe a credit union.

[Merusk]

Since when? My USAA card has been a Master Card for the last 3 years.

I seem to remember having this conversation before and you said that was a few years ago.  You're still having that problem?

[TheWalrus]

Problem I had with using USAA was that they refuse to give me a fucking debit VISA or MC with my account, they only give me a Maestro card which works pretty much nowhere.

If Chase starts charging me fees I guess I will have to move all of my banking back to USAA or maybe a credit union.

If you were military you can get US banks platinum account privileges free. Since theres no NFCU near me I have to do that. Beats any banks deal around I've found.

[DevilsAdvocate25]

My domestic partner had to leave Chase because of their new policy on direct deposits. You have to have at least 1 $500 or more direct deposit into your account per month or they will charge you a $12 a month fee. Since she works part time and is a student, she never quite reached that number per pay check. She has since moved on to a Credit Union and hasn't had any issues with them. I almost switched, but the Credit Union was reacting to some new law and was having a vote to change from a federal to a state credit union. I still may switch once I find out how that went down.

[Selby]

Since when? My USAA card has been a Master Card for the last 3 years.

Same here.

And very true, any time someone calls up to ask me to switch banks, CC companies, or insurance, I just say I'm with USAA and the conversation is over.

[kildorn]

Since when? My USAA card has been a Master Card for the last 3 years.

Same here.

And very true, any time someone calls up to ask me to switch banks, CC companies, or insurance, I just say I'm with USAA and the conversation is over.

Both my debit and credit have been mastercards for.. since I had them? 14 years now? I guess I can say 10 for sure, maybe it was something else before that.