I was with WaMu for a long time but closed my account there because a job I had gotten (and no longer have) needed me to have CitiBank to be eligible for direct deposit. Since I no longer have that job, CitiBank is absolutely atrocious and I need to get the hell out of it.
I wanted to go back to WaMu, but after hearing a horror story from a fellow friend, I figured I’d see what the rest of you have to say about banks and go from there.
(In case you’re wondering, CitiBank charges me more a month than what they had said they would when I first signed up, charged me for checks when I told them I don’t need checks and refused to reimburse me for quite a long time, and has the shittiest customer service that I’ve ever encountered.)
I don’t really know what to look for in a bank. All I know that I really need is a Debit Card since I hate carrying more cash than necessary, and yeah. I live in Southern California if that changes what banks are around here, but I’m sure most banks are all over the place that it wouldn’t help.
Any other information I need to provide, just ask.
Look into the credit unions in your area. Probably some are good and some suck, but in general they work more in your interest than the big banks. You can usually qualify for membership just by being in the same zip code, even if you wouldn’t think so based on the name of the CU. Credit unions. Also, Robert Prechter’s newsletter and TheStreet.com have bank ratings by state. If I was a WaMu customer, I’d consider staying on or going back, as JPMorgan is much stronger than Citi or Wells. I think a ten year CD at WaMu yields 2.15% nowadays, so perhaps banks in general aren’t the answer!
You really need to look at what you need as far as services. Personally I have had a hard time finding a CU which has a good billpay program. Mostly they use third party companies who do an ACH w/d from your checking and send it in, but have had nothing but problems with it, same with my GF.
Small disclaimer, I work at Wells Fargo and I moved my banking over to Schwab. I’m actually a banker at Wells and there is nothing that pisses me off more than having to tell customers they have to talk to three sets of people to get a problem fixed (it’s not passing the buck, you really HAVE to) . The basic problem is that there was human error or the products are just annoyingly complicated. If you’re a private bank client (IE $1 mil plus) Wells is amazing, and if you’re into day-trading and have loans/deposits over 25k, it’s also pretty good (100 free trades a year). I just wouldn’t suggest it if your banking needs are simple.
With schwab it’s pretty basic if you have direct deposit, odds are you can go years without having to talk to anyone who works at the bank. I won’t go over the same stuff antishock did, but just add a couple things. My personal fav is the fact that the debit card has a warranty extender (yea they take extra effort, but well worth the time) and other features you normally only see on a higher end credit card. And they offer credit cards… Also you can set it up to pull money out of a local bank via ACH if you don’t like to mail deposits.
Credit unions are awesome if you have more complicated financial situations and want to build a relationship with a local bank. I still know people who talk to their CU managers to get loans approved, about the only thing branch managers can do for major banks is reverse overdraft fees. But if all you need is a direct deposit bucket, why deal with the crappy online banking?
One last thing, Wells Fargo will charge you $2 for calling and speaking with a banker to get your balance or do transfers if you open your account in California, however they are one of the few companies who has SMS banking, so if your phone doesn’t have a browser or you don’t have a data plan, that’s another thing to consider.