Banks?
 

Hey - I have to open a new bank account and I figure I might as well pick a bank with a LA presence, if I can, so that I don't have to repeat this process in a few months. Any recommendations for banks that are good? That suck and should be avoided at all cost?

WaMu's been decent to me, thought I rarely actually interact with anything other than the ATM. They aren't on every street corner, but there's usually one around. Although they've got suspect taste in product managers.

I'd see if you can get into a credit union. Their presence is far and wide.

#1 in customer satisfaction for several years now:

Another vote for credit union - I would suspect you new employer is connected to one

I used to deal with a credit union but was annoyed at lack of ATMs. Today, I barely use cash so I figure that would be an ok way to go. What do you credit union people do for ATMs? Pay fees to other banks?

ATM at my workplace is very convenient, also seems that most credit unions have networked so there are several ATMs by me, I also will get cash back at grocery stores and what-not when I need it. Occasionally I will still pay an ATM fee, but it doesn't happen very often.

Another vote for the credit union. Will you be a federal employee or a contractor? See what credit union is used by the people you will be working with. We use Navy Federal, and Orange County Teachers Federal Credit union, both are great.

Very rarely do I need to go to another bank. The only times I can recall hitting a non-co-oped ATM is at Disneyland. My CU doesn't charge me (though the ATM does). Nearly all credit unions have co-oped so you can withdraw and deposit into their ATMs now fee free.

I am an OCTFCU member, and while there is an OCTFCU branch by my office, I have no idea what the credit union by my house is, but it's in the co-op network. I rarely need to go into the bank either, I can call and get someone on the phone within 2 minutes.

I also very rarely use cash, but if I know I need cash I'll pull it out at the store while I'm there.

Credit Union. I haven't gone elsewhere in 20 years.

Banks have more presence while credit unions have more perks.
You might earn a better interest rate on your savings account @ the credit union but the lack of locations might drive you up the walls at times. Also, (something I learned from working for Wachovia) credit unions are not FDIC insured, like banks are.

If you're unsure, get into both. I have one account w/ Wachovia Bank and one w/ Partners FCU.

The problem is that I have to open a new account right now - so an employer connected CU isn't an option for a while.

Well, IMHO all banks suck at least a little :P

Wells Fargo is ever-present (in lots of grocery stores), and at least it's not BofA. I'm not saying they're wonderful, but they're decent enough. And you can always open a CU account once here and you see what's convenient.

Open an account at a bank convenient to you. You can always open another one when you get settled in CA.

Another for CUs. I have ECCU through my church, as well as OCTFCU (now Schools First). Credit Unions aren't always connected to jobs. In fact the one through my church I signed up online and have never stepped foot in their building.

How about this? ING Direct Checking Who needs paper checks anymore anyway?

I say WaMu.
:)

I'm a fan of credit unions first, then WaMu, as I've seen good things through them. I know little of Wachovia. You have pros and cons to each. I'm with SchoolsFirst FCU. As most of you know, I live in Utah now, which I figured would be a bigger issue with banking. I have had no problem finding and using ATMs out here to cash checks, get money, etc. Only fees are with non-networked ATMs, and it's rarely presented me with a problem outside of the SchoolsFirst FCU zone. There's an available ATM at least every major block. So, I'm keeping my long-distance CU account.

Maybe I'll open another one with a close-by bank, but I haven't really felt the need to.

I have Union Bank of California and I haven't had any issues. There are quite a few of them around. I had Wells Fargo forever and no issues there either.

I also have an etrade account. They will reverse out any atm fees you get charged by another bank for using their machines. I use that one when I need to get cash at an ATM and I can't find a Union Bank one.

Good to know, KS. J just got an eTrade account... Very interesting.

I guess I'll just open up another WAMU account for now. It's where I currently have accounts, but I'm cranky with them for being jerks and I don't really want to give them more business. I guess I'll have to settle for giving them a few months of business and then cashing out.

As for other Banks I can think of...

Jane and Michael
Tyra
Outer

If you're going to open the account in Washington, one thing to be aware of is that even when a bank exists in multiple states that doesn't always make for a seamless experience when you move from one state to another.


So if your intent is to open in Washington and then move to California with it, whichever bank you choose may have various kinks with that.

For example, BofA in Washington has some serious differences from BofA California (the online banking experiences are different, I don't know what kind of account servicing difficulties may exist). For WaMu, there are actually four different "companies" based on geography and certain types of transactions between accounts opened in Washington and accounts opened in California are difficult. For example, if you use online banking you would not be able to have both a checking account opened in Washington and a checking account opened in California accessed through the same online banking account.



These splits exist for various regulatory (good) and legacy system (bad) reasons. For the average user the annoyance won't impact very much but you should be aware of them.

I've not got complete information on this for the industry but I think Wells would probably have the fewest kinks in a move from Washington to California (when I did the same move they had problems; I couldn't get a person in a California bank to help me with my Washignton opened account because they couldn't even see the detail on their screens; but they eventually got their systems from the 1st Interstate merger resolved).

If you do go with WaMu, I would recommend opening your accounts online as I believe that keeps them all within the same "company" regardless of where you live.

What Alex said has happened to J with WaMu. Few kinks, so J doesn't want to change everything over.

I suggest using your mattress

We've been with Wells Fargo forever. We've had various accounts opened in CA and AZ and the service has been fine and without incident. We've never had a problem with an account being out of state.

In fact, we were under the impression that we'd have to switch it over when we moved here and they said it was completely optional. Our "main" branch is still in CA while many of our additional accounts are based out of AZ.

swanie

Whatever you do, do not use BofA. Never liked them. WaMu has been ok with us.

Oh yeah - BoA is NOT an option. Watched too many of my friends get screwed over in college by their practices.

Every time I see this thread title, I think of Mary Poppins, as in the older bank guys addressing Mr. Banks. "Banks?"

I think a coffee can would work better. I have a foam mattress.

Or in my case, a small butter tub would suffice. :rolleyes: