Best Personal Bank in Atlanta area??? (Sandy Springs, Washington: credit, loan, college)

[brazzy]

Right now i'm looking at Washington Mutual, Wachovia, and SunTrust. Out of these or any others, what do you think is the best personal bank in the area?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by brazzy

Right now i'm looking at Washington Mutual, Wachovia, and SunTrust. Out of these or any others, what do you think is the best personal bank in the area?

I've been very happy with SunTrust. They have decent online bill paying facilities, and they reacted quickly to a stolen check/forgery issue.

Since I've not used the other two, though, I have little real basis for comparison.

[RainyRainyDay]

I echo rcsteiner (except, thankfully, I've had no stolen check/forgery issue).

SunTrust was the bank the relocation service hooked me up with, and they've never given me a reason to switch, so I don't know about any other.

Another thing I like about SunTrust is that they have reasonably plentiful ATMs, and you can use the ATMs at Publix locations for free.

[mistersocks]

I've been with WaMu since I moved here because they have a (relatively) high interest savings account (3.25%). They also give you free checks. Only drawback is that there aren't many locations here.

[pgirl07]

So I'll be the weird one and offer something completely different, but have you ever thought about using a credit union? I've moved around a lot and the best thing about it is that I can use thousands of ATMs everywhere in the country with no fees. If I need to make a a deposit or anything, I can use nearly any credit union in Atlanta or any city for that matter, just as if it were my own. Plus when you go on vacation somewhere in another state and you need an ATM or a face to face transaction, there's always a shared credit union and several free ATMs. For example, Wachovia isn't even in New Orleans, LA. Sooooo...that's just my outside the box suggestion. I've had the same credit union since college and I'm 600 miles away still using free ATMs and tellers.

[mistersocks]

A credit union is an excellent idea if you qualify for membership. I was in Disney's CU a number of years ago and they had good car loan rates.

[rackensack]

I've had accounts with what's now Wachovia since I opened a student checking account at what was then First Atlanta 22 years ago. Once I actually started using them for things beyond simple checking services, I've been pleased with the attention and service I've received from branch managers and the other staff. No real complaints.

The point about geographical reach is a good one, though, if you travel a lot. For a while, I actually maintained a separate checking account at Washington Mutual specifically because they don't charge you for using other banks' ATMs (though of course the other banks may) and because they had a broad network of ATMs in western states where Wachovia had none. Now that most of my travel is up and down the east coast it's not really an issue and it wasn't worth the hassle of keeping up with multiple accounts.

[PeteyNice]

It also depends on how convenient the branches and ATMs are to where you live, work and travel. SunTrust is great if you stay in the area but if you travel a lot and need cash the ATM fees add up. Wachovia and Washington Mutual have excellent free checking products. Washington Mutual has fewer branches in the area than Wachovia but they all have excellent hours - there are few ITP Wachovias open on Saturday while all Washington Mutual branches have Saturday hours.

If you don't need to do a lot of teller banking I would recommend Charles Schwab Bank since they cover all fees other banks charge to use their ATMs and they even give you a little interest on your money. All banking is done by mail, phone and Internet but if you don't need visit branches at all it is a good deal.

[brazzy]

I would say my priorities are:
1. Free Checking
2. Free ATM use at any ATM's
3. Good track record of Customer Service
4. At least one or two branches located north of Midtown (Buckhead, Sandy Springs, etc.)
5. No Hidden Fees

[cmills]

My husband had an account with Wachovia for a couple of years. He owed some money to an old roommate, so he wrote him a check and due to a fraudulent charge that a video store put on him, the check ended up not clearing over a few pennies. So Wachovia, instead of honoring it and charging my husband a bounced check fee, they returned the check. Now, this was a $1500 check they bounced over, iirc, $0.12.

The old roommate, in turn, incurred a bunch of bounced check fees. It was a mess. We're with Bank of America now, but keep our savings in ING.