Best bank to open an account (San Diego, London: rent, how much, house)

[moved]

I have two checking accounts. One with CalCoast Credit Union, the other with US Bank. The credit union is far superior to the bank, and the plus is that you have access to any 7-11 ATM, and any credit union ATM that's on the Co-op network. I use the US Bank account only for paying my rent, and if it wasn't free, I would have closed it long ago.

[USDefault]

Open two. Seriously.

First, get an account with JP Morgan Chase. Yes, it's a mega bank, but I will tell you, they have good service. When you call, you generally get a live person 24-7. And if you are traveling, either in the U.S. or internationally, it can be really helpful to have an account with a big bank. Also, their online interface is top notch, so it's easy to manage accounts, credit cards, etc. Keep the minimum amount so that there are no fees. Also, you can actually save money when trying to get money overseas, for example, if you keep it within the Chase family.

Second, get a local credit union, which will likely have lower costs and fees, likely better rates, etc. for everyday matters.

So you get the best of both: local credit union branch with low costs, and Chase, a national/international back-up with quality service 24/7.

[jwblue]

Chase. ATMs everywhere!

[steel7]

I use U.S. Bank.

[earlyretirement]

I hear people rag on the big banks all the time but quite honestly I think that big banks get a bad rep. I bank with pretty much all of them. Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and several others. I can't complain about any of them.

None of them charge me anything. You have tons of ATM machines everywhere, they are very friendly when I need to go to an actual branch (admittedly not many times) but several times I've gotten things notarized free.

Plus the biggest advantage to me is I travel quite a bit all over the USA all the time and I love being able to always find a branch if I need one. And the benefit that I appreciate the most is I have many rental properties and when clients need to make a deposit, they can go into a branch in just about any city they are from and it's really easy.

I understand why people like credit unions but quite honestly, I think that the major banks get beaten up too much. I think they are really wonderful for the most part. There are ways to easily avoid ANY fees at all with the major banks. You don't even need to keep large balances with them to avoid fees.

There isn't anything wrong with for profit companies, including banks. Our banks are some of the best run in the world and VERY efficient.

I can understand people saying credit unions have lower fees. That might be true but many of us pay NO fees at all with the major banks. So it doesn't get much lower fee than that. I guess if you were getting a loan or financing or something, credit unions would be more desirable but they can't offer me anything more than the major banks can, IMHO.

I'm with ShelbyGirl that Wells Fargo does a great job. I probably use them the most out of all the bank accounts I have at the major banks.

[ShelbyGirl1]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

I hear people rag on the big banks all the time but quite honestly I think that big banks get a bad rep. I bank with pretty much all of them. Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and several others. I can't complain about any of them.

None of them charge me anything. You have tons of ATM machines everywhere, they are very friendly when I need to go to an actual branch (admittedly not many times) but several times I've gotten things notarized free.

Plus the biggest advantage to me is I travel quite a bit all over the USA all the time and I love being able to always find a branch if I need one. And the benefit that I appreciate the most is I have many rental properties and when clients need to make a deposit, they can go into a branch in just about any city they are from and it's really easy.

I understand why people like credit unions but quite honestly, I think that the major banks get beaten up too much. I think they are really wonderful for the most part. There are ways to easily avoid ANY fees at all with the major banks. You don't even need to keep large balances with them to avoid fees.

There isn't anything wrong with for profit companies, including banks. Our banks are some of the best run in the world and VERY efficient.

I can understand people saying credit unions have lower fees. That might be true but many of us pay NO fees at all with the major banks. So it doesn't get much lower fee than that. I guess if you were getting a loan or financing or something, credit unions would be more desirable but they can't offer me anything more than the major banks can, IMHO.

I'm with ShelbyGirl that Wells Fargo does a great job. I probably use them the most out of all the bank accounts I have at the major banks.

Our sentiments exactly! And FREE is always good. We have never paid a single fee for any of their services offered.

[JohnSoCal]

I have used the San Diego County Credit Union for 25 years and strongly recommend them. Excellent service and good online banking. They have several branches in San Diego County and SW Riverside County. They belong to the Credit Union Coop so you can use the atms at any credit union, not just SDCCU, with no charges.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by Naomi Manischewitz

For just a basic checking account I would just go with a large chain bank like Chase or Bank of America. Maybe a credit union too? For just a free checking account I prefer large chains because I could find them everywhere including ATMS.

I wouldn't as the big banks ********* on fees. San Diego County Credit Union seems the best option to me plus as all the credit unions allow each others customers to use each other's ATMs there are free ATMs every where.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Good input here. In the US, we belong to Wells Fargo, BofA and Mission FCU all for different reasons.
These days you need to ask yourself what kind of banking are you looking at doing? For example, the last time I stepped foot into a bank for service was when I had to get a cashiers check for the down payment of our house.... over two years ago.

Otherwise, I am online banking; paying bills, depositing checks from my phone. The only time I have a need to approach the brick and mortar is to withdraw cash.
I would say most of the free checking the big banks have now are all pretty competitive.

THese days with the automated systems for simple, mundane tasks, its a piece of cake

[tonyinsd]

Don't let the idea of not having credit union branches and ATMs outside of their service area scare you away from them.

My credit union is one I joined way back when I was a kid. My dad opened up a savings account there. It is on the other side of the country.

However, with credit unions, that's not a problem. Any credit union around here will be able to take deposits from me and put it into my account there. Chase brags about how they've got 5K branches. They can take the advice of the woman who didn't get the job from the Padres. Through shared branching, I've got around 7K branches I can access. And I can use any credit union's ATM as well as ATMs at places like 7-11 with no fee.

There is absolutely no reason to go to one of the big banks. I never will. I get solicitations every single week from them and I toss them right into the recycle bin by the mailbox.

Ingrates had to get bailed out because of their stupidity and they show no gratitude. Yeah, we had to do it, or the world's financial system would have collapsed, but a little gratitude would be nice.