AllysonCross

Hi, I have had a look at the info re credit unions as opposed to banks and it does suggest that we ask someone from the area as it varies from state to state? We are moving to Georgia and will need a bank account very soon. What organisation would you recommend? We still have our UK bank accounts, and will keep them as they hardly charge us for anything. We opened a bank account where we are at the moment in South Africa and the service and costs are shocking. I was amazed that such rudeness is tolerated but am used to it now! What are the charges and service standards like in the US?

Poppy girl

I have had a local Credit Union account for 7 years and just closed it and moved to Wells Fargo 3 weeks ago.
I travel alot of the time for buisness and found I was getting ATM charges every month for $20+ obviously because the CC union is local also they would charge me for incoming wire transfers $15 a pop.......take these things into accounts.

Bob

Depends on the bank, credit union and also to some extent the state...

What you want to use depends on what's important to you, if they're nation wide of not, if they have a lot of ATM's or not, etc.

BoA are pretty evil, but they are conveniently located everywhere....but then if you aren't going to be going out of state much, a local credit union is probably a great choice, certainly for what they can offer.

lansbury

Not all credit unions inflict fees if you don't use their own ATM. A lot of credit unions belong to CO-OP Network and/or MoneyPass, and use of any in network ATM is free. There is even an app for each one which give ATM locations.

Our credit union charges us less than Wells Fargo for incoming wire transfers. We stopped using WF as our primary bank for that reason, plus our credit union has much better interest rates on savings, car loans etc. So as you can see it pays to shop around to make sure whoever you choose has what you need at competitive cost.

pTeronaut

After two years with Wells Fargo, I'd happily go back to a Credit Union. Just make sure that you can become a member of a CU that is part of the Credit Union Service Center network. Deposits, Withdrawals, & free ATMs nationwide from any CU in the network. I wish that we had stayed with my wife's original CU instead of jumping ship to Wells Fargo for the following reasons:

I live in Indiana, apparently (and WF didn't see fit to inform us of this when we applied for the account online), WF cannot operate their debit cards as such in this state.

Our nearest WF branch is 40 miles, 1 hour away.

Our nearest branch of the CU that we used to be a member of is 26 miles. 45 minutes away.

Aside from having the "comfort" of all of our financial eggs (Mortgage, Credit Card, Checking & Savings Accounts) with one company, we have lost out on travel distance for items which can only be handled by a branch, let alone their paranoia as far as CC fraud protect is concerned, blocked my CC after I attempted to pay for hotels after I paid for flights. Then blocking my card when the I&PS try to take payment for my passport renewal.

I looks like we need a 2nd CC for the vacation because they are bound to block it again whilst we are there.

Bob

Being a AAA member usually gets you into a CU too as I think most of the AAA financing deals come from local CU's. Certainly around here at least, so that's something to consider if you aren't able to join any other local CU.

Xebedee

They're a bit like herpes.

I use a credit union - the only thing they suck at, is that their loan dept is a bit inept, but I wouldn't go with a bank again.
The Mrs uses BofA which suits me as I can use that account when in England via that Barclay's agreement thingy.
But the last time, they froze the card due to some nebulous warning sign and it was a pain getting it going again from over there.

Course, I don't think credit unions do currency exchange....

AllysonCross

i think we will have a bank account with someone like Wells Fargo as my husband will be travelling around the States, and a credit union account to use locally, and we will keep our UK bank accounts to make transfers and bill payments in the UK easy. A lot of accounts and we will have to see how it goes.

Bob

That's pretty normal.

And should never close UK accounts, a pain in the arse to open one up as a none resident if you needed it in the future.

Xebedee

Only have 2 accts here in the US and we find it easy. Joint access on both; the Wife treats hers as hers, Mine is mine and we pool as needs be when a big bill pops up or she wants more shoes or something.

A lot of people say to keep the UK accts open.......as he just said ^

fatbrit

A glossy facade of happy, smiley faces covering up a bunch of slimy villains with practices not found elsewhere in the civilised world for over 30 years.

fashionista

Does anyone have any experience of Ally the online bank? Apparently you can use any ATM, worldwide, and they'll refund any fees you're charged. It seems a little too good to be true......

lansbury

Ally were GMAC ( General Motors Auto Credit arm). They changed their name and became a bank when GM went into chapter 11. That has always put me off using them.

Xebedee

Oh........have a nice day!!!!

WhySoHard

My fiancé has a checking account with them. He hasn't had any major problems. The only problem he had was when he lost his card... It was a chore to get it sorted out & replaced, and took almost 2 weeks to be replaced! Other than that, he seems very happy with the account and them. He uses them for his everyday banking. He lives in Georgia.