Capital One has screwed up for the last time for me so I'm looking to move both personal and business accounts. Does anyone in the Washington DC Metro area have a bank they really like? Or do you have experience with USAA or similar that could still be accessed by other ATMs? Thanks.
I am still looking at my options, so keep the suggestions coming. Sandy Spring was on my list, so it is funny that you posted. I am going to close my business account today as there are no auto payments pending and will close the personal accounts as soon as the end of the month transactions are done and I have somewhere to move them to. Friend of mine had her accounts frozen a few months back, missed a mortgage payment (and other bills) and is still digging out. She says she got another letter today about it. She's beyond livid. All the more reason for me to move on. I hear that Chase is closing accounts at their whim (google it) so I am not going to them. I had enough trouble when my debit card from Cap One was frozen (fraud detected) and I was left hanging in the store. I don't need entire accounts closed.
I bank at American Eagle CU which is part of the Anheuser Bush CU system and part of the shared branch system. I have no trouble finding ATMs where ever I go.
I could be wrong, but Credit Unions tend to be more responsive for some reason. Some have shared branches nationally. Might be worth checking out.
Credit Unions usually are pretty good, and I LOVE USAA. We have nearly everything through them. We have all of our checking, savings, insurance, Roth IRAs... everything but the mortgage, really... :) They've always been very helpful to me, although I do know of a handful of stories where they weren't so. Regarding ATMs, they refund up to $15 of ATM surcharges per month. So you pay the surcharge up front, but they refund either at the end of the month or a few days later. Not sure exactly how it works because I've never paid that close of attention to it. :) Depositing checks is done from home with a scanner or from your smartphone. You can also request deposit slips to do it by mail, but it takes forever.
If you'd like more info about USAA, you can PM me some questions... I'm sure there's more I should tell you, I'm just not coming up with it on my own! lol.
We have been with Bank of America over 20 yrs with no issues whatsoever.
We have personal and our company accounts with BOA. Never paid a fee of any kind, never had any screw ups of any kind.
We also have some business accounts at chase (5 yrs) and no issues there either.
That said, I am on top of things daily via online and being in the bank branch often due to being CFO of our company and managing all finances. Some may say I am OCD but I can tell you day to day what to expect to come in and out of each of the 8+ accounts and why and know the balances for each one at all times.
Good luck.
Switch to a credit union!!! I am not in your area so I can't recommend a specific one, but in my experience, credit unions are much more consumer friendly and are community based.
My family has not used a bank for any reason for over 20 years. Banks use to screw us up big time, including BOA. We've been using credit unions, and haven been quite happy. Our credit union is only available to WA state resident, but my brother believes the Pentagon Credit Union is avalable to all. (He works there, and told me this once.)
You might want to check your state laws, in some states like mine, credit unions must be accessable to everyone. I really do recommend you go that route. Credit unions are so much easier and many of them do business accounts too.
We love our local credit union - Sunwest Federal. I would recommend this over one of the big banks.
Keep in mind that USAA is for those with ties to the military only. If you're able to use USAA, go for it, because I've heard nothing but great things about this company!
USAA is AWESOME!!!! We've had it for over 15 years and use them for everything! The downside is that there is no "branch" to go into, if you like to do that. It has not been a problem for us. Credit Unions are also very reasonable.
I love USAA...however, they don't handle business account. There are MANY reasons to go with USAA!!!
For local banks? TD Bank. You might talk with them.
GOOD LUCK!!
My husband loves E trade because they offer a great intrest rate on savings accounts. He likes their online banking. Also what is great you can use any ATM and they will reimburse the fees.. So it is easy to pull cash out any where. He deals with lots of banks (he is a mortgage broker). By far E trade for checking, savings and stocks (besides 401k and college accounts ). Work great.
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I don't necessarily like my bank, but I've used them for years simply due to having a location in close proximity. I live in a very rural area.
I prefer credit unions.
Sandy Spring Bank is great. Great customer service, lots of brances in the area and ATM's. They are also local and have been in the community forever, well not forever but since 1860 something. They are full service, internet banking options, branches. They do both business and personal accounts. I will be honest though if you are looking for relationship banking they are the place to go but if you are just rate shopping (i.e. looking for the best cd rates, etc) they aren't always the highest rate but they are always close to the mark. And in the interest of full disclosure, I do work there, but I am just a peon:-) I work in the loan servicing department as a mortgage post closer. And from that respect, they also treat their employees well which also speaks for them as a business I feel. Anyway, check out their website at www.sandyspringbank.com .
I would switch to a credit union. They are much less "corporate".
