I currently have two banks: Navy Federal and USAA. USAA is my main bank and I keep Navy Federal around so I have liquid savings that I don't think about too much because I mainly use USAA, and because I can't instantly deposit paper checks with USAA (they have no physical banks so you have to mail them in to deposit them).

I have been thinking lately about canceling Navy Federal, but I have yet to do it for the aforementioned reasons and the fact that I have my student loans through Navy Federal (which I can just pay down using mygreatlakes.com).

My question is: Are the reasons mentioned above too weak to keep banking with Navy Federal?

1/17/2011 9:33:29 AM

My parents still have both. They get loans and insurance through USAA and do other stuff with Navy Federal. I can ask them for more detail if you want

1/17/2011 9:55:37 AM

Sure, lol. Since you're like the only one to respond.

1/17/2011 9:57:59 AM

If you're going to be in the military for a long time, keep navy fed, they got banks near most bases.

If you do want to drop it, I haven't had any problems with BB&T and recommend them. I don't think they have branches nationwide though.

1/17/2011 10:01:12 AM

I wasn't thinking about switching, I was thinking about down-sizing, but I've also considered keeping Navy Federal because they are at every major base.

1/17/2011 10:04:08 AM

I use USAA exclusively. I used to also bank with First Citizens so I could make cash deposits and transfer them over to USAA, but I got fed up with them and closed my account. Since I can use any CashPoints for free and USAA will pay me back for ATM fees from anywhere else I can easily get cash, though I rarely deal with cash at all. To get cash into my account I usually give it to a family member or truster friend in exchange for a check, and then deposit the check using my phone less than a minute later. It's worked out well so far, but like I said I don't need to do it very often.

If you were talking about any other bank I'd say go ahead and drop them, but you might find it useful to have a credit union to compare rates, etc. with vs USAA.

1/17/2011 10:04:35 AM

Quote :

"and because I can't instantly deposit paper checks with USAA (they have no physical banks so you have to mail them in to deposit them)."

Have a smart phone or pc with a scanner? A digital camera may even work.

1/17/2011 10:34:17 AM

Wait, I missed that^ part earlier. USAA has both an Android and iPhone app that allows you to take a pic of your check to deposit them instantly. You can also use a PC and scanner, like he was saying.

1/17/2011 1:47:35 PM

yep the iphone app works damn good. And I used the scanner version before I got an iphone so I haven't had to mail checks to USAA in a long time


I do have an account at the SECU too though, I don't think it's a bad idea to keep your account at Navy Federal. What's the harm in keeping it open?

1/17/2011 1:54:29 PM

So, you're saying the bank only needs a picture of the check to cash it? srsly?

1/17/2011 1:57:36 PM

yeah, it's pretty sweet. I've probably deposited 20-30 checks with it.

I've only had a problem once - I called and talked to somebody about it, stayed on the line and took the picture, and they confirmed that it went though. The funds are immediately available too.

1/17/2011 2:00:29 PM

What do you do with the check?

1/17/2011 2:40:26 PM

You take one picture of the front, and one picture of the back which has to have your signature, bank account #, and "for deposit only to USAA" or something similar. After it goes through I just write VOID all over it and shred it. If it's a corporate check I just keep it in a safe place for a month before shredding it.

1/17/2011 2:51:55 PM

Gotcha.

Well, that pretty much negates the easily deposited checks reason for keeping NFCU.

1/17/2011 2:53:07 PM

^srsly, I have no idea why I keep Wachovia/WF around.

1/17/2011 5:13:36 PM

The only time having USAA only is annoying is Christmas/birthdays when you get a lot of cash.

1/17/2011 6:59:01 PM

oh yea, thats why.

1/17/2011 7:38:49 PM

I like having multiple banks so that I'm almost always near a branch/atm. I can withdraw money in a hurry or cash a check with no issues.

1/18/2011 7:53:33 AM

I don't think you can compeletly close out your Navy Fed account(s) until you have paid off your student loans. You have to keep a min of $5 in a savings if you have any outstanding loans/bills with them.

I use Navy Fed and BoA. BoA is my checking and a credit card, while I use Navy Fed for a money market account. I like it because I automatically put money in the Navy Fed account every month, and I never look at that account. Otherwise I'd spend that shit in a heart beat.

1/18/2011 8:08:18 AM

it's always a good idea to have a credit union account open. They usually offer better rates on loans. I've got an account with SECU, though I rarely use it.

1/18/2011 8:11:28 AM

Thanks for all the advice.

Based on what you all have told me, it seems like I should just keep Navy Federal around. I think I'm going to link it to my USAA account so I can transfer a percentage of each pay check into my NFCU savings so that I have two liquid savings buffers. I have been putting 10% of each pay check into my USAA savings, recently. So, I guess I could just put 5% in each savings account for each pay check.

How does that sound?

1/18/2011 9:06:50 AM