Best bank for traveling vandweller

[Mark]

Eh?

Debit Card? Free checking?

Thanks

 

[66788]

Canadian, eh?

 

[Spirituallifetime]

You could go with a nation bank that is in most towns through out the country. Or if you will have a secure internet connection you can go with online banking. Most regular banks have online banking and my bank just started a new app for smart phones so you can take a picture of a check with your phone and deposit it in your account! I think that with internet banking the selection of a bank is more of a personal choice, look at the features offered and interest rates. For online banking I would use internet through one of the cell phone providers not public wifi (public wifi is not secure).

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

It sort of depends on where you plan to travel. Personally, I want to be able to walk into a branch office and deal with a real human being.

None of the "big" banks are in all fifty states. More like 30 to 35 states.

East coast banks like Citi, and Chase, have no branches in places like Wyoming or Alaska.

Whereas Wells Fargo is all over the west. but not so much in the eastern states.

You can use the branch office locator each bank has on it's website to research that aspect of it.

Of course, they all have online banking and ATMs everywhere.

Regards
John

 

[gypsychic]

I've used ING for 8 or 9 years now. You have to be comfortable with NEVER walking into a branch office, which I am. I've always found their phone reps to be knowledgeable and helpful. Although I haven't had a need to contact customer support since they were bought out by Capital One, so not sure how they are now.

The nice thing for those on the road is a lot of ATMs are located in 7-11's or convenience type stores. Their online locator for ATMs is good. I've used the locator and transacted business in at least 4 or 5 states on different sides of the continent that I can think of. Never had a problem finding an ATM, but I was always in populated areas too.

They also have the option to take a picture of a depositing check and it's deposited to your account.

I find them to be very convenient. I have a debit card that I've never had any problems with. Nor have I had any problems with their bill pay. It works for me. Maybe it will work for you.

I have had free checking the entire time I've had my accounts.

GypsyChic

 

[ccbreder]

Ally Bank. best by far.

 

[Mark]

Thanks.
Ha! No, not really Canadian, although my ancestors are.

ING?

My local bank here in Oregon has online banking and free checking and debit and credit cards and all that. I'm planning rouse there Bill pay but am thinking I'll use the debit card for my day to day purchases. Still though, I'll need cash at times and am worried about ATM fees. Any opinions about that?

---

Dang! Ally Bank sounds awesome!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Do a google search on "credit vs debit cards".

If a debit card falls into the wrong hands, everything in your account can be cleaned out. You might get it back - eventually - but it could take months.

If your credit card falls into the wrong hands, you're only out $50 max.

If you like your local bank, why not keep it, and get another account with a big national bank and split your money between the two? Why keep all of your eggs in one basket?

I have an account with a local credit union. My social security will be direct deposited there.

(I'm going to set it up so my brother, whom I trust absolutely, has access to that account, so he can act in my behalf, if, say, I'm in a hospital or jail or something.)

I'm going to open another account with Wells Fargo and have my pension direct deposited there. They have branches everywhere I'm hoping to travel.

I think I can live on my pension, and let the social security pile up as my emergency funds.

Regards
John

 

[Mark]

Good point about the debit card.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

I HATE banks. They're criminal organizations. I studied economics in college, and we were taught that if you walk into a bank with a check drawn on that bank, the bank MUST give you the money, it's called a "demand deposit". But the banks WON'T give you your money if you don't have an account there. It's illegal, but they don't care. They charge you a "check cashing fee".

I only use credit unions. My credit union is DCFU. At the end of the year, they take the "profit" they made and they send it to the members. I get about $50 / year just for having my account there. I have another credit union, CFCU. When they have too much profit they give the excess to local kids for scholarships. I don't want my money going to scholarships for the needy. I have my own grandkids who are going to be needy when they start college.

I have my credit card bill automatically paid. After doing this a few years, my credit rating got real good!

 

[Spirituallifetime]

I agree about not keeping your eggs in one basket I accounts in different banks to keep money separated. Keep money to live on in 1 bank savings for another van in another emergency funds in another. American Express Personal Savings seems to be a good savings bank (no checking just savings accounts), Interest rates seem to be the highest I've found at 0.8% on any amount in the account. Most other banks you would have to have $10,000 in the account to get that rate. I've also used the pre paid debit cards but they are expensive with the fees for depositing cash its free if you have a direct deposit.

 

[Almost There]

Whatever you choose to use make sure that they have your roaming patterns on file. Nothing worse than filling up the tank only to find the card being rejected...ask me how I know...sigh!

One of my MasterCard companies has online travel notification as does my credit union for my accounts. The Visa card company's online travel notification was useless, I had to do it on the phone. Canada has 5 major banks that have branches across Canada and US affiliates...sad to say the one I use was the least tech savvy about travel notifications. They finally put it as a note on my account...sigh!

I'm not sure how widespread it is in the US yet but most Canadian banks now offer E-transfer services. I can move money from one bank to another bank or credit union anywhere in Canada with a few simple keystrokes. There is however a $3,000. per 24 hour limit on it. But that's a definite improvement from when it used to take 5 days to move money around!!

Oh and for those Canadians amongst us, TD Bank, at least, is now offering 'Enhanced Debit Cards' that have the proper number of digits and the 3 digit security code needed to be able to use your debit card for online shopping instead of *having* to use a credit card. Not sure about the other Big 5 and I need to find out what my credit union is planning.

 

[66788]

Thanks.
Ha! No, not really Canadian, although my ancestors are.

ING?

My local bank here in Oregon has online banking and free checking and debit and credit cards and all that. I'm planning rouse there Bill pay but am thinking I'll use the debit card for my day to day purchases. Still though, I'll need cash at times and am worried about ATM fees. Any opinions about that?

---

Dang! Ally Bank sounds awesome!

---

I use my local credit union. The credit unions have ATMs that are fee free all over the country. My SS check is a direct deposit and I can deposit regular checks via my smart phone.

I must be the last of a dying breed as I don't use credit/ATM cards for anything other than withdrawing money when I need it. I don't want the government knowing when, where, and how I spend my money.

Cash is king.

 

[gypsychic]

Actually I use cash only now, but I use it as a budgeting tool & so I KNOW I won't overdraft my account. Well cash after I pay whatever bills thru the INGDirect bill pay. When I transition to fulltiming I'm not comfortable carrying around a bunch of cash so I'll probably transition to using debit card.

INGDirect, now Capital360, has atm's in convenience stores and gas stations in many states. So I though it would be convenient for those on the move. No need to stop twice to withdraw $. They also have an overdraft fee that is a %, not a fixed $ amount. It's always been like $1.50 or $2.25 the few times I've done it, not $39. I like that. I still try not to overdraft because I hate giving the bank any money, but if I ever make a mistake it's good to know that it's on a few dollars. They also offer a (very) nominal interest rate on your checking account. I have direct deposit so no fees, ever.

Yes, in a perfect world I would bank at a credit union too. I originally opened my ING account as a savings account that would be difficult to get to to build an emergency fund. Then they offered checking accounts and I opened a checking account. I've tried to bank at credit unions most of my life but the reality is they are not as convenient. I've moved several times in the last 10 years and having to reopen accounts and change all my direct deposit info and reenter my bill pay info just got old. So I stopped using credit unions and stayed with the internet based bank.

I was worried that when Capital One took it over things would change. So far so good, but I may be grandfathered in. I'm not sure what their new accounts are like.

GypsyChic

 

[Reducto]

I use BECU, which is available to residents of washington state and I assume other states where Boeing has a presence. I can use partner CUs for most things without any fees, but they don't always exist in small towns. Not that I really need to visit a bank or get cash very often - I do most things online.

For overdrafts they do an automatic cash advance from my credit card if there's room so no ding to my credit and the fees aren't too bad.

 

[akrvbob]

I'm a big fan of Bank of America. They've been nothing but great with me! They aren't in all states, but they are very big and in most states.

Wells Fargo merged with some big Eastern bank, they are now about as close as truly national as you can get and they are truly outstanding out west.

Bob

 

[Theadyn]

Actually I use cash only now, but I use it as a budgeting tool & so I KNOW I won't overdraft my account. Well cash after I pay whatever bills thru the INGDirect bill pay. When I transition to fulltiming I'm not comfortable carrying around a bunch of cash so I'll probably transition to using debit card.

INGDirect, now Capital360, has atm's in convenience stores and gas stations in many states. So I though it would be convenient for those on the move. No need to stop twice to withdraw $. They also have an overdraft fee that is a %, not a fixed $ amount. It's always been like $1.50 or $2.25 the few times I've done it, not $39. I like that. I still try not to overdraft because I hate giving the bank any money, but if I ever make a mistake it's good to know that it's on a few dollars. They also offer a (very) nominal interest rate on your checking account. I have direct deposit so no fees, ever.

Yes, in a perfect world I would bank at a credit union too. I originally opened my ING account as a savings account that would be difficult to get to to build an emergency fund. Then they offered checking accounts and I opened a checking account. I've tried to bank at credit unions most of my life but the reality is they are not as convenient. I've moved several times in the last 10 years and having to reopen accounts and change all my direct deposit info and reenter my bill pay info just got old. So I stopped using credit unions and stayed with the internet based bank.

I was worried that when Capital One took it over things would change. So far so good, but I may be grandfathered in. I'm not sure what their new accounts are like.

GypsyChic

I, too, have been using ING/Capital One 360 now for 9 years now. Their bill pay service is free, free checking, you can set up multiple accounts to keep things separated, link it to your bank, ATM's with locators for theirs with no ATM fees, I used to have my bills autoset up so I wouldn't have to worry about being late on anything... heck, I've even sent 'gift's of checks from them, they filled it out the check and mailed it for me free of charge. Mine is linked to my local bank for now, but should I go full time and mobile, I will stay with them.

I was also worried when it switched over to 360, but so far, there hasn't been any changes to how they work. Happy with them so far.

 

[ccbreder]

Ally bank is best by far.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

I'm a big fan of Bank of America.

A guy in San Francisco sold a mountain bike on Craigslist, and got a B of A check. He went to B of A and asked them if the check was good. He was told yes, it's good. He then said ok, then I'd like to cash it. B of A called the police, and the man was hand cuffed and taken to jail. The check was not good, they were lying to him.

The board of directors of B of A should ALL BE IN JAIL. I heard this talked about on the radio, with a B of A lawyer. If you get a check drawn on B of A, good luck. Personally, I won't accept a check drawn on B of A, because they are a criminal organization.

Here's a link about the incident:
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Check-from-a-scammer-bounces-victim-into-jail-2553957.php

 

[kyonu]

USAA represent. If you can get into them, that is... You or an immediate family member needs to be or was apart of the military to get in, but they have the best rates and services around, period. Lowest interest rates, refunded debit withdrawals from any ATM anywhere, best identity and suspicious activity tracking, and some of the most in depth coverage of insurance that I've ever had (out of maybe 5 insurance companies) for home and vehicle.

If you can't get in, then I DON'T recommend US Bank or Wells Fargo by any means. They are the stereotypical horrible banks.