Best bank for traveling vandweller

[HarmonicaBruce]

It seems whenever I go on a road trip, my credit card stops working. My credit card is an Amazon card, issued by Chase bank. The last time it happened I called the number on the back of the card, and without ever talking to a human I was able to get the hold taken off my card. The robot asked me if the charges were correct, and I said they were. It's not nearly as annoying now that I know how to fix it.

 

[Queen]

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.

I'm a veteran and my dad was career military, but I waited too long to try and join and now am ineligible. Kind of ticks me off.

 

[kyonu]

Veteren's can still get in, I'd call them and explain the situation. My entire family became USAA members solely from my grandfather's tour back in Nam. He'd been 10 or 20 years retired before we even attempted to get in USAA and they let us in without a hitch. Now my kids and grandkids can be let in as well. I have a hard time believing they won't let a Vet in.

 

[Queen]

Veteren's can still get in, I'd call them and explain the situation. My entire family became USAA members solely from my grandfather's tour back in Nam. He'd been 10 or 20 years retired before we even attempted to get in USAA and they let us in without a hitch. Now my kids and grandkids can be let in as well. I have a hard time believing they won't let a Vet in.

It's been 10+ years since I tried, I'll give it another look. Thanks.

 

[cdiggy]

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.

THE best insurance company on the planet, bar none. Been a member for 30+ years. Teat company!

 

[Spirituallifetime]

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 have been checking out Capital One 360, the free checking seems to be for the most part without fees or very low fees. I like that Capital One also Owns Share Builders so quick transfers can be make easily to buy stocks and other investments.

 

[VanGirl]

Wells Fargo has been the best for me however, I stay west of the Mississippi 100% of the time for the past 3 years. Like Bob I love AZ. I also love NM. Wells Fargo is great in the West.

Kathy

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Bank of America uses robo-calls to harass people. When ordered to stop, they ignore the courts and do it anyway. But, if you sue them, you can get awarded a million bucks. Couple awarded $1,000,000 from Bank of America

 

[ccbreder]

Pay your bills.

 

[GotSmart]

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.

I have several banks, but USAA beats them all. Great insurance rates also. I have the ap on my phone, so push button banking anywhere. One phone call takes care of most problems right away.

I did a job for an executive of PayPal, and found out they do a vast majority of internet transactions worldwide. They are about to split off of eBay. It is easy to get paid through PP, and 100% safety in your funds. I have ordered parts sent to many different places using the PP as a buffer because of the safety factor.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

i worked for bank of america. avoid it, trust me. when i started working there they happily told us in training that bank of america is one of the most profitable companies in the world, then told us they lose as many accounts as they gain. so how is profit made? by penalties and fees wringed from their customers until they leave, knowing theyll just get more. while i worked there they had a department dedicated to keeping customers called retention. This dept was dissolved because they no longer cared. Their rules for deposit holds and fees are archaic... tho they dont always do it, but they CAN take up to six months to process transactions if they choose? they did hold stuff for weeks, ive seen it. just avoid.

Ive had ally for years, ever since ing sold out and i du mped them. 9dollar overdraft, and only one per day, and only if its 10 over? hell yah. use any atm i want, get charged nothing by them AND they PAY ME what the other bank charged me. oh yeah. customer service was super nice, and fluent in english. only downside is longish tranfers from my other bank to it (they say 3 days but its always a week later). interest on my savings just hit 1% and hasnt dropped below .8

---

the only good thing i can say about boa is the amt of locations, and during katrina we were authorized to give people in affected areas full overdraft refunds even if it was their fault, tho they had to call in and mention the hurricane. I actually did this for several people. i did respect them for that.