choosing a bank for nationwide travel

[VanKitten]

Wow...I just did a shared branch locate with my credit union in Kingston, NY....not a darn thing for as far as I could look.

I've been across the river there...Ive been up at Albany, NY. But, not a darn thing in the middle.

Guess this is why NYC thinks anything north of Yonkers is Up State

 

[TMG51]

Not all Federal Credit Unions are part of this.  Mine isn't.  Ulster Federal Credit Union in Kingston NY.  I went to their web site and there is no mention of "shared branches", only a discussion of the more than 30,000 ATMs nationwide and all the ATM networks they are part of.

Then I went to "sharedbranching.org" and input Kingston's zip code into the find a location.  Got back zero location's found for that zip code.  (Btw, Mid-Hudson Federal Credit Union has a branch in Kingston also, so I guess they don't belong either.)

I'm with the original poster.  I don't want to use ATMs (I'm a neo-luddite) I want to walk into a branch location.  Hence my new account with Wells Fargo.

You're in Kingston? I spent a couple months there and never knew.

 

[grandpacamper]

My space rent, NetFlix & Hulu are on auto pay each month. My utilities, DSL/ISP & cell are the only accounts that will remain that require a login to pay. I have 200 MB data with my no-contract wireless. I figure but will test in before I go that I should be able to check my CU balance daily or weekly for errors or updates without exceeding my limit. I can take my laptop to any Starbucks once a month for a 15 minute session. The worry from hacking is minimal since I use Linux - Tails/TOR for my OS/browser. Good luck hacking those. I do everything else offline, budget, health tracking & my emails use at best the very minimum of data. Shouldn't be a problem.

As for banking I have been with a CU for 25+ years & never experienced problems. I moved to my new state but kept my old CU account active since my auto loans were through them. I could deposit money from my new CU into my old one & make the payments online. When the loans were paid off I closed my old account with no problems. Whenever I traveled I had no problem finding a connected fee-free ATM. Once on a trip to DisneyLand from N Utah, my paycheck was due the day after our layover in Las Vegas. I found the a connected CU, less than a mile from our hotel. I walked into the branch & pulled out $2,000 to continue our trip, the only thing the teller asked me after verifying my ID was how do you want it, 20's, 50's or 100's?

I guess if you feel more comfortable with a B&M then go with the national big banks & all their fees. I couldn't be happier with my CU.

 

[PatchTwist]

I've been wondering about this. I use a CU and after reading everyone's posts, I'll have to see if they have sister branches for when I get to traveling.

 

[Canine]

Once on a trip to DisneyLand from N Utah, my paycheck was due the day after our layover in Las Vegas.  I found the a connected CU, less than a mile from our hotel.  I walked into the branch & pulled out $2,000 to continue our trip, the only thing the teller asked me after verifying my ID was how do you want it, 20's, 50's or 100's?  

Sure glad that the asset seizure police didn't find your $2,000 at a traffic stop...They'd like those 20's, 50's and 100's...
When I was stopped I was asked if I had any "large amounts of cash". My $40 didn't qualify...

 

[AlreadyGone]

I use a simple local Colorado Credit Union and never have any problems finding sister-branches in any state and metro area to walk in an talk to an actual human. When I call them, I get a human directly (no waiting or answering questions from a machine). When I walk in, I am helped immediately (no waiting in line for the single teller).

There is no valid reason to go with a regular bank over a Credit Union these days, unless you like paying the extra fees and CEO bonuses. All the CUs are linked together and you can walk into a completely differently named CU in one state and still deposit into your accounts in your own CU in a different state.

I say credit unions are the way to go. There are networks of shared branches across the country, whereas any corporate bank won't have such a spread across all states. True like Bob said in rural areas you might not see a shared CU branch but you also would not see a branch of your corporate bank from the other side of the country. I travel east to west so I need a spread across the whole country.

My actual credit union account is with a CU in the northeast. I'm currently in San Diego, and there are 22 shared branch locations here. But, for example. in Arizona, Lake Havasu is the only shared CU location within about a 100 mile radius.... still way better than driving a few thousand miles back to the east coast. And I've never had my credit union pull any BS or superfluous fees on me. I'm getting ready to cancel all my other bank accounts and just do business with them.

If you pick a federal credit union...they are part of a nationwide network called "shared branch"

I can go to any federal credit union and do my banking right there.    I have never been to any part of this country where a federal credit union has been more than 5 miles from me. (The desert SW may be an exception....I have never spent time there...yet)

Online, my credit union provides a list "near me".  With phone numbers, addresses, and driving directions

Thanks all. I had no idea about the shared sister-branches.

 

[DrJean]

I really doubt it matters much... and won't in the future: we are being moved into a cashless society with plans for even the larger paper bills to be abolished so no one can take out large amounts of cash from any bank account. Have you tried lately to move large amounts of money "cash in hand"? The banks have to go to the vault with a manager just for $100 bills!

Online banking is what they want from us... and how they can make all of our money disappear. The next bank crash will not take investor's monies...but citizen's. Believe me.

Sorry to be a debbie-downer.

 

[crofter]

The next bank crash will not take investor's monies...but citizen's.  

1930 here we come! - Crofter

 

[crofter]

Why does everybody hate Wells Fargo? I thought they were good?

 

[abnorm]

Last year over 5,000 Wells Fargo employees opened a couple million fake accounts.....the bank was fined almost 200 million dollars......massive fraud

 

[frater secessus]

And they screwed over employees who tried to stop or report it by blackballing their names in a federal registry.

I interviewed at WF about 15 years ago. They offered me a position at the end but I was so creeped out by their internal sliminess that I declined. Looks like I dodged a bullet.