7 ms·

What's everyone's preferred bank? I want something with ATMs everywhere, good international travel support, and a not-horrible website I can move stuff around i

What's everyone's preferred bank? I want something with ATMs everywhere, good international travel support, and a not-horrible website I can move stuff around in/monitor with. I'm in SF. Wells Fargo has checked those boxes for me, and never done me wrong, but they keep screwing over other people. Maybe I should take my money elsewhere.

dondawest 7y ago
Schwab is your move, IMO. I know a ton of people who moved from WF to Schwab and never looked back. Zero international ATM fees and great customer service. Solid app too.
- nimish 7y ago
  Charles Schwab (the person) is a major trump supporter. Charles Schwab bank has been quite good and unlike the cma offered by fidelity and other brokers it's an actual bank account.
juped 7y ago
If you don't need physical bank branches, use Charles Schwab Bank. Their checking account is nice and they will reimburse you for _all_ ATM fees worldwide; it's an onramp to their brokerage products, so it can only be opened alongside a brokerage account, but neither account will have fees or minimums.
craftyguy 7y ago
Local credit union. Many of them share ATMs as a part of some ATM co-op network.
twblalock 7y ago
I'm with Wells Fargo and I'm not planning to leave. I don't think any of the other banks are morally superior -- Wells Fargo is probably just a bit more inept at covering things up.
- sverhagen 7y ago
  This is a great point. I did move from Wells Fargo to a credit union, and this was a move from unhappy to happy. But as the larger point, I cannot boycott every business I have a bad experience with, or that is somehow unethical, I'd starve to death, so to speak.
- juped 7y ago
  I think they're comparable to other national retail bank chains, and just a bit worse at image control. However, others here have suggested credit unions or brokerages with banking arms, which have different incentives - anecdotally, people are happier with service from non-bank banks.
  - twblalock 7y ago
    The problem with local credit unions is their smartphone apps and online banking suck.
    - jkepler 7y ago
      Agree. I heard that there are four primary vendors for credit union and small bank web software. I guess they're not typically able or willing to customize commodity or write custom mobile apps.
Watabou 7y ago
I use two banks. Schwab for checking, as others have said, they’re excellent. Discover for savings for that 2% interest. I’ve tried other online only banks, ally for instance. But discover is the only one I’ve found with no fees to order more checks, no fees for maintenance in general, and a pretty great customer support to boot. My only complaint is the slow transaction log. For instance when I pay my credit card, it takes almodt 3 days to show up. It’s why I moved my checkings to Schwab instead. Almost the same benefits with no fees, no hassle.
cbanek 7y ago
Fidelity has a good banking service and credit card system. If your retirement / investment accounts are at Fidelity, it's really convenient. They do have "branches" in larger cities, where you can deposit large checks, but they won't cash checks or give you money there. The ATM card automatically refunds you for fees using any one else's bank, which is really nice. This means any ATM is your ATM. The Fidelity credit cards are okay, but they do charge an international transaction fee for currency exchange, which I think is 1% (better than most, but not 0). The website is nice, functional, and the same website for investments/401k/savings/credit cards, and they offer a fair amount of security (2FA) for it. Their phone support is pretty good. I've only been banking at places that don't have physical branches for the last 15 or so years, and that has only made me happier. Then again, I don't need to interact with a teller on a regular basis. The interest rates are not good at Fidelity though. So for long term savings, I bank with Ally, and use the websites to transfer money between them. Ally I'd also consider top notch.
- Something1234 7y ago
  Charles Schwab is even better. Same deal, but no international fees period. I also have an interest bearing checking account that pays way more than any brick and mortar bank.
gumby 7y ago
I use alliant federal credit union -- setting up the account took but a moment. I hear good things about tech federal and Stanford credit union (I think you need a Stanford connection).
- oddevan 7y ago
  Same here. High interest on savings and free ATM usage on checking.
kccqzy 7y ago
I moved almost all my money to Fidelity. They're not a bank, but very close to one. The best thing is ATM everywhere: they reimburse ATM fees as soon as the transaction posts. The promotional material says the reimbursement occurs nationwide but in practice worldwide, so even international ATM withdrawals are free of fees. Unlike most banks, they also pay interest on their cash management account (1.08% APY as of now) but you can buy SPRXX or any other money market mutual fund with higher yield and a stable NAV, and these will be auto-liquidated when you move money out (SPRXX has a 7-day yield of 2.08% as of 7/31). For purchases I don't recommend using money in the bank any more (i.e. don't use a debit card). Use a credit card for better protection and pay the credit card from the cash management account. You don't have to get a credit card from the same place you bank. Fidelity has a BillPay feature to initiate payment from your account to the credit card, or you can give your credit card company the ACH account and routing numbers. The only thing I find lacking is the occasional cash deposit. But you can just buy a money order and deposit that. Also learning to use a brokerage account with cash management features has a steeper learning curve than a bank account, but the average HNer will have no difficulty.
lukejduncan 7y ago
Local credit union for checking, mostly because I’ve had it forever. I am a big discover bank fan, as they’re keep their high yield savings rates in the top 5 consistently. Mobile check deposits are super easy too. I recently made the switch to Wealthfront savings accounts due to their savings rate but keep all my accounts open. I pay for everything with a rewards credit card, and use the ATM (or cash in general) maybe once or twice a year so ATM fees aren’t a concern for me.
colejohnson66 7y ago
USAA for me. They have no fees and you can use any ATM and they’ll refund you the fee the other bank charges.

dondawest 7y ago

Schwab is your move, IMO. I know a ton of people who moved from WF to Schwab and never looked back. Zero international ATM fees and great customer service. Solid app too.

nimish 7y ago
Charles Schwab (the person) is a major trump supporter. Charles Schwab bank has been quite good and unlike the cma offered by fidelity and other brokers it's an actual bank account.

juped 7y ago

If you don't need physical bank branches, use Charles Schwab Bank. Their checking account is nice and they will reimburse you for _all_ ATM fees worldwide; it's an onramp to their brokerage products, so it can only be opened alongside a brokerage account, but neither account will have fees or minimums.

craftyguy 7y ago

Local credit union. Many of them share ATMs as a part of some ATM co-op network.

twblalock 7y ago

I'm with Wells Fargo and I'm not planning to leave. I don't think any of the other banks are morally superior -- Wells Fargo is probably just a bit more inept at covering things up.

sverhagen 7y ago
This is a great point. I did move from Wells Fargo to a credit union, and this was a move from unhappy to happy. But as the larger point, I cannot boycott every business I have a bad experience with, or that is somehow unethical, I'd starve to death, so to speak.
juped 7y ago
I think they're comparable to other national retail bank chains, and just a bit worse at image control. However, others here have suggested credit unions or brokerages with banking arms, which have different incentives - anecdotally, people are happier with service from non-bank banks.
- twblalock 7y ago
  The problem with local credit unions is their smartphone apps and online banking suck.
  - jkepler 7y ago
    Agree. I heard that there are four primary vendors for credit union and small bank web software. I guess they're not typically able or willing to customize commodity or write custom mobile apps.

Watabou 7y ago

I use two banks. Schwab for checking, as others have said, they’re excellent. Discover for savings for that 2% interest. I’ve tried other online only banks, ally for instance. But discover is the only one I’ve found with no fees to order more checks, no fees for maintenance in general, and a pretty great customer support to boot. My only complaint is the slow transaction log. For instance when I pay my credit card, it takes almodt 3 days to show up. It’s why I moved my checkings to Schwab instead. Almost the same benefits with no fees, no hassle.

cbanek 7y ago

Fidelity has a good banking service and credit card system. If your retirement / investment accounts are at Fidelity, it's really convenient. They do have "branches" in larger cities, where you can deposit large checks, but they won't cash checks or give you money there. The ATM card automatically refunds you for fees using any one else's bank, which is really nice. This means any ATM is your ATM. The Fidelity credit cards are okay, but they do charge an international transaction fee for currency exchange, which I think is 1% (better than most, but not 0). The website is nice, functional, and the same website for investments/401k/savings/credit cards, and they offer a fair amount of security (2FA) for it. Their phone support is pretty good. I've only been banking at places that don't have physical branches for the last 15 or so years, and that has only made me happier. Then again, I don't need to interact with a teller on a regular basis. The interest rates are not good at Fidelity though. So for long term savings, I bank with Ally, and use the websites to transfer money between them. Ally I'd also consider top notch.

Something1234 7y ago
Charles Schwab is even better. Same deal, but no international fees period. I also have an interest bearing checking account that pays way more than any brick and mortar bank.

gumby 7y ago

I use alliant federal credit union -- setting up the account took but a moment. I hear good things about tech federal and Stanford credit union (I think you need a Stanford connection).

oddevan 7y ago
Same here. High interest on savings and free ATM usage on checking.

kccqzy 7y ago

I moved almost all my money to Fidelity. They're not a bank, but very close to one. The best thing is ATM everywhere: they reimburse ATM fees as soon as the transaction posts. The promotional material says the reimbursement occurs nationwide but in practice worldwide, so even international ATM withdrawals are free of fees. Unlike most banks, they also pay interest on their cash management account (1.08% APY as of now) but you can buy SPRXX or any other money market mutual fund with higher yield and a stable NAV, and these will be auto-liquidated when you move money out (SPRXX has a 7-day yield of 2.08% as of 7/31). For purchases I don't recommend using money in the bank any more (i.e. don't use a debit card). Use a credit card for better protection and pay the credit card from the cash management account. You don't have to get a credit card from the same place you bank. Fidelity has a BillPay feature to initiate payment from your account to the credit card, or you can give your credit card company the ACH account and routing numbers. The only thing I find lacking is the occasional cash deposit. But you can just buy a money order and deposit that. Also learning to use a brokerage account with cash management features has a steeper learning curve than a bank account, but the average HNer will have no difficulty.

lukejduncan 7y ago

Local credit union for checking, mostly because I’ve had it forever. I am a big discover bank fan, as they’re keep their high yield savings rates in the top 5 consistently. Mobile check deposits are super easy too. I recently made the switch to Wealthfront savings accounts due to their savings rate but keep all my accounts open. I pay for everything with a rewards credit card, and use the ATM (or cash in general) maybe once or twice a year so ATM fees aren’t a concern for me.

colejohnson66 7y ago

USAA for me. They have no fees and you can use any ATM and they’ll refund you the fee the other bank charges.