Has anyone gone to online only accounts?

[discombob1]

There have been several posts about accounts like Perkstreet and AmEx's savings account. One reason the deals are so good is that you have no branches in which to conduct business. I am wondering if anyone has gone in that direction with having no local branches and how it has worked for you? I am hesitant to give that up yet.

Thanks!

[considering7]

Yes, I went with an online bank seveal years ago and haven't been happier. The only reason (for me) to need a branch was to a) Deposit checks and b) withdraw money free (since most banks charge ATM Fee surcharges to use their ATM when you aren't their customer.

My online bank solved both problems for me. I can endorse and mail a check in to them, or I can scan the check with my computer and deposit it immediately. And a few months ago, they came out with an App for Android and iPhones that allows me to snap a photo of the check with my phone and deposit it immediately. My bank even makes the funds available to me immediately, so I don' thave to wait the day or two for the check to actually clear.

For withdrawing money I can use any ATM at any bank, gas station convenience store, etc. No matter what fee the bank assesses me, my bank refunds those fees at the end of each month. So if I make 3 withdrawals at a competitor's ATM and the surcharge is $2.25 each time I make a withdrawal, my bank will deposit $7.75 at the end of the month into my checking account. I guess they figure it's cheaper to refund that fee then to open a brick-and-mortar branch in every town in the US.

[discombob1]

Considering...can I ask what bank you use? Thanks for the answer!!

[BobMango]

I use USAA. Not sure what their membership criteria is anymore but you can check their website. I can deposit checks at any UPS store, and they have a network of credit unions that allow deposits using an ATM. Additionally, USAA refunds all ATM fees so I can use any ATM without having to pay fees. The bill pay is free and they support electronic billing from most of my utility providers, etc. Overall I really prefer them to a "regular" bank.

[KeithDoxen]

I am also an online bank customer. As the above poster said, the only things that many of us really need brick-and-mortar banks for are deposits and withdrawals. Nowadays, many online banks will give you free withdrawals with your debit card at certain kinds of ATMs. As for deposits, you basically have to mail your checks to the online bank's physical location, so it can take a few days between receiving the check and getting the funds into your account. But if you have direct deposit for your wages, this shouldn't be a big deal. It will be an inconvenience two or three times a year when someone writes you a check for whatever reason, but it's generally not the sort of thing that you should worry too much about. I highly recommend this.

[mom2crazies]

I used ING Direct until Capital One borrowed them. I went back to local branches. The reason is because of the time it would take if I needed to transfer money. It took 2 days either way (from my linked account to ING, and back). This made me nervous as far as if an emergency occured. I did have a debit card, but my concern was if the I didn't have access to the internet and the money was stuck in my savings and I had an emergency. I would rather just deal with a local bank and use cash for everyday expenses.

[disconapper]

I just opened two accounts (checking/savings) with USAA and so far so good. Their account criteria is military serviceman/woman or dependent. Their website is very user friendly as well. There are so many different choices out there it's hard to narrow down what works best, I look at some others, but the final thing for me was the military draw of USAA, that's it.

[Logan]

I just opened two accounts (checking/savings) with USAA and so far so good. Their account criteria is military serviceman/woman or dependent. Their website is very user friendly as well. There are so many different choices out there it's hard to narrow down what works best, I look at some others, but the final thing for me was the military draw of USAA, that's it.

I use Perkstreet financial and so far it's great. Once they get their app up and running (September) and I can make deposits online it will be perfect. There is an adjustment you have to make with online accounts so you need to consider that when opening your account.
Logan

[DesdemonaB]

I Went With PerkStreet

I decided to go on-line only because I had to use a pre-paid Visa during my BK process and like it, I rarely went to a bank for services other then an ATM and with the exception of my mother who wrote me birthday checks (and her CU is close to my house so I cashed them there) I pretty much only direct deposit into an account.

I just signed up for Perksteet in mid-July, I tried in April but they pull ChexSystem and I still had two overdrawn transactions from my last brick and mortar bank Flagstar as open. I faxed over my discharge papers (they were included) and ChexSystem deleted both of them as well as a 2008 overdraft that was satisfied. So three for the price of two, winning

So far so good, I get 2% cash back for the first 90 days, 1% after that, and they keep sending me offers via email – take this survey and we’ll deposit $2.00, like us on Facebook we’ll deposit $2.00, direct deposit XX amount of $$ in the first 30 days we’ll deposit $2.00. First 12 days of August I made $12.00 in cash back, plus the $6 on special offers - $18.00 more then I had July 31st. Goal is to use this cash back as a Christmas savings account – with cash redeemable to Best Buy, Target, Amazon, Gap, MC cash cards whatever is saved from Jan 1 to Dec 1 will be used as part of my Christmas budget.

Haven’t tried an ATM yet (they say free ATM w/ any STAR machine) Got 50 free paper checks, it will be nice to use checks again as I was paying for my girls daycare/latchkey with cash, and made three utility payments so far in August (made the mistake of doing a ETF with the first one so that did not count to my 2% back as it was not a cc charge.)

I decided to keep my UpSide Pre-paid Visa card as it too earns me some “cash back” when using my card via their on-line mall. Kinda lame, very old school but you don’t have to use the UpSide card to make the purchase you just have to be a register on their mall. So I log-in to UpSide’s mall and link to Target via that mall – make a purchase for $50 get 4 points per $1 spend to my UpSide program, I then use my PerkStreet MC to pay for the purchase and get 1 or 2% cash back via that program and wham a double entry to my Christmas saving account. Oh and my Capital One Card that I got in April is cash back too – about 12.00 in that account now.

Now I know I wouldn’t get rich – but if I get 5 to 10 dollars a month I plan to add that to the Christmas budget and I can make that extra $$ go very far @ Christmas.

2011 the year I make my spending work for me.

[iv65536]

Basically I use Charles Schwab Bank and a local credit union. No problems with either. No monthly fees at either, no minimum balance, the only requirement at Schwab for a free checking account is a brokerage account (no monthly fees, no inactivity fees, minimum brokerage assets: zero).

I recently closed my accounts at Wells Fargo and US Bank; one sent me a letter charging me an overdraft fee on the withdrawal by which I closed my accounts at that bank (stagecoach robbery, IMNSHO) which I got them to reverse; we shall see when I get the final statements. When I got to the credit union with the funds from the Wells Fargo accounts, I had the teller delete the Wells Fargo app from my iPhone. No fee for that!

I hate paying bank fees and ATM fees.

[jacko]

I need to open up a savings account for ACH purposes. I assume the bank will do its DD duty by checking credit report and chexsystem. Will my new address show up on the CC report?

[SMinGA2]

I can't go online only... My major banking has been ING Direct for years. (Member since 2003, and have had my direct deposit there for 4-5 years.) I have a part time job where I collect tips in cash 3-4 days a week. I need to be able to deposit that, so I joined a local CU.

[smartdivas]

ya i am agree i joining many year ago online banking work for account pay check money and deposit money.! it's a really nice work here.

[ksgirl38]

Has anyone used Ally? I just opened a savings and checking account there, but have yet to change my direct deposit to them. Just wondering if there have been any issues. When I looked up banks online they had the highest interest rates, free checks, and reimburse you for any ATM charges. It sounds good. I rarely go into my current bank anyway, most of my transactions are ATM, so I figured I wouldn't miss it.