Who do you bank with in the U.S.?

[SapphireDreams 71]

My fiance banks with Chase and likes them a lot.

[Marilyn. 340]

we use Wells Fargo.. hubby has been with them for years.. we have had no problems with them so far...

[J&K 0]

Navy Federal... I love this bank.. (other than I don't have a branch in my own town), but they seem genuinely helpful and gave me my first credit card with a limit of 1000$ with no questions asked (or security)..

Only draw back is you have to "know someone".. it's all secret military like

Agreed...love Navy Fed.

There are restrictions on membership though. Thank goodness hubby had to join Navy Fed when he was in the Navy to deposit his cheques!

Been good to both of us. 2 CCs each and a $20,000 car loan.

[Texanadian 10]

I went with Chase because they offer Continental Airline miles on their debit card and credit card (The Chase Freedom credit card). So far I've earned enough for 2 free trips to Canada. I never bothered getting their actual Chase/Continental Mastercard as it's $85/year, whereas the Freedom card is free and offers cash back as well as airline miles.

I like ING for the high interest rate on savings accounts. They do offer a checking. But I just use them for savings.

Edited January 8, 2009 by Texanadian

[trailmix 77]

Yes, I looked at ING. I like that they actually HAVE an interest rate (our current account pays 0.05 % - however when reading about it online I found that when you initially open the account they hold your funds for 10 days.

Now, we will still have a day to day account at another bank - so that isn't a huge issue - I am just hoping to get away from banks that do weird things like that.

For fun and giggles I will post the email I sent to RBC the other day, and their oh-so-not-helpful response:

My Email:

Hello,

Since I opened my accounts with RBC Canada and U.S., I have had nothing but trouble. Whether it is something simple like changing my address - and they put part of the city name on the address line - or ordering cheques, which they charged me for that I should not have been charged for - it is never simple to deal with your bank.

Yesterday I spoke with 4 different people to solve 1 issue.

I wanted to enroll in the rewards plan online (second attempt). I could not as it kept rejecting the information. After going in circles between the rewards program call center and the regular call center, I finally explained to the last person I spoke to, what the problem was (I had learned that the rewards program switched to a new program back in October and as some data was not successfully transferred, they would have to manually type in my WHOLE address to have it update in the rewards program database).

Now I ask you, why do I know this and an RBC customer service representative does not?

While on the phone with them I said, although I have a joint account with my Husband, I know you store our address separately for each of us. Can you please retype his address too so that when I go to link the accounts for rewards I won't have the same problem?

No - can't do it, the other account holder has to call.

So my next question to you is - why do you have 2 address areas for joint account holders? Common sense would dictate that you would hold the info in 1 with an option for clients to have an alternate address for the joint account holder.

Oh and how do I know about the separate data storage for the address - well of course I had to learn this when we moved.

RBC does not pay me to do their work and frankly I don't want the job.

I am shopping for a higher interest account for my money. Yesterday I questioned the representative about the 2.25% account you have advertised on your website.

I was told that account is for 'new money' - however she could put in a request to see if they might let me have this account??

I have no idea how you keep any clients. The only reason I opened an RBC account was so that you could look up my perfect Canadian credit rating when we go to buy a house this year - however that now pales to insignificance with the run around your bank gives me any time we try to do anything.

Response:

My name is Heather, and I've received your message in regards to the number of phone calls that you had to go through in order to access the Reward Program login page.

I appreciate that you took the time to share with us your concern in this matter. Please be assured that your concern has been escalated to our Customer Care Department for their review and consideration. Although it's not possible for this team to respond to all feedback, your input is very important to us as we continuously strive to meet your needs and improve our service.

Please let us know if you have further questions or concerns. You may contact us via email or by phone at 1-800-236-8872. Representatives are available from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM (ET) Monday - Friday and 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM (ET) Saturday and Sunday.

Thank you again for contacting RBC Bank.

[Flames9_RN 358]

We also have an ING account that we use for savings!! It has been great!! And for once my laziness paid off,lol Awhile back I was suppose to transfer $$$$ from the ING account into one of our "investments" Needless to say that "investment" has gone downhill,lol So for once my laziness saved us big $$$$,lol

[trailmix 77]

We also have an ING account that we use for savings!! It has been great!! And for once my laziness paid off,lol Awhile back I was suppose to transfer $$$$ from the ING account into one of our "investments" Needless to say that "investment" has gone downhill,lol So for once my laziness saved us big $$$$,lol

[neiks 19]

I still use RBC Centura and Royal Bank in Canada. I agree I have had many issues with the Royal in Canada and have pulled my morgage, line of credit and RRSP from them when they P'd me off last time. I still use it for my paycheck deposit and then transfer it to RBC Centura and general banking but refuse to give them a cent of interest. I'm just a little to lazy to change over to another Canadian bank that has a US division and get everything changed over and set up as I have direct deposit of my paycheck and all my Canadian bills set up with them.

We also use a local community bank in the US for our joint everyday banking.

[trailmix 77]

I still use RBC Centura and Royal Bank in Canada. I agree I have had many issues with the Royal in Canada and have pulled my morgage, line of credit and RRSP from them when they P'd me off last time. I still use it for my paycheck deposit and then transfer it to RBC Centura and general banking but refuse to give them a cent of interest. I'm just a little to lazy to change over to another Canadian bank that has a US division and get everything changed over and set up as I have direct deposit of my paycheck and all my Canadian bills set up with them.

We also use a local community bank in the US for our joint everyday banking.

It's good to hear that so many of you actually have banks that you like.

I'm going to do some research today on some of these.

[Canadianmade 1]

My wife and I bank with huntington bank, they are the best. The customer service is awesome and they are sooo friendly. I would definately reccomend people to bank with them.

[happywifeymom 4]

Bank of America - and we like them. I have always found them helpful and efficient. We have used their notary services as well as talking to an investment counsellor for CDs and IRAs. They have also called us when they noticed unusual activity on our account and we appreciated that, even though it was a legitimate transaction. I would actually recommend them. They also have bank machines in many convenient areas including inside Kroger's stores.

I agree with Kathryn..

[trailmix 77]

Well, after chatting with TD bank U.S. for some time, including their mortgage department, I decided to open an account with them. I just like the idea of having a bank that is affiliated with our Canadian bank - well all owned by the same company anyway.

He mentioned to me, the mortgage guy, that basically we will be on equal credit rating footing, when we have 1 year of credit history in the U.S. - they can also check our Canadian credit if need be.

Plus, you can wire money between your TD account and your TD U.S. account and they will refund the fee for that.

On the downside, they do charge for cheques to be printed, after your initial cheques and although they don't charge for you using other people's atm's - they really just refund all the charges at the end of the month. It doesn't really matter to me, just seems a little messy for record keeping purposes - but we shall see.

Tomorrow I will be closing my RBC Canada bank account (staying with TD)

I also opened a savings account with ING direct. In spite of the fact that they hold money, which is odd, it is a savings account and the interest rate is pretty good.

Edited January 8, 2009 by trailmix

[thetreble 19]

They have a penny arcade and I won a tshirt once. Good times.

I got to TD (aka commerce) to use the penny arcade all the timzzzzzz! So much better then rolling coins!

I bank with Wamu/Chase and although I'd like to change I'm not going to to because A) I do minimal banking and B ) I get my paycheck deposited in my account and don't feel like messing that up.

That aren't that great though. They gave me an account without any ID before I came to the US in 2006. It's basically the bank for immigrants and people living below the poverty line where I live. Or so it seems...

[The_Dude 1,142]

WaMu used to be great where I live. No fees to use other bank ATM's, no fees on any basic services. That changed when they merged with Chase. Fees, fees, fees.

I really like Wells Fargo because they are very diligent. You get a free account if you have your paycheck direct deposited, and they also give free accounts to students. The icing on the cake for me was the ONE time I walked away from the ATM and left my card in the machine, the teller who saw it jumped over the counter and ran to the machine and grabbed the card before this guy who was going to would, and ran me down in the parking lot. Of course, he made me show him my proper ID to verify I wasn't a criminal too before giving me back my ATM card

[Flames9_RN 358]

Well, after chatting with TD bank U.S. for some time, including their mortgage department, I decided to open an account with them. I just like the idea of having a bank that is affiliated with our Canadian bank - well all owned by the same company anyway.

He mentioned to me, the mortgage guy, that basically we will be on equal credit rating footing, when we have 1 year of credit history in the U.S. - they can also check our Canadian credit if need be.

Plus, you can wire money between your TD account and your TD U.S. account and they will refund the fee for that.

On the downside, they do charge for cheques to be printed, after your initial cheques and although they don't charge for you using other people's atm's - they really just refund all the charges at the end of the month. It doesn't really matter to me, just seems a little messy for record keeping purposes - but we shall see.

Tomorrow I will be closing my RBC Canada bank account (staying with TD)

I also opened a savings account with ING direct. In spite of the fact that they hold money, which is odd, it is a savings account and the interest rate is pretty good.

Yes ING does "hold" your fund for a few days when you first transfer it over. I have never had a problem as we use it as a savings account