As the subject line states, I’m looking for insight as to whether or not people recommend banking with companies like Ally or Capital One. My main reason for considering the move is the fact that my credit union offers 0.01% interest on my savings account, whereas Ally and Capital One offer 2% and 1% respectively. Any opinions or advice on things to look out for would be appreciated.

We've had good luck with ING and there were no big changes after it was purchased by Capital One.

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Originally posted by bryan11:
We've had good luck with ING and there were no big changes after it was purchased by Capital One.

Is there anything Capital One hasn't bought? They bought out two of my credit card accounts (HSBC and World's Foremost Bank/Cabela's).

I had ING, which was bought by cap one. I use it for savings and love it. Easy transfers and great interest in the money market. Have not t4ies the online only checking, but recommend capone360 money market.

I have accounts at a company credit union with no nearby physical branch.

Make sure there's no ATM fee or they'll refund your fee.

I would also recommend having an account at a large company with extensive brick and mortar branches and atm's near you. Set up the ability to do electronic fund transfers so that you have flexibility.

With today's apps of being able to make check deposits, the only thing missing is for them to be able to email you actual money.

I have had accounts with both Ally and Capital One, and both were/are very good, and paid decent interest.

They're both good - but you probably don't want to open accounts at both. To make the call, I'd compare:
- Costs/fees/minimum balance requirements,
- Interest paid on balance amounts you're likely to have on deposit,
- Which ATM networks they support, and how many nearby places you can access cash without fees, and
- Whether they have apps that work on your computers/phones/tablets so you can deposit checks from home.

These days, I don't actually go to my 'brick and mortar' bank unless I have a check to deposit that's over their app-limit, or need cash. And that's increasingly less frequent over time, as most places take cards for darn near everything these days.

I recommend Ally, but also have some money at a local Wells Fargo just to have a brick bank to go to to get change, get something notarized, etc. I had ING but go out because they wouldn't let you desingate beneficiaries or TOD. That appears to have changed with Capitol One.

Capital One has physical banks.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Capital One has physical banks.

From the bit of research that I did, there isn’t one within 50 miles of me (assuming their website was behaving correctly).

I have all my surplus cash ( more than a few weeks cash needs) in Ally bank. All their accounts are paying 1.98 with an APY of 2% currently and FDIC insured. I can get maybe 2.1 in my Schwab money market but Ally website is very user friendly and I can transfer from ally to my bank checking or my CU to in 2 minutes online and it’s their the next business day. They gave me checks and a debit card but I have never used them.

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Originally posted by Spiff_P239:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Capital One has physical banks.

From the bit of research that I did, there isn’t one within 50 miles of me (assuming their website was behaving correctly).

Not only your location, but they don't have a physical branch in your entire state of MI. They only have branches in 8 states (CT, DE, LA, MD, NJ, NY, TX, VA), plus D.C., according to this site, US BANK LOCATIONS.

We're in the process of moving some funds to an Ally CD. I'm considering a Money Market, too, my bank pays almost nothing.

My wife went to our bank when she saw a poster for 2.30% CD, she was told it had to be "new money", so Ally will get a new customer.

quote:

Originally posted by bryan11:
We've had good luck with ING and there were no big changes after it was purchased by Capital One.

I will echo this.

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My checking account is held in a local bank that has four branches. I rarely go to a branch, but it's nice to have should I need a service I can't get online (money order, etc.). Their debit cards are part of the Allpoint Network, which provides me fee-less ATM transactions in all 50 states, with an app that points me to the closest one (frequently a CVS, Walgreen's, 7-11, Target, etc.).

I pay my bills through the bank's web site, and can check my balance, download statements, connect to Quicken, and perform all the typical banking transactions from my desk.

One thing I really like is that I can set daily maximums and transaction limits. For example, I limit my cash withdrawals to $300/day and purchase limits to $2,000 (I had it at $1,000, but buying guns, guitars and cameras became troublesome because I had to contact the bank to approve the transaction). The bank also monitors my card activity, and I have to notify them if I'm traveling to "unlock" ATM usage when I'm out of town. That may seem like a bother to some, but I've had credit cards compromised in the past, and my bank is right on top of transactions, and will notify me if they suspect fraudulent activity.

Been with Ally for many years, probably 6 or so, without any issues. Need to deposit a check? Take a picture of it in the app. Need to withdraw from an ATM? They will refund your ATM fee. Which is even better than a bank where you have to use their ATM because you can use any ATM.

Need a wire transfer or cashier's check? Just request it through the website and it will be done.

Interest rates are obviously much better on savings.

Need checks? Order them through the website. They are free.

Only downside I have found is you cannot deposit cash. There is just simply no way to do it. I would never have such occasion, so that doesn't bother me.

I use Schwab. The benefit is that, for a larger check, I can take it to a Schwab broker's office to deposit it, rather than mail it in.

I park my cash in a Goldman Sachs on line account(They call it Marcus) which currently pays 2.05% apr. and will move along with the fed's rates. No checks or ATM, strictly savings. If you need to access some cash just transfer to your normal external checking account. Moves in 24-48 hours mostly dependent on the receiving bank. $1 minimum to open, $1,000,000 max per account holder.

I also put some cash into a Capital One 360 money market fund. Back a year or so ago they were offering $200 bonus if you deposited $20,000 which seemed like a good deal. Currently paying 2% and has Debit Card available, along with direct cash transfer to other outside accounts.

I found that with online accounts, the more features they offer... check writing, debit card etc, the lower the interest rates will be. So you need to decide what features you need and balance it from there.

We have our checking account with our Fidelity Brokerage account.

Very easy to do. I believe it pays about 1.25%. Also, one of our credit cards is tied to that account it pays us back 2% each quarter which is nice. We recently had some funds wire transferred to a bank in Switzerland and all it took was a ten minute phone call and then a fax for the authorization page and the funds were in the other account by the next business day.

I still have a local bank checking account to be able to take care of small things but for the most part we are doing everything electronically now.

Navy Federal has a 24-month CD paying 3% APY.

I have experience with Ally and Synchrony.

They pay decent interest rates, but they can sometimes be a PIA/slow when it comes to withdrawals.

I would be more inclined to use these online institutions for CD's where you probably won't need continual or immediate access to lump sums of funds.

By the way - online banks are now paying in the 3% range for 12-18 months CD's. Not too shabby.