Best places to bank - ditching traditional banking

Say goodbye to high fees! - Where to bank

First a story about how I and many other people choose their first bank.  When I got a job corn detasseling (worst job I've ever had) with the advice of my Mom and Dad I opened a checking account at the local bank my parents used.  At the time it was Old Kent Bank.  For the most part I have been reasonably happy with them.  The first account I had was called totally free checking.  It was for the most part free.  

Fast forward a few years to when I start doing a few more complicated banking things, we have me and my long time girlfriend (now wife) sharing the same account lots of deposits and too many withdrawals.  After Old Kent merged with Fifth Third bank and my smart spouse wanted to get checks recently she upgraded the account to a "club" checking account which was also free but included free checks.  With the requirements being "direct deposit" which we've always had and at least 6 transactions a month (pretty much have this every day it seems)  

Reasons I started checking into switching from the BANK

• Once I got an overdraft fee - I am not whining I understand overdraft fees but I thought in this case, it was done in a particularly petty way.  You see I knew I had a deposit coming in and I scheduled a largish payoff the same day.  They posted the payment on payoff a couple of hours before my direct deposit and henceforth charged me an overdraft fee for the few hours till they posted the deposit.  Funny thing is the bank KNOWS the money is coming in and the exact amount the day before it posts ( I have called before to see and the representative was able to tell me)
• FRAUD- we had two transactions of $300 fraudulently charged from Boca Raton, FL a few years back - Good news the bank caught it an shut down the account.  Bad news - NO COMMUNICATION, I go to pay for lunch and my card got declined (embarrassing, I pay with another card)  Mind you this is MY BANK they have my email, cell phone number, wife's cell phone, my work number.  A quick - "Hi this is the fraud department your account has been suspended please contact us" would have been nice.  Actually I think is should be a requirement!
• FEES - These suck and while many of them are understandable I had two bad experiences I thought were particularly unfair and wrong to say the least.  ONE - using a teller to deposit funds/withdraw.  The bank charges to use a live person.  I knew this going in at the time a few years back.  The problem was the ATM was BROKEN so you couldn't use it.  I went in to deposit something and take out money.  Later I noticed a 1.00 teller assist fee. LUDICROUS!   TWO- Cashiers Check for closing on my home.  $7 - it took them 90 seconds to process this request and I was charged $7.00.  The credit union I'll talk about in a second charges ZERO.  Fifth Third in particular seems to have a horrible track record on crazy fees 
• Refusal to remove someone - I realize this is a relatively common practice for large banks but I think it is not consumer friendly at all.  They would not remove my mom (who was on there when I was a MINOR) from my account without closing the entire account and reopening a new one.  THIS IS A PAIN,  but eventually I decided to do it.  In fact the credit union I am switching too has a 1/3 page form to get signatures and make this happen.  I don't see why they wouldn't do it IF you got permission in writing from all account holders.

Military Credit Unions THE WAY TO BANK for less

If you can get into one I firmly believe military credit unions serving their members, family members and household members are a fantastic place to put your money! Here's some of my top choices.  Ofcourse your local credit union could be great too.

• NFCU   -Navy Federal Credit Union
• USAA  (Technically a Federal Savings Bank)
• Airforce Federal Credit Union

You'll enjoy very low if any fees.  I found mine NFCU to have the lowest loan rates I could find.  They pay you interest on your checking and savings. In general you'll see lower approval guidelines and more personalized service.  

Additionally, most credit unions work together to allow FREE USE at the network of ATM's.  Another great feature I love of NFCU and USAA is online scanned check deposits.  Deposit a check from ANYWHERE with a scanner.  Partner that with free use of more local credit union ATM's and your set.  

Find a way in, my Dad who had previously served got membership and therefore I could.  Now I can sponsor so my kids, wife etc can me members as well.

DITCH YOUR BANK CHOOSE A CREDIT UNION