USAA

[FDNYOldGuy]

On 10/5/2022 at 9:19 PM, ViperMan said:

I'm thinking Fidelity, but does anyone have a recommendation for a good, one-stop-shop, for investments, banking, insurance, etc?

Depends a lot on your need for brick and mortar/cash handling, as well as (unfortunately just recently) bill pay.

I’ve used TDAmeritrade for my checking and investing mix for about 10 years. I love the investing platform (I use ThinkorSwim, but they’re tied together), they offer unlimited ATM reimbursements (seriously, used a $10 fee ATM in Vegas once and they paid me back), and they’ll send you checks/handle ACHs like any normal bank account. You can also photo deposit checks up to pretty hefty amounts and they clear pretty quick.

Downsides are there are very few brick and mortar (mostly one or two locations in bigger cities), no savings account/they pay abysmal interest on cash balances (although, you can buy CDs or build a bond ladder and get higher than savings account interest), and they just killed bill pay a month or so ago with seemingly no replacement. 

It sucks USAA has gotten so bad, as it is about the only one stop shop with banking, investing, and insurance. There just aren’t many other solid options. But, TD offers at least two of them and have been good to me for awhile. 

Edited October 9, 2022 by FDNYOldGuy
Punchy with the button

[ClearedHot]

On 10/7/2022 at 6:13 AM, Duck said:

Back when I lived in Florida, they wouldn’t even provide insurance for my house in the middle of the state. I couldn’t get any further from the coast. I switched everything at that point.

Years ago I had them for my primary and one of my rentals in Florida.  They sent notice that they were cancelling my rental coverage in six months.  Two funny events followed:

1.  I immediately found another company for the rental, at a lower rate.  I called USAA to cancel early and they pushed back.  They also insisted I provide a copy of the new coverage AND the rate I was paying.  The house was paid off and they had ZERO right to know that data so a nice argument ensued on the phone with a very pushy agent.  I got nasty, told them to fuck off and cancel my coverage.

2.  After the event above I wrote a note saying I was going to move all of my investments out of USAA.  I actually got a call about a week later from a VP on the investment side telling me there was nothing they could do about it.  I told him I appreciate the call and FYI I will move everything out of USAA next month to which he actually chuckled and replied "we hope you won't do that."  The next week I moved a very substantial portfolio from USAA to Morgan Stanley.  A few days later that same VP called me and was incredulous, "you moved everything out of USAA, why would you do that?"  I then chuckled and said " I told you in my note I was going to do it, I told you on the phone I was going to do it and you are shocked I did it, seriously?"  He tried to give me a list of reasons to come back and I hung up on him.

[nunya]

 

On 10/9/2022 at 10:06 AM, FDNYOldGuy said:

they offer unlimited ATM reimbursements (seriously, used a $10 fee ATM in Vegas once and they paid me back),

Well USAA just decided to drop their ATM fee reimbursement from $15 to $10 per month.  Gotta find that Gronk money somewhere I guess.  

[uhhello]

24 minutes ago, nunya said:

 

Well USAA just decided to drop their ATM fee reimbursement from $15 to $10 per month.  Gotta find that Gronk money somewhere I guess.  

sad....Maybe other banks have these same issues but I'm guessing not....

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/business/usaa-fine-money-laundering.html

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2019/11/29/why-does-texas-based-usaa-have-an-f-rating-from-the-bbb-and-why-doesnt-the-company-seem-to-care/

https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/San-Antonio-s-USAA-Bank-racks-up-huge-losses-on-16944424.php

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/10/21/usaa-bank-fined-85-million-federal-regulators-violations-of-law.html

 

Maybe 

Edited October 12, 2022 by uhhello

[guineapigfury]

12 hours ago, nunya said:

 

Well USAA just decided to drop their ATM fee reimbursement from $15 to $10 per month.  Gotta find that Gronk money somewhere I guess.  

You're not wrong.  IIRC the complaints about USAA correlate with when they started advertising.

[nunya]

On 10/5/2022 at 9:19 PM, ViperMan said:

I'm thinking Fidelity, but does anyone have a recommendation for a good, one-stop-shop, for investments, banking, insurance, etc?

I think I'm going that way - at least for 2 out of 3. 

US ATM reimbursements, 2% rewards card, good index fund investing, good-enough balance forecasting (because most of my expenses will be on the linked 2% card and I can autopay my other big expenses).  Obviously that leaves insurance elsewhere, but maybe specialized labor is a good thing.  

[disgruntledemployee]

Anyone try Schwab for checking and savings?  I already have a brokerage account there and adding banking seems better than USAA.  Website says the brokerage and checking link up.  Says unlimited ATM fee refunds, free checks, billpay, etc.  Basically everything USAA already has and better in some areas.

Just asking if anyone has used them and any feedback.  Thanks

[CaptainMorgan]

Yes, they’re great. They also have never locked my card while traveling, which USAA seems to do on a frequent basis. You can also get the Schwab Amex Platinum, which allows you to redeem points into your account.


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[Sua Sponte]

After 22 years, just canceled my insurance with USAA. State Farm, with a $0 deductible and glass coverage, renters, and umbrella was $800 less every six months than what USAA wanted just for auto and a $250 deductible.

Edited January 19 by Sua Sponte

[mightymighty]

Left USAA last month.

Checking/Savings moved to AMEX - getting 4.6% in a high yeild savings account and 1% interest on checking + 1 reward point/ $2 spent.

Insurance bundled housing, cars, motorcycle with Geico (Less than half the cost of what USAA was charging)

Investments are with Fidelity and always have been (I used to work for them and they are great)

I couldnt be happier - I recommend everyone to get quotes and do some research. USAA is screwing you.

[slc]

Just switched from Geico TO USAA for car insurance only...........Geico was several hundred dollars more per year than USAA.  Also, just signed on for home insurance after dumping Grange (again several hundred saved).   Interesting 

[ClearedHot]

10 hours ago, mightymighty said:

Left USAA last month.

Checking/Savings moved to AMEX - getting 4.6% in a high yeild savings account and 1% interest on checking + 1 reward point/ $2 spent.

Insurance bundled housing, cars, motorcycle with Geico (Less than half the cost of what USAA was charging)

Investments are with Fidelity and always have been (I used to work for them and they are great)

I couldnt be happier - I recommend everyone to get quotes and do some research. USAA is screwing you.

I have a bunch of rental properties and am constantly getting dumped to "reduce exposure".  Going through that process and dumping USAA I found AutoOwners actually has great service, rates and ratings.  I use them for our auto insurance, a couple of rental properties and have a big liability policy to umbrella my LLC.  It sure feels like USAA is circling the drain.

[Lord Ratner]

4 minutes ago, ClearedHot said:

I have a bunch of rental properties and am constantly getting dumped to "reduce exposure".  Going through that process and dumping USAA I found AutoOwners actually has great service, rates and ratings.  I use them for our auto insurance, a couple of rental properties and have a big liability policy to umbrella my LLC.  It sure feels like USAA is circling the drain.

I haven't been able to put my finger on it exactly, but I suspect it has to do with artificially low interest rates. In that environment, where retained profits do not make any money, it seems like all businesses eventually create an obsession with growth-at-all-costs, and we get the strange business world we have now. Unfortunately it's such a complicated issue that most people are simply looking at it and saying that capitalism has broken. They have a point, but I am afraid of the solutions when you think that business, rather than government intervention, is the root cause.

 

USAAcould have remained a military only company and done quite nicely in perpetuity. But that would have meant little to no growth.

 

You can see the same thing with all the private equity nonsense in the hospital and retirement home world. There's going to be a reckoning from all of this, and it's not going to be pretty.

[Pooter]

Another minor thing, but it annoys the absolute fuck out of me - my USAA cards lock whenever I travel and try to use them. 
 

You'd think a company literally made for people who travel a lot for work wouldn't shit the bed every time. Not being able to get cash because my debit card locked has been a genuine liability more than once. Especially at red flag..

[TreeA10]

Capitol One Venture card works like a champ worldwide.  $69-ish per year with the military discount but you can cover any travel expenses with points earned and the card easily pays for itself.  I do have a USAA card but it sits in a dresser drawer as a tertiary backup.

[RASH]

Another minor thing, but it annoys the absolute out of me - my USAA cards lock whenever I travel and try to use them. 
 
You'd think a company literally made for people who travel a lot for work wouldn't shit the bed every time. Not being able to get cash because my debit card locked has been a genuine liability more than once. Especially at red flag..

Sometimes a credit card just won’t do…


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[FourFans]

1 hour ago, RASH said:

Sometimes a credit card just won’t do…

Reads: "I pay strippers with cash"

[M2]

22 hours ago, Pooter said:

Another minor thing, but it annoys the absolute fuck out of me - my USAA cards lock whenever I travel and try to use them. 
 

You'd think a company literally made for people who travel a lot for work wouldn't shit the bed every time. Not being able to get cash because my debit card locked has been a genuine liability more than once. Especially at red flag..

I used my USAA VISA and debit cards around the globe nearly every month or so for over a decade, and the only time I ever had problems with it was in the States!

[uhhello]

6 hours ago, M2 said:

I used my USAA VISA and debit cards around the globe nearly every month or so for over a decade, and the only time I ever had problems with it was in the States!

You need to get better cards.  USAA's offerings are terrible.

[Sua Sponte]

I’ve been pleased with Navy Fed’s checking.

[nsplayr]

On 1/24/2024 at 8:57 AM, uhhello said:

You need to get better cards.  USAA's offerings are terrible.

Their limitless cash back card was actually super legit, 2.5% cash back on everything with (as you might imagine) no limit. Best cash back card out there at the time by far.

Then they nerfed it down to 1.5% and I stopped using it…industry best (at least that I can find) is 2%.

[uhhello]

1 hour ago, nsplayr said:

Their limitless cash back card was actually super legit, 2.5% cash back on everything with (as you might imagine) no limit. Best cash back card out there at the time by far.

Then they nerfed it down to 1.5% and I stopped using it…industry best (at least that I can find) is 2%.

Yup.  I had it.  Dropped when it dropped.  

[CaptainMorgan]

I like the Chase Ink Unlimited or Freedom Unlimited for general spending. 1.5 UR points per dollar (need a Sapphire or Ink Preferred) that you can then exchange 1:1 for Hyatt Points, which go a long way. Thepointsguy values a Hyatt Point at 1.7 cents, but if you use them at any of their All-Inclusives, you're probably getting close to 3 cents per Hyatt point.


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