The Ultimate USAA Bank Thread, version 2.0, updated 4/18/07

I mentioned this in the past, but thanks to google books, here is the Kiplinger's Finance article from 1997 actively touting USAA checking for everyone. It got me to join way back then. I think all the other banks mentioned are long gone.....

Google Books Archive

http://books.google.com/books?id=iQcEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA108&dq=usaa+checking&hl=en&ei=kNbSTN77GJGUnwfFiKg-&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=usaa%20checking&f=false

I was curious if someone would be able to tell me how it works with USAA these days when you do an ACH Transfer in from an outside bank, using their system....
How many days for it to arrive in the USAA account and is it available right away, or if not, how long until the funds are available?

Also, does it make any difference whether you start the transfer "immediately" or schedule it for say, the next day to start?

Thanks

Cheapoking said:   When you pull, the money is instantly available which is a plus IMO - when you push, it takes 2 or 3 days max to reach the final destination.

This is my experience as well. Add an extra day if it is a completely new account that you haven't previously set up for ach.

craig10x said:   Thanks guys...very helpful and i am also very glad to know it is so fast and that funds are made available right away...
As a follow up question: Any advantage or disadvantage to scheduling an immediate transfer as opposed to a specific date?

I was an old timer with USAA who hadn't had any accounts with them for a few years and just opened a new Checking and Savings with them...because you are a lifetime member with them, i had no trouble getting into USAA online so that i could instantly open the two accounts (very convenient!)....so, i am just getting"back in the groove" (lol)....


I see they don't pay much interest these days..but i always enjoyed the features and customer service with them....I'm not going to keep huge balances with them (because of the low interest factor) but plan to use them for convenient day-to-day banking (core) account activity (i keep the bulk of my savings with Alliant Cu)....

Not that it is a big issue for me, but i suppose you still can't get "deposit at home" unless you are military, correct?
Also, any experience with their credit cards? if you have them, do you like them?

From my experience (I think it varies by account) there are holds on transfer amounts over $1,000. (The first 1k available immediately, everything else subject to a 3 business day hold). If I schedule a transfer for the next day, the entire amount is available on that day. I also keep most of my savings at other banks paying more interest, so this makes it convenient to cover transactions.

For credit cards - I have the mastercard (mostly got it for access to deposit @ home and linked overdraft access). The rewards are very mediocre, it takes significant spending to reach the 1% Cash Back tier. Also, the one time I had a dispute, they required a lengthy process and decided in the merchant's favor. However, the actual terms, fees, and reward redemptions are straightforward and reasonable.

It works exactly as you guys described....I needed to transfer $3500 in and my links became available to use (as soon as i verified my deposits) around 7 PM last night...Apparently you can schedule transfers up to 12 midnight which is great...I set up a transfer for today (17th) and the entire amount appeared in my account and was completely available for use!...
I also did a small transfer in on the immediate method and it was immediately available for use! (I realize that method has a $1000 restriction and would put a 3 day hold on anything above it as you mentioned). ..

I'd say most of the time i will set them up for the next day so everything up to $5000 is available (max transfer amount)...If i needed some quick funds to use immediately up to $1000, i'll know i always have the option of using the immediate method...

I must say in using it, i was reminded how really nice their online banking is
And they have my favorite Bill Pay Service (Checkfree) and it is set up for next day electronic payments and also when it's a paper check paid merchant, it doesn't get taken out until the payee cashes the check...

And the Next Day Transfers with no holds is great...Also, i noticed they respond fairly promptly to e-mail messages and with excellent accuracy too in the replies....

If only they had more competitive savings rates Then i would keep a lot more money with them (as it is, i will continue to keep the bulk of my cash at Alliant Cu for this reason)...As is, i plan on using them for my day to day primary (core) banking...i will probably keep about $2000-$3000 in Savings for quick convenient moving into checking as needed..at that level...i figure i will only lose about $15 (after taxes) a year having this money over at USAA as opposed to Alliant...So no major loss

Appreciate the feedback here from the participants in the USAA thread...you were all most helpful... Thanks

TheMightyQuinn said:   A quick question for you guys:
I did the USAA online bill pay for my wife's Target card, and was surprised when USAA mailed me a check for me to mail to Target. I thought that was silly, and I don't have postage, so I paid online at Target's site from my USAA checking account and plan to shred USAA's check.
Would this cause any problems?You ought to contact USAA about that. Did you set up the bill pay correctly? I'd double check the fine print for trying to pay your Target card.

thats crazy. i never have had that happen to me and i use online payment for almost everything.

the biggest prb ive found with usaa has been the low interest return and ive had friends in perfect health who supposedly dont have the correct total chol to hdl ratio to get their best rate on life insurance. what i find odd about it is these folks just get the best rate from other companies which is better than the 2nd tier rate from usaa and when i order the test for them (im a physician) i get ratios greatly different then usaa. whoever they use as a reference lab seems to skew the data.

Oh by the way...just curious... yesterday, i set up the next day transfer of the $3500...it was available to me today in my USAA account of course, but i noticed it was not yet pulled from the other bank today...does it usually take at least 2 business days before they do the pull from the other bank? What has been your usual experience with that?

craig10x said:   Oh by the way...just curious... yesterday, i set up the next day transfer of the $3500...it was available to me today in my USAA account of course, but i noticed it was not yet pulled from the other bank today...does it usually take at least 2 business days before they do the pull from the other bank? What has been your usual experience with that?

My experience is that your funds will be pulled from the "other bank" on the next business day following the effective transfer date.

Any yet they still limit Deposit@Home. However since more banks are offering the ability to deposit checks at home and don't limit ATM reimbursement to just domestic ATMs I see USAA's advantages fading.

Looks like dividend checks were issued recently, I just realized I lost my check of $100 or so. WIll they just re-issue? not sure why it was not just posted to the account.

Also want to give some kudos for an issue I had. I was involved in an at fault accident. At the time I did not have my accident forgiveness coverage turned on which was free for being a clean driver for 5 years. Not sure why it was not selected even though it was free, so i called and made sure to make a fuss. Just got my renewal and they went ahead and didnt raise my rates based on the accident forgiveness so have to give them credit for that even though they didnt respond to me for over a month with the answer to that question. Damage in the accident was $6k to my car not sure what the cost to repair her Daewoo was maybe a few grand I assume.

One other thing the American Express card from USAA has had 2 0% for 12 months no fee offers in the last couple months.

In addition to the $15 surcharge fee rebates that USAA will give you for each of your linked accounts (checking and savings...total $30 between the two)...
I've discovered two additional nice features:

When using allpoint atms (when they have the Allpoint sticker on them or/and are on the Allpoint atm directory) they do not surcharge you (thus no fee for USAA to refund to you)...
This allows more atm withdrawals (if needed) when using these atms because you don't have to be concerned with the USAA $15 max rebate on each account...Though of course you still have to make sure you don't go past 10 on each (USAA fee will kick in)...It seems to have something to do with Allpoint's affiliation to the AFFN Network which USAA is on...USAA itself is not on Allpoint Network....

Not that AFFN is a surcharge free network so don't think any AFFN atm will not add a charge...Just the Allpoint ones won't....

Also, Chase seems to be the only major bank that waives a surcharge fee to cards with the AFFN Network, at both drug stores that have "branded Chase atms" (like Duane Reade in NYC) or even the actual Chase branch atms themselves...

It's not that any of us probably do that many withdrawals (including myself) but i found it interesting to check out and something you can keep in mind in your travels around the U.S. using the USAA debit/atm card...

Everyone was so helpful to me on this thread when i set up my new accounts and asked some questions that i just wanted to give you a few handy "atm tips"...

Thanks for that follow up rooms222...good to know about the Chase situation...here in NYC it seems to be the case, i just assumed it would be nationwide but i guess not then...

While Cardtronics does own Allpoint, most Cardtronics atms are on allpoint but not all (i discovered)....when i used a cardtronics atm that didn't participate with Allpoint, the surcharge screen came up...but anytime i have used a cardtronics atm that HAD Allpoint (usually indicated by having the sticker on it) No Surcharge Screen and No Charge added...So,although the USAA rep in that forum post had told him "cardtronics" she probably really meant Allpoint (which is owned by them)...Funny that they don't advertise this on their website at USAA though...It's nice to know you have surcharge free allpoint coverage AND atm rebates as well..what a great set up USAA has...

Interestingly, there are also atms that aren't Cardtronics but DO participate in Allpoint...Just to give an example, here in NYC, McDonald's restaurants have atms that are owned by a company called "SelectABranch" and they aren't Cardtronics atms...They are sponsored by Actor's Federal Credit Union and always had PLUS CIRRUS and COOP (because of the Cu affiliation of course)..
Recently they also added the Allpoint Network, and as a result, when using the USAA card at those atms i get no surcharge screen/no charge...

So, it would seem, whatever atm it is, if it has an Allpoint sticker then your USAA card should get no surcharge...

Like you, i have also used the card at 7-11s and had the same results...

Thanks for the link to that post...so it seems USAA does have an agreement with cardtronics for that...yet when i used it at one cardtronics atm that didn't have allpoint (and not listed on their site)...surcharge screen came up!

The key thing seems to be..watch for the Allpoint sticker, if it has it, then should be no fee added...regardless of whether it's cardtronics atm or not....
No Allpoint sticker then: fee

And once again, this is "tied into" Allpoint being owned by Cardtronics...and the agreement with USAA....

Chase atms in Duane Reade actually WERE on Allpoint up until recently but apparently they dropped it...as my Alliant Credit Union atm card now gets a surcharge fee screen when i try to use them...But, my USAA card does not (nor does it at Chase Branches either) but from what you said, it may just be a local quirk here in NY for some strange reason (not that i am complaining...lol)...

Does anyone have a problem with discover and bill pay? My bills never come through from discover.

craig10x said:   

While Cardtronics does own Allpoint, most Cardtronics atms are on allpoint but not all (i discovered)....when i used a cardtronics atm that didn't participate with Allpoint, the surcharge screen came up...but anytime i have used a cardtronics atm that HAD Allpoint (usually indicated by having the sticker on it) No Surcharge Screen and No Charge added...So,although the USAA rep in that forum post had told him "cardtronics" she probably really meant Allpoint (which is owned by them)...Funny that they don't advertise this on their website at USAA though...It's nice to know you have surcharge free allpoint coverage AND atm rebates as well..what a great set up USAA has...

Interestingly, there are also atms that aren't Cardtronics but DO participate in Allpoint...Just to give an example, here in NYC, McDonald's restaurants have atms that are owned by a company called "SelectABranch" and they aren't Cardtronics atms...They are sponsored by Actor's Federal Credit Union and always had PLUS CIRRUS and COOP (because of the Cu affiliation of course)..
Recently they also added the Allpoint Network, and as a result, when using the USAA card at those atms i get no surcharge screen/no charge...

 

Thanks for the link to that post...so it seems USAA does have an agreement with cardtronics for that...yet when i used it at one cardtronics atm that didn't have allpoint (and not listed on their site)...surcharge screen came up!

Yes, the Cardtronics non-allpoint one I use had no sticker from allpoint and no indication it is owned by Cardtronics. The surcharge screen shows up, but when I get the summary (or receipt) it indicates a surcharge of $0.00.

maxfleischer said:   My insurance premium with USAA went up considerably when they renewed in Nov. - not sure why. No claims within the past 10 years, including auto claims. We have two cars and three houses insured with them; our credit has remained stable. They DID send around a form to fill out to update our primary home's structure (plaster vs. drywall, heating system, etc.) ... anyone else notice a rate hike? I'm thinking of shopping around, but we have everything insured with them, as well as banking and checking accounts. I hate shopping for insurance. It's probably something to do with stupid NJ (where we live).

I had the exact same experience last year. Filled out the form updating the info on my residence and their estimate of the cost to replace was much higher than previously and my insurance went up by 40-50% over the previous year (the estimate to rebuild by house went up by 35-40%). I used a couple of online calculators that estimated the cost to build a house and entered the details for my house and got a figure that was in the same ballpark as USAA. Ironically my insured value for the house is about $200k more than the estimate I got when I refinanced with USAA. I am not in an area particularly hard hit by the real estate bubble bursting (though we are down) but even at the height I don't believe my house was worth what USAA and the internet calculators believe it would cost to rebuild. Like you I have had no claims with them in over 10 years.

tylr said:   Just switched from Performance First to Savings account with a deal that for 6 months 1% is added to the ongoing rates with the option of asking to keep this condition if available when the 6 months ended. So for 50K it's 1.45% and it's better than Incredible Bank 1.35% plus no every 3 month transfers to keep account active.

How did you get this deal?

scanchain said:   I seem to rhave ead somewhere that USAA lets you do a ACH push with just the ABA and account number (no advance account verification needed).

This would allow me to push money to a friend or business if needed.

Is this still true? Thanks.
Yes, add the account in your transfer accounts and select option that says you do not have signature authorization. With this selected you can ACH push (but not pull) from the account and you do not have to verify any deposits.

I filled out the house spec form and also saw an increase this year in homeowners. Close to 10% or so.

scanchain said:   DrForce said:   scanchain said:   I seem to rhave ead somewhere that USAA lets you do a ACH push with just the ABA and account number (no advance account verification needed).

This would allow me to push money to a friend or business if needed.

Is this still true? Thanks.
Yes, add the account in your transfer accounts and select option that says you do not have signature authorization. With this selected you can ACH push (but not pull) from the account and you do not have to verify any deposits.
OK, thanks for the information.

To setup an account with no signature authorization, I assume it is immediate since no verification is involved?

Actually no, you have to wait 3-4 business days before you can deposit money into the newly added account.