I am just plain jealous of the free cash withdrawals at ATM's, the cheap auto insurance, the credit cards linked into the online checking account statements and billpay features, home insurance products, etc.

I am WAY too old to join the military, BTW.

Who's the next best one-stop shopping provider around? I am wanting to simplify my life and accounting. Their credit cards may not have rewards, but the simplicity and one-stop nature of the service is worth it to me in terms of saving my time.

Any ideas? I am in Texas, if that matters. Thanks!

Move to Bexar county and you'll become eligible for USAA.
Still you won't become eligible for their insurance products, IIRC.

thanks for the replies. I was born in Bexar County, but do not have plans to move back. I happen to be dating a guy who qualifies, but being 'friends' is not enough - only spouses can get in that 'loophole.'

Wow - thanks Robby152. I appreciate the feedback. I think I most envy the simplicity of the online bill pay feature that handles mortgages, credit cards, checking and savings accounts all in one place, but did not realize that their products were not always competitive. Congrats on the marriage BTW!

I recommend Pentagon Federal Credit Union, often abbreviated as PenFed here. I haven't tried their bill pay, but they have one of best Cash Back credit cards around (5% gas, 2% groceries, 1.25% everything else), their mortgage and auto loan rates are very competitive to say the least, you can get discounts on auto insurance, etc.

You don't have to be in the military to join; visit their web site, and search in this forum for additional details.

I definitely wouldn't sweat USAA ineligibility. I've had it since college, and always assumed that my auto insurance through them was unbeatable. Well, on a whim last night I got a quote from Geico--it came out to be about half of what I was paying with USAA! Identical coverages, limits, etc. I called USAA to see if they could match, and they said I was already getting every discount available. USAA's awesome customer service is not worth the ~$750/year I'll save with Geico.

Geico did say that they take into account your occupation, so maybe that helped (I'm an engineer and my wife is a lawyer).

I have USAA for insurance, banking and IRA's. I used to have a car loan but recently went with PENFED and refinanced it for 4.25. USAA may not be the cheapest in something but I have never had a problem with customer service. I rather pay more and get good customer service.

darambo said:Can't Get into USAA, What's Next Best Alternative?
Try getting into AA, AAA, AARP or even NAACP.

USAA has been great for me in a few areas. Including car insurance, home insurance, umbrella insurance and basic checking. Their insurance might not be the cheapest but they, at least historically, have been slow to raise rates after tickets and so forth back when I was younger and stupider (a few minor traffic infractions, no accidents) they stood by me with low rates. My two friends with Gieco were thrown into the high risk pool real quick and ended up paying 4x for insurance what I did after a similar number of infractions. USAA isn't the cheapest (but usually close to it) for me but they were not that far off from other cheaper providers. For me the service has still been excellent.

For basic checking accounts the deposit@home feature and free ATM use are great benefits I use for my "everday money", but my savings are elsewhere where you can get much better deals. I also use their credit card for high risk purchases because they have gone to the floor for me in past chragebacks, they are also less likely to stick you for crazy fees (no exchange rate fees for overseas purchases for example). I agree their investments are not impressive overall, I do my investments elsewhere.

As others have stated you can do similar our better elsewhere, Amica insurance is usually only rated slightly behind USAA and is open to everyone as far as I know. I use USAA where it benefits me but it is not the be all and end all it is made out to be.

I recommend Pentagon Federal Credit Union for you. Fortunately, I'm a member of USAA, Navy Federal Credit Union, and PenFed. I love 'em all!