Banking
If you have a bank that you already use and love, great. But some of you may not be happy with your current banks. If you want an opinion who we like, read below… Some have problems with Navy Fed and some don’t… but I can tell you in all my years, I’ve never heard one negative about USAA.
MyPay
The official MyPay link where you can access the LES (pay stub), Thrift Savings Plan Help, tax help, pay changes, and more.
We (heart) USAA
Why are we giving a free plug to a bank? USAA is a great lending institution that really cares about its members.
- If your spouse deploys and they know about it, they will automatically drop your credit card interest rates to 4% for 12 months.
- Those same credit cards are no fee and offer free rewards! They have fantastic insurance rates.
- Every customer representative is uber-helpful and loves their job. They will match just about any institution’s competitive offer.
- Because they have no ATMS, they refund up to $15 a month in ATM fees when you pull out cash.
- You can deposit checks and have immediate access to money by scanning your check and uploading it online.
- They have free online bill pay.
- If you are buying a home and get a referral to a Realtor from them, they will refund you thousands of dollars on your home loan depending on the total amount owed.
- They lend on land (80%) so you can pay off your land for your retirement home while in the Marine Corps.
- They offer free financial advice.
- Your debit card actually works as a debit card!
Navy Fed
The only good thing about Navy Fed is its interest rates and branch locations (if you want one).
- Their online banking program is not user friendly.
- Transferring money can be a hassle, depending on what kind of account you have.
- They give you a debit card which can only be used as “credit” so you cannot use it many places.
- They have lost several vehicle titles when loans have been paid off. They will replace them, but this takes a lot of time on the phone and also filling out paperwork … then waiting for the duplicate to get returned.
- Customer service reps tend to be negative and unhelpful.
- They charge $2 for each attempt if you can’t remember your PIN code. If your spouse deploys and comes back to get some cash, it’s $2 per attempt and those can add up fast for every attempt to try and remember.
- They now have ATM rebates ($20/month) and free checks for certain accounts. Many hidden fees.
