Armed Forces Bank , the Air Academy Federal Credit Union or my current bank

MamaDragon2024 said:
The typhoon Poong-Soon-Ah...2002 Dec 8? We were there too....as civillians moved there only one month when the typhoon hit...we high tailed it out of there in the last flight off the island (commercial flight) with DS an infant at the time...catastrophically devastating. we didn't have electricity, atm, running water, phones...sigh~~ life experiences that made me hyper anxious and vigilant...(psycho according to my DH..lol)
I will encourage DS to research a little more and nudge him toward USAA...He might have to wait until after he receives his BFE to do that as well as make DH/self as additional signer since he is still a minor....
Click to expand...
Typhoon Paka- December 1997. We were returning from off island and still jet-lagged. I still have memories of doing laundry in tents on Anderson AFB at 3A because we were naturally awake and the competition for machines was less fierce.:p. We lived off-base and had no utilities for weeks. We ended up moving into dh's co-worker's on-base unit over Christmas because he was visiting his wife who was stationed in HI and at least we had electricity part of the day.
 
DD opened her USAA account at the end of March.
She was already 18 years old.
No prior military, no family affiliation with USAA products.

She only used the website; has never talked to anyone at USAA.

She uploaded:
Offer of Appointment Letter
Acceptance of Appointment Letter
Official travel order letters (the one that assigns you a PO Box and attaches official travel order letter).

They took about 3 days and then got something in the mail, set up her app and mobile banking, then deposited graduation money.

She just used the app to order a debit card.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
Question on other products - are cadets required to take out loans? Or is this just for general purposes like first car, mortgages etc in the normal course of living that everyone is talking about?
 
Stealth_81 said:
I was not involved in Son #1’s banking so I don’t know about us depositing into the USAA account from home. However he was happy with USAA his whole time at USAFA and still uses them today. Their app works great for remote banking and I don’t think he has ever visited a physical site.
A big pro for having USAA will be when time comes for the Career Starter Loan. In son’s class, the two competing banks were USAA and Navy Federal CU. Since he already had an account with USAA it was very simple and quick. The other two banks on campus didn’t even offer the loan at that time.
He would be able to open a USAA account before reporting but it requires a phone call, not just the online application.

Stealth_81
Click to expand...

@Stealth_81 what is the Career Starter Loan?
 
HCopter said:
DD opened her USAA account at the end of March.
She was already 18 years old.
No prior military, no family affiliation with USAA products.

She only used the website; has never talked to anyone at USAA.

She uploaded:
Offer of Appointment Letter
Acceptance of Appointment Letter
Official travel order letters (the one that assigns you a PO Box and attaches official travel order letter).

They took about 3 days and then got something in the mail, set up her app and mobile banking, then deposited graduation money.

She just used the app to order a debit card.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
Question on other products - are cadets required to take out loans? Or is this just for general purposes like first car, mortgages etc in the normal course of living that everyone is talking about?
Click to expand...

Wow! That went much smoother than DS's experience. DS is USMA '24. Uploaded documents to the website on April 16. Over the intervening three weeks he's called USAA at least five times and spoke with a USAA representative each time. Each rep looks at his documents and says "Yes, that's what we need.", and *THEY* will approve it in 2-3 days. If you can't open an account call us back. As of this AM, he still can't open a checking account.

USAA has been a goat rope.
 
AFBoyMom said:
@Stealth_81 what is the Career Starter Loan?
Click to expand...

It is a low-interest loan offered to cadets during their third year at the Academy (after they have signed their commitment papers). It is called the career starter loan but it can be used for anything you want. The terms change slightly every year depending on market conditions but the interest rate is always very favorable. In my oldest son's year it was up to $35,000 at 1/2% interest for 5 years. Payments do not start until graduation but interest accrues from the inception of the loan.

There are many threads on here about the pros and cons of taking the loan. Search "Career Starter Loan", "Cadet Loan" or "Cow Loan" (the name given to it by another Academy, they all offer it). Many cadets use it for a car. A lot invest it. Some take it to Vegas and put it on black.

My son invested his and because of the market timing he made a lot of money on it and it funded the beginning of his real estate empire.

It is essentially a marketing tool to get the cadets to be customers of the issuing bank for at least 5 years after commissioning figuring they will then stay as customers for life.

Stealth_81
 
Just got off the phone with USAA - if parent is not a member, 17 year old can not join until the age of 18, even when going into the academies
 
HCopter said:
DD opened her USAA account at the end of March.
She was already 18 years old.
No prior military, no family affiliation with USAA products.

She only used the website; has never talked to anyone at USAA.

She uploaded:
Offer of Appointment Letter
Acceptance of Appointment Letter
Official travel order letters (the one that assigns you a PO Box and attaches official travel order letter).

They took about 3 days and then got something in the mail, set up her app and mobile banking, then deposited graduation money.

She just used the app to order a debit card.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
Question on other products - are cadets required to take out loans? Or is this just for general purposes like first car, mortgages etc in the normal course of living that everyone is talking about?
Click to expand...
Our experience was very smooth too. Opening the account did require a phone call though, as DS won’t be 18 until early June.
 
USAA is usually good (although they just outsourced their investment services, and their loans are not always competitive).
The really nice thing is a mobile system that works well for frequent travelers. The cadet loan is also usually a great rate.

I've heard good things about NFCU, as well.
 
I think the main big difference is that AAFC has a bank on campus and USAA is outside the gates.

I went with USAA. No military background. I like their overall rates/package and ease when traveling.
I also added my parents as beneficiaries, bonus by adding them on they too now can choose to be USAA members.
Mom is opening her account later in the month, she likes to gift money and this way it will be cheaper (her current bank charges to transfer $) and quicker too.

but if you have been managing your own banking for sometime you are pretty comfortable transferring money and being aware of your account.
via a Bank app.
 
raimius said:
USAA is usually good (although they just outsourced their investment services, and their loans are not always competitive).
The really nice thing is a mobile system that works well for frequent travelers. The cadet loan is also usually a great rate.

I've heard good things about NFCU, as well.
Click to expand...
to your point, I may not suggest investing through them, but day-to-day banking, insurance, etc. there is no better
 
I've been a very satisfied USAA member for over 40 years now and do most of my banking,all of my insurance and some of my investing with them. All of my kids (only 1 is in the military) have USAA accounts and we send money easily. I also have a smaller account with a local bank so that I have local branches when I need them and am able to push money from my USAA account to that account just as easily as within USAA. Investment wise, they are moving the accounts to Schwab and it remains to be seen (at least for me) how much we'll be able to do through the USAA site/infrastructure. I have the bulk of my 401k/IRA money elsewhere but still keep some there. Our only bad experience with them was with a Mortgage and the issue was that they didn't handle mortgages themselves and their vendor did some crappy things.
.
Just for the general info of parents who are new to the military, when I first joined, my father was a longtime Navy person but he was enlisted andhad no knowledge of USAA. Their ads of that era and word of mouth convinced me. Their old ad campaign was in military related magazines and other media and was simply a military related picture with the words "Over 93% of all officers who are eligible for USAA membership insure with USAA". Now I hadn't had any business courses at that point but I still recognized that a market share of 93% of a decent sized market is a strong indication in their favor. My experience since then confirms that first impression.
 
USAA's Financial Services (deposit accounts, loans, etc.) are available to anyone. No military affiliation is necessary. The military affiliation is required for membership / insurance products and services.

- 35 year member
 
My Rating of USAA After 39 Years

Insurance: A+; no one better for products, price, service especially if on active duty

Banking: A- if on active duty; B- if not. Online banking and bill pay is fine, but cumbersome compared to alternatives. Like most banks, CD's/Money Markets not competitive compared to Schwab, TD Ameritrade, etc.

Investments: C+ prior to deal with Schwab (remains to be seen after deal); Investment world has changed dramatically and many players can't keep up with changes in pricing and technology.

Customer Service: A-; No one understands military customers like USAA. This has been tested by their rapid growth in recent years. I had one bad experience with a banking product and could not get out of the customer service loop to talk to someone in management, but after 39 years I still trust USAA more than any other financial services company.
 
Itpmom said:
USAA's Financial Services (deposit accounts, loans, etc.) are available to anyone. No military affiliation is necessary. The military affiliation is required for membership / insurance products and services.

- 35 year member
Click to expand...


USAA opens and closes its eligibility for Bank services. There was a period it was open to all to either 2013 or 2016, then it was restricted access again. They watch the wore-the-uniform-to-civilian ratio very carefully, to ensure they are serving the population the Association was created for.

I think the Bank is currently inside the usual USAA membership parameters.



It’s always worth going through the online USAA screener to determine current eligibility, or call.
 
Last edited:
superbison007 said:
You have to be 18 to open a USAA account
Click to expand...
Our DS was 17 when he started BCT at USAFA. USAA allowed him to open an account at 17, but I had to set it up and be on the account. I was able to do this even though DS nor anyone in our family is military. USAA used his USAFA paperwork to open the account. In addition, USAA arranged it so that my name would come off the account when he turned 18. He is very happy with his account and the services USAA provides.
 
Capt MJ said:
USAA opens and closes its eligibility for Bank services. There was a period it was open to all to either 2013 or 2016, then it was restricted access again. They watch the wore-the-uniform-to-civilian ratio very carefully, to ensure they are serving the population the Association was created for.

I think the Bank is currently inside the usual USAA membership parameters.



It’s always worth going through the online USAA screener to determine current eligibility, or call.
Click to expand...
You are right! Thank you for letting me know. I had no idea they'd narrowed the parameters back down for the FSB.
 
Pick USAA and don't think twice for personal banking. The customer service is amazing. I accidentally overdrew my account as a midshipman and they reversed the fees with just one call, other institutions probably wouldn't have. Career starter loan comes from them too, and it's great. I don't use them for investments though.
 
I'm a big fan of USAA for all the same reasons already provided. I still keep a credit union account from when DW and I were young and I was stationed (um, sentenced?😉) at Ft.Polk. One comment to add is many credit unions participate in something called the Credit Union Co-op shared branch program. It allows you to walk into any member branch and get service. I'm able to make deposits and withdrawals to that account at a local credit union ATM. It's very convenient. If the credit union at USAFA is a member of the Co-op, you would be able to handle deposits and such at local co-op credit union ATM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top