Cadet Banking Options??

Impulsive

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Our DS is entering the Class of 2023. Right now he has full banking at our Credit Union. Can we stick with this arrangement (his ATM Card works on the "Co-Op Network" that includes Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA Bank ATM's, and I am guessing PENFED ATM's. Do we need to open him an account at PenFed (since they seem to be only one base) or are we good?
 
USAA! USAA! USAA! You might as well start him out with the bank that will serve his needs for the duration of his career.
No local USAA? Guess what, I am a lifetime member and have NEVER been in a branch office and neither have my cadets.
Home insurance, car insurance, investment accounts, banking/checking/credit cards. (You don't need to use USAA ATM's as they refund you for the first 8 withdrawals per month--and you can take a picture for the deposit of any paper checks received--and they can send a check for you.)
Can only promise you that your child will be happy with a lifetime of support from USAA.
 
We have a 2022. You are fine where you are. We did however open a USAA account as well. DD uses both. USAA has a large branch just outside the Thayer Gate as well as at least one ATM at the PX on post. DD did set up direct deposit to the USAA account from her military pay.
 
USAA is also a good source for career starter loans down the road. DS was NROTC MO and joined USAA senior year. He loves it and uses it all over the world. They have very few branches left. Everything is online. They closed their branch in Jackonsville, NC and if you don't have one there, then branches make sense virtually no where.
 
Thank you all for the good advice. I understood that USMA opens a "Cadet Trust" account at PenFed, and I only saw PenFed ATM's on Base so I wanted to make sure he could get to cash if he needed it. I figured his VISA would work in a pinch if he was stuck. We will certainly look into USAA, I read somewhere on here that if you have car insurance thru USAA (we have GEICO right now) you can drop the premiums on cadets and maintain the coverage when (and if) they come home and want to use family cars. But I did not see any USAA ATM's on base?
 
Thank you all for the good advice. I understood that USMA opens a "Cadet Trust" account at PenFed, and I only saw PenFed ATM's on Base so I wanted to make sure he could get to cash if he needed it. I figured his VISA would work in a pinch if he was stuck. We will certainly look into USAA, I read somewhere on here that if you have car insurance thru USAA (we have GEICO right now) you can drop the premiums on cadets and maintain the coverage when (and if) they come home and want to use family cars. But I did not see any USAA ATM's on base?

We have Geico. Dropped our Mid. Significant savings. He can drive when he is home, the car is covered.
 
DS has USAA; perks include ability to rent a car at age 20 which he just did this week in Ft Lauderdale.

Best to setup new account in person prior to R day if at all possible; doing it remote wasn't so easy.
Cadets can also get Amex Platinum card to help build their credit and includes travel perks like rental car insurance etc.
 
DS has USAA; perks include ability to rent a car at age 20 which he just did this week in Ft Lauderdale.

Best to setup new account in person prior to R day if at all possible; doing it remote wasn't so easy.
Cadets can also get Amex Platinum card to help build their credit and includes travel perks like rental car insurance etc.

I have read about perks. A question: are they actually THROUGH USAA (ie: renting a car actually through USAA), or by showing a membership (ie: showing membership to Hertz and renting through Hertz)?
 
I have read about perks. A question: are they actually THROUGH USAA (ie: renting a car actually through USAA), or by showing a membership (ie: showing membership to Hertz and renting through Hertz)?

Access car rental partners via USAA.com for the member rate.

Thanks for that information! Our entire family are all already members of USAA as my husband is a veteran but I didn't know they had rental car perks! Just reserved one yesterday using my company's discount rate but now I will check and see if this is a better option!
 
USAA also offers a cadet renter's insurance policy that runs a little over $8.00 a month. Trunks rooms have flooded over the summer and the long overcoat is $1,500 by itself.

DS's renter's policy also covers his USAFA-issued laptop for drops and spills and will provides full coverage for class rings. I'm assuming the policies are similar for the other academies.
 
Thanks for that information! Our entire family are all already members of USAA as my husband is a veteran but I didn't know they had rental car perks! Just reserved one yesterday using my company's discount rate but now I will check and see if this is a better option!

Poke around the discount area. I do leisure rental cars, flowers, all of our cruises, bought the last 7 cars via their TrueCar deal and MemberShop. MemberShop is great. If I need to order from Barnes & Noble, WalMart, Petco, Bed Bath & Beyond (wedding gifts!), or several hundred others, either for delivery or store pick-up, I log into USAA.com, go to MemberShop, find the merchant I need, access their site through that portal, see the pop-up message saying I am getting anywhere from 2-8% back on my USAA Visa, arrive at merchant site, log in, make purchase per normal SOP, and I see the cash back arrive in my USAA Visa account in 1-3 business days.

Look under “Products.” There will be a category near the bottom that says “discount shopping” as one of the choices.
 
Can DS open a USAA account now before he gets to West Point? What sort of documentation would he need to open it?
 
Yes, he might just need his acceptance letter. (But, you might have to call until you get to the right agent--perhaps best to send an email first.)
They also do a thing...if you are stationed overseas...you do not have a car or car insurance in the States--but for $5 per month, they will cover you for rental cars.
Worth every minute of effort to open the checking account.
 
Can DS open a USAA account now before he gets to West Point? What sort of documentation would he need to open it?

Two years ago we used DS's acceptance order and travel orders. At one point he was request to send a copy of a Leave and Earnings statement, but he called and spoke with a new accounts specialist who was familiar with service academy cadet accounts and she validated his USAA eligibility. All his USAA services (including checking account, credit card, renter's insurance, Roth IRA) were easy to setup after his USAA eligibility was confirmed.
 
As pointed out the Cadet will be “forced” to open a PenFed account, but I go along with the advice on USAA.
There is a USAA remote branch at the PX. There is currently a branch in Highland Falls but it will be closing soon if not already.
USAA does reimburse for ATM usage.
USAA also has very good fraud protection. I’ve had several attempts to hack into my account but they use multi layer defense and the attempts were thwarted.
I travel overseas quite a bit for business and between them and my Amex platinum all bases are covered.

Speaking of which, your Cadet will be eligible for the Amex Platinum with the annual fee waived. Just make sure they understand that this is a charge card not a credit card.
 
Ditto on USAA fraud detection on credit card. My favorite is when I received an urgent text to call USAA about potential fraudulent use of my card. The Bank rep told me the software had picked up a Dollar Store charge and a Starlight Lounge charge in the Midwest, and that was not in character with my past history. My DH found that inordinately funny. Fast fix, had a new card by overnight the next day, complete with reminders to update every place I had that card in a profile, such as Hertz.
 
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