Have any 2024 CCs successfully opened a USAA account?

S

SADad

Father of USMA '24 Cadet
5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
71
BLUF: USAA's on-boarding process for USMA Cadet Candidates is broken. DS's had had his documents in for nearly a month, he still can't open an account, and nobody will tell him what the holdup is. The deadline for submitting direct deposit information is closing in.

In mid-April, DS set up a membership on-line, and uploaded his ID and appointment letter to USAA. On the same day, he spoke with a USAA employee who claimed to be familiar with setting up accounts for Cadets. That employee looked at the documents that DS submitted, said that those were sufficient, and that he'd be able to open an account in 2-3 days.

In 2-3 days, DS could not open the account on-line, because the bank could not verify military service. DS called back, the rep looked at his file, said that everything was good, and he'd be able to open an account in 2-3 days. If he still couldn't open an account, he should call back.

Every 2-3 days, DS tries to open the account, can't do it, calls, is told that he has all of his paperwork in, and he should be approved in 2-3 days.

This has happened 6-7 times so far. Nobody can tell him what is might be missing or what is holding up the process. 2-3 days has turned into nearly a month, and he has to get his direct deposit form submitted to USMA.
  • If you have been able to open a USAA account for your '24 CC (without family military eligibility), how? What did you have to send? How long did it take?
  • Is anyone else on the forum similarly stuck?
  • Does anyone have a suggestion for a bank with ATMs at West Point that wants Cadets as customers? How was their signup process?
  • Does anyone on the board know anyone on the inside of USAA to try to address this?
 
Last edited:
That’s strange. I was able to set up and open an account in one phone call. My verification paperwork was accepted the next day. The hospitality of USAA’s Customer Support is by far the best. The requested documents for me were a valid ID and Acceptance Letter
 
My '21 had a similar experience to SADad's New Cadet, but for him it all boiled down to his age and when he setup his online account. They ultimately closed it and started over sometime 1st semester plebe year. He was not 18 until Mid August and somehow that kinked the system. When they re-did it, there were no problems. Not really an answer, but possible similar cause?
 
Thanks @Rhode512 and @sbbm9901 . DS submitted his appointment letter and ID (two-sided), so that's the same. He's already 18, so age isn't a problem. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
FWIW my DS is not 18 yet, and we have no military affiliations. I opened an account for him at Penfed, which based on what I've heard, also has branches and ATMs on base. It took about a week to open a Savings account and longer (2.5 weeks) to open a Checking account with Debit card privileges. Still waiting for the Debit card to arrive in the mail.

I didn't have to show his appointment letter for opening the account, I just mentioned that he would be attending West Point and they were OK with that.
 
I’ve been attempting to open account for about 3 weeks new and I’ve been running into the same issue. I’ve called about three times now and will be calling again on Friday if the issue isn’t resolved.
 
Same story with my son. We got tired of it, he is actually driving and opening an account with Navy Federal today. He just turned 18 a couple weeks ago. I'm not sure if that was the hold up. Hopefully Navy Federal will work out as I found there is a bank location in Highland Falls as well.
 
Last edited:
SADad said:
BLUF: USAA's on-boarding process for USMA Cadet Candidates is broken. DS's had had his documents in for nearly a month, he still can't open an account, and nobody will tell him what the holdup is. The deadline for submitting direct deposit information is closing in.

In mid-April, DS set up a membership on-line, and uploaded his ID and appointment letter to USAA. On the same day, he spoke with a USAA employee who claimed to be familiar with setting up accounts for Cadets. That employee looked at the documents that DS submitted, said that those were sufficient, and that he'd be able to open an account in 2-3 days.

In 2-3 days, DS could not open the account on-line, because the bank could not verify military service. DS called back, the rep looked at his file, said that everything was good, and he'd be able to open an account in 2-3 days. If he still couldn't open an account, he should call back.

Every 2-3 days, DS tries to open the account, can't do it, calls, is told that he has all of his paperwork in, and he should be approved in 2-3 days.

This has happened 6-7 times so far. Nobody can tell him what is might be missing or what is holding up the process. 2-3 days has turned into nearly a month, and he has to get his direct deposit form submitted to USMA.
  • If you have been able to open a USAA account for your '24 CC (without family military eligibility), how? What did you have to send? How long did it take?
  • Is anyone else on the forum similarly stuck?
  • Does anyone have a suggestion for a bank with ATMs at West Point that wants Cadets as customers? How was their signup process?
  • Does anyone on the board know anyone on the inside of USAA to try to address this?
Click to expand...
The most convenient bank to use is Pentagon Federal Credit Union. All cadets are required to have an account and USMA automatically sets up the account on R-Day. This is the institution that USMA uses for Cadet account transfers. They are on post.

I don't know the specifics of how to set your account up prior to R-Day, but I'm sure you can call and get info - I would think there would be some info about PFCU in instructions for New Cadets.

I think all cadets should become USAA members at least for insurance. As I mentioned in another thread, their customer service has had challenges in recent years.
 
MY Ds is having the same problems. He has been trying to open a USAA account for 2-3 weeks. We were just talking about having to go another route if they can’t figure it out soon.
 
My son had an account with 1 phone call. They were fantastic. However, the ease may have been since we have had a bank account with them for 30 years. He did not have to send his appointment letter.
 
Ultimately, I would not stress too much about opening a PenFed account. WP forces you to have a PenFed account and takes care of it during Beast. However, I personally find it easier to just use my home bank because all my money was already there. The PenFed reps will do a lot of pushing for all their products there, so if anything, have a conversation about credit cards with them so '24 can make a sound decision when it comes time to sit through PenFed reps pushing all their products instead of opening a new account that in some ways is redundant and unnecessarily stressful because they'll be forced to sit through that exact same brief regardless.
 
My son had no problems at all. It took a phone call, uploading some documents and then it was set up.
 
sbbm9901 said:
My '21 had a similar experience to SADad's New Cadet, but for him it all boiled down to his age and when he setup his online account. They ultimately closed it and started over sometime 1st semester plebe year. He was not 18 until Mid August and somehow that kinked the system. When they re-did it, there were no problems. Not really an answer, but possible similar cause?
Click to expand...
Same here. My DS didn’t turn 18 until late September. That seemed to blow the rut system’s mind. He ended up waiting until after he was 18 and there were no issues.
 
After putting entirely too much time into this, and with DS hours from visiting the local PenFed office, USAA finally allowed DS to open an account. For the record, he was already 18 years old, and he had already uploaded the only required documents: his appointment letter and his state driver license (both sides). Absolutely nothing was missing; his file just got ignored for four weeks.

If we had it do do over again:
  1. I wouldn't have recommended USAA; their processes just aren't working reliably for 2024 appointees. Some people have it done in a day. DS's account took four weeks. He wasn't the only one. Others are stuck too.
  2. We'd have started with PenFed (which has open offices in our town), per the recommendation from @jl123 and info from @2023CDT. Based on one phone call, PenFed seemed to have their act together.
Thanks all for the help, and good luck if you're still stuck.
 
Keep in mind there are some amazing benefits staying with USAA. Since the signup hiccup, he has not had anything but stellar service from them. He even got a great rate on Auto and Renters Insurance. Additionally, if your DS partakes in his Cow Loan, it is through USAA and the agreement requires that they have a USAA checking account and have their Direct Deposit changed there.
 
sbbm9901 said:
Keep in mind there are some amazing benefits staying with USAA. Since the signup hiccup, he has not had anything but stellar service from them. He even got a great rate on Auto and Renters Insurance. Additionally, if your DS partakes in his Cow Loan, it is through USAA and the agreement requires that they have a USAA checking account and have their Direct Deposit changed there.
Click to expand...

I've read about the Cow Loan and other USAA benefits. We figured we'll open a USAA account eventually, but the immediate priority was to make sure DS has access to an ATM on base. Based on what I read, Pentagon Federal Credit Union sounded like it would be more convenient, so we decided to open an account there first.
 
agniusma said:
I've read about the Cow Loan and other USAA benefits. We figured we'll open a USAA account eventually, but the immediate priority was to make sure DS has access to an ATM on base. Based on what I read, Pentagon Federal Credit Union sounded like it would be more convenient, so we decided to open an account there first.
Click to expand...
I don't get how the ATM thing makes it more convenient because every ATM (including PennFed) is free for USAA account holders. I've used a PennFed ATM at USMA. . . with my USAA debit card on more than one occasion and did not pay an ATM fee. USAA saves money by NOT having a big infrastructure of branches and ATMs and uses the savings to pay the ATM fees at their competitors ATMs
 
I've posted this on other threads. Make sure when you send USAA any required copies that you include the front and "BACK" (even if there is nothing on it). I know it sounds crazy but your application will show that they are missing information and all that is missing is a copy of the back. My sons use USAA and are very happy with them. Most Cadets eventually end up switching over to USAA from what my sons told me.
 
I just saw this and sorry you've had trouble with USAA Checking. You can use the following number which is a USAA number solely for Pre-Commissioned Officers. You will get the assistance you need at (800) 531-4610. See the attachment for more info.
 

Attachments

  • Academy Checking.pdf
    60.4 KB · Views: 54
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top