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Are you tired of making trips to the bank to deposit checks or driving all over town to find an ATM machine that won’t charge you an arm and a leg to access your own money?
If you’re on the fence about switching to online banking, today’s online banks offer features that can save you both time and money and eliminate the frustration of dealing with brink and mortar banks.
Even better, many traditional banks are beginning to offer these features as well so you can have the time saving convenience of online banking, with the reassurance of having a local branch nearby if you need to speak with a banker face to face.
Everyone knows about free online bill paying, and high interest savings accounts but here are a few lesser known perks that you may be missing out on.
My online bank of choice is USAA. USAA traditionally has restricted its membership to individuals affiliated with the armed services, but has now eased its requirements a bit to allow more people to join.
Deposit Checks From Home:
This is by far one of the best new online services of the last couple years. Whenever I have a check that I need to deposit in my account, I no longer need to mail it in to my bank, nor do I need to drive to a local branch. All I do is turn on my computer, place the check in the scanner that is hooked up to my computer, and literally scan the check into my account. Within a minute or so the check shows up in my account and the funds are available. Check out this brief video of how the “Check Deposit at Home” service works.
ATM Surcharge Fee Rebates:
Brink and mortar banks like Bank of America and Chase constantly promote how many ATMs they have located throughout the world. There claim is that you are never to far away from a “free” ATM. Why does this matter? The answer is simple, if you were to access your money through another bank’s ATM you will get charged fees.
Not only does my online bank (USAA) not charge me a fee for using another bank’s ATM, they will also reimburse me for any ATM fees charged by the other bank as well (up to $15 a month). That’s right, at the end of every month there is a deposit in my account reimbursing me for the ATM fees other banks charged me to access my own money.
Reward Points (Airline Miles) for Debit Cards:
Many people argue they would rather use credit cards so that they can “earn” airline miles or other free rewards with every purchase in lieu of paying for everything with “cash” (or debit cards).
In many cases this mindset leads to overspending (I’ve been there, done that!). USAA allows its members to earn reward points or airline miles on debit card purchases while not over extending themselves with ever increasing credit card balances.
If you prefer using credit cards, USAA offers reward points for them as well and will even let you combine your debit card points with your credit card points to get free stuff!
