USAA vs. Navy Federal Credit Union

[NavyGeneraslFP]

I see that there are some previous posts regarding USAA but none comparing USAA vs. Navy Federal Credit Union. I have read mixed reviews online regarding car insurance from USAA but mostly good things via word of mouth from current USAA members regarding banking and insurance. I am graduating from medical school in May and looking to switch (some of my) banking/get an additional credit card/buy car insurance/potentially look into a home loan. Any thoughts or input from previous experiences. Thanks.

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[notdeadyet]

I see that there are some previous posts regarding USAA but none comparing USAA vs. Navy Federal Credit Union. I have read mixed reviews online regarding car insurance from USAA but mostly good things via word of mouth from current USAA members regarding banking and insurance. I am graduating from medical school in May and looking to switch (some of my) banking/get an additional credit card/buy car insurance/potentially look into a home loan. Any thoughts or input from previous experiences. Thanks.

I originally went with Navy Federal Credit Union and had accounts there for years but switched to USAA and never looked back.

Dealing with NFCU could be a great pain trying to get things done and their customer service was pretty weak. With USAA, there are a lot of unique offers for folks in the military that I didn't see elsewhere. More importantly, their customer service was far better than any other bank I've been with. It will take me a lot to switch.

The only reason I could see going with NFCU is if you happen to be living on a Navy base. That said, USAA has waived fees up to 10x/month for using ATMs, so you can get money anywhere for free. I haven't missed walking into an actual bank in years.

 

[backrow]

I have NavyFCU for banking and USAA for insurance. I like them both for what I have them for and haven't had any complaints about either one.

There is just something in my psyche that needs a physical building for my bank and so I go with NavyFCU.

 

[dwb8p]

Why not have both? There is no penalty.

 

[J-Rad]

One thing to do is get gouge on NFCU and loans, especially mortgages. USAA is a great bank and great (damn near unbeatable) for insurance, BUT they SUCK for mortgages. They have gotten too big and process too many home loans and you truly are just a(n unimportant) number in their mortgage dept (this is in great contrast to their other depts. As I said: great banking. And I was treated very well by the insurance arm after Hurricane Katrina [we lost a vehicle]). I have had two miserable experiences with applying for mortgages with them, the last one so catastrophic that we told them take a flying leap and found another company to process a mortgage (the contrasting experiences were night and day). I was in the front office of the school where I was going to enroll my kids and when I started telling the story; almost everybody in the room (everyone here has some connection to the military where I am) was essentially saying "yeah, they're a great bank but they suck for mortgages. [Your experience] is par for the course". Even a guy I work with, who hadn't really thought about it, said "The only bad experience I've had with USAA involved a mortgage". Shop around in that regard. In every other way go with USAA.

 

[NavyGeneraslFP]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. Will most likely go to a community bank when it comes time for the mortgage.

 

[pgg]

We've used NFCU for 14+ years now, never a single problem. 4 mortgages through NFCU, one through Wells Fargo ... I will never touch WF again, ever. USAA wasn't competitive the first two mortages, really didn't even look after that.

We've used USAA for insurance that entire time. Excellent. Only trouble we've ever had was that they declined to issue an umbrella policy to us because we have a rottweiler. (A ridiculous goofy doofus of a rottweiler, but I guess it's the breed that matters.)

 

[bobbyseal]

We just had a claim at a condo we rent out with USAA. It was the first year we used them for our fire insurance policy, previously it was State Farm. Anyway, they're covering $11k worth of water damage to hardwood floors and the ceiling on the floor below. I can't say enough about their insurance. Banking is fine. Brokerage - you could probably do better at WF or Merril Lynch where if you have $25k with them, you have no trading commissions.

 

[Navy Flight Doc]

Agree with the above posts. I've had to place a couple of claims with USAA over the years and have had GREAT experiences with them on all counts. One was for homeowner's (water damage at the rental proper I own), one for car. Very very good. Though maybe that's the norm these days. Previously I had to place a car claim with Geico and also had a really great experience.

For banking, the free ATMs are a great plus. I also really like their mobile app. Easy bill pay, automatic transfers, and one-time electronic transfers. Great customer service for anything I need.

Also have a NFCU account (was thinking of a mortgage at one time) but it just sits there. Nothing bad to say about them though....

 

[Cooperd0g]

USAA for general banking (especially if you are living away from areas with a bunch of NFCU offices) and insurance. I use both for loans depending on who has the best deal. USAA isn't bad for investing as their expense ratios are lower than most, but they still don't beat Vanguard on ER or diversity of funds.

 

[Patuxent78]

We've used NFCU for 14+ years now, never a single problem. 4 mortgages through NFCU, one through Wells Fargo ... I will never touch WF again, ever. USAA wasn't competitive the first two mortages, really didn't even look after that.

We've used USAA for insurance that entire time. Excellent. Only trouble we've ever had was that they declined to issue an umbrella policy to us because we have a rottweiler. (A ridiculous goofy doofus of a rottweiler, but I guess it's the breed that matters.)

I've had NFCU for 14 years as well for my banking and never had any issues, even when I was assigned overseas for three years and deployed for two.

When I returned to the states, I kept NFCU for my banking and bought USAA auto insurance and their prices are among the best for military. Unless your < 24 or a horrible driver and even then, your premium is pretty low. I've been in numerous wrecks, 99.9% not my fault and their claims department is spot on, at least with me and my wife.

Everyone will have their bad stories, but that doesn't make up the majority. There's no reason not to have both but at the same time, I'd probably just go through USAA for everything. I just have loyalty to NFCU and refuse to drop them.

 

[bobbyseal]

I would definitely start a savings account with Navy FCU with just $5 if you plan on using USAA for most of your financial work. NFCU has pretty good auto loan rates and when I joined there was no minimum on the savings accounts. So, I've had $5 slowly gaining like an 8th of a percent over the years....

 

[Hook]

I've been a USAA customer since I was in college in ROTC. Overall, having an integrated banking, insurance, and financial managment company is very convenient for military folks. USAA now has a banking app where you can just take a picture of both sides of any check you recieve it gets deposited into your account...pretty handy. On the insurance side, their auto insurance is no longer "Can't be beat." As USAA has opened up to more classes of customers, the rates have gone up. Price is still good and service is excellent, but definately shop around if you're penny-pinching: Geico, Progressive, or other providers may beat them on price. When shopping for a home, USAA wasn't even close to competitive on loan rates, and they refused to insure my home in Florida. I've got a few mutual funds through them as well: they seem to be well-managed and are competitive for their class.