Deals.Woot

Wife does. I've belonged over the years to several.

I've been with Lockheed Federal Credit Union for over 20 years and loved every minute.

I gave up on regular banks 17 years ago right after I got married. I wanted to open a joint passbook account with my new wife at First Interstate Bank so we could deposit the checks we got for our wedding. I had good credit and had a checking account and credit/debit cards with them for years. But my wife had less-than-stellar credit and the bank would not let her even open a savings account with me. Again, this was for a passbook savings account (paying a then-crappy, now-amazing 5%), so I just closed all of my accounts with them on the spot and moved everything to the CU.

@chris12345: Exact same story with me.

@benyust2: Just because you're getting all you need doesn't mean you're getting everything you deserve.

Did your bank lose billions gambling on securitized mortgages? If so, that was your money they lost.

Do you have to pay out-of-network ATM fees whenever you use an ATM other than your banks'? I don't. I can use lots of free ATMs plus even if I have to use an out-of-network ATM I still get a rebate up to $3.00 on the fees.

Do you have an auto loan, mortgage or home equity credit line? If so, how do the rates compare to credit unions? And how do the upfront fees compare?

Most importantly, why does your bank exist? If it's a bank, it exists to maximize the profit of the shareholders. If you belong to a credit union, even if you don't vote, you are the shareholder. You're not lining someone else's pockets.

I found a link for Service Centers, just in case you are not near your Credit Union and want to do a face to face with a human being.
http://www.creditunion.net/
Not all Credit Union are Service Centers. But somewhere near where you are, there should be one. You will need ID and your account information to do any transactions. My activity is primarily direct deposit, online, through COOP ATM's and by phone.

Any company that says "It's our right to make a profit" when questioned about hidden fees and price gouging, doesn't deserve my business.

Been with my CU for 10 years now, not one complaint.

Ignorance. I honestly didn't know that there was a different between CUs and a bank. I've been with Wells Fargo since I got my first job when I was 19 and well.. I'm getting quite fed up with them. I've had to change my account type several times in order to avoid what non-sense fees they come up with every few months for what type of account I have.

At the moment to not incur fees, I have to have my checking account auto-xfer $25 to my savings each month, and each time I use my check-card $1 is moved to ANOTHER savings account. Oi.

With some banks toying with the idea of charging a monthly fee to use check-cards.. I'm really fed up and about to throw in the towel.

I'm still a student in college though with no real career, I guess I can't do a CU until I'm a real working adult instead of some hokey pokey college kid, huh?

@sawwa: "I'm still a student in college though with no real career, I guess I can't do a CU until I'm a real working adult instead of some hokey pokey college kid, huh?"

Actually, no. Pretty much anybody can join. It used to be that CUs were affilaited exclusively with certain employers, but they've found ways around that. Here is the "who can join" info from Lockheed FCU (www.lfcu.com):

-You are a current or retired employee of one of our Employer Groups
-You are related to a current member
-You live in the same household as a current member
-You become a member of the American Consumer Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people make the most of their money. Simply select "American Consumer Council" from the Membership Eligibility menu and follow the instructions for joining.

That last item is the catch-all which would allow you to join. Lifetime "membership" is $12 and is free if you join some of their member CUs.

@dcalotta: Good question. It is not. I had a bad experience with BofA when I was in the military over 40 years ago. After that I banked either locally or with a Credit Union.

@djfatben: Nope. I have never used a debit card and I don't understand the appeal of them. Why pay for something now when I can put it on a credit card and pay a month later and get rewards? (although my bank also gives rewards for debit card purchases)

And, I'm sure it won't be long before credit unions do the same thing. Its not like they don't have the same expenses as banks. Maybe they don't pay their employees as much as banks do but they are in the same business and are exposed to the same economic conditions.

@benyust2: Your complete lack of knowledge about how credit unions work is ample reason for you to prefer your current bank. If you're happy where you are, you should definitely stay there. No one here would want you to tax yourself acquiring new information.

Once I walked in to a Zions National Bank to cash my weekly check, cause they had a big poster of a basketball player in the window. I asked to cash my check. They said I needed an account. So I set up an account. Then I asked to cash my $800 check. They said first they had to deposit the check, then they could withdraw the cash for me. Then they said that because I did not have a certain number of funds in their bank that I was going to be charged a $20 fee for it. Then they would charge a fee for withdrawal, a clerk fee, and an early withdrawal fee... $80. I said "What? You want me to pay you $100 to cash my check?" The clerk knew it was a bunch of bs, and she said "Yep". I said "Can I see my check please?" She handed me my check back, as we both knew I was just going to walk out with it.

@benyust2 Banks and Credit Unions both pay their employees the same. The difference is that Banks pay their shareholders in money, bonus's, or dividends - these are all expenses. Credit Unions pay their shareholders in better interest rates, which bring more revenue, which bring even better interest rates.

@rwhites: And let's not forget the bank's Boards of Directors; in many banks, the Directors are paid upwards of $100k. At my credit union, the Directors are all volunteers, with the exception of the Treasurer. For legal/fiduciary reasons that Board seat is salaried.

@rwhites: Interesting. I see you're from Utah (perhaps even SLC). I recognize the names of those banks (I have interesting knowledge of many banks, and am always interested in banking). What, please, was the fee or charge from First Security, and in what year? This is just an idle question, but I'd still like to know.

Zions Bank may or may not be the same institution it was from the era you are speaking of (since it long ago became part of a parent holding company, http://www.zionsbancorporation.com/). Not implying, of course, that their service is any different now than it was for you then, merely pointing out that things may have changed.

Nice to hear your kind compliments for Credit Unions, but I admit that @magic cave and her words always carry the most weight with me. She's spoken about many financial subjects before, and always been helpful, and more importantly, correct.

[Edit] She's also a quicker typist than I.