Anyone bank with USAA?

Island Commuter -

I'm a USAA member, but don't use them for banking only because I have a very good credit union. I have a good friend on St. John who banks with them, and is very satisfied.

Max

Thanks for responding. Would you be able to find out if your friend has had problems with USAA refunding ATM charges from withdrawals on USVI?

I'd love to know the answer to this one , too. I opened an account recently and haven't used my card yet. I will say that the few deposits I've sent in only took about 5-7 days.

I just called USAA and the rep. that spoke with me said that since everything is done by computer, sometimes the computer doesn't recognize the ATM surcharges from the actual withdrawal and that "it all depends on if the ATM system separates the withdrawal amount from the ATM charges". For example, if I make a $20.00 withdrawal and the ATM charges amount to $2.50, and if the ATM system just shows a $22.50 withdrawal, the USAA computer will not be able to separate the actual withdrawal amount from the surcharges, so on our statement, the refund won't appear. The good news is that we can call USAA and explain to them the amount of the withdrawal and the surcharges, they will manually write that refund in for us. USAA already typed into their system that I will be withdrawing from USVI regularly, so that will help. When in doubt, do one withdrawal, wait for a statement and go from there. In the meantime, a safe way is to just go into a bank and get a "cash advance" on the USAA "credit/debit card" and there won't be any surprise charges on our statements.

I would still like to hear from a local USAA member who has had experience with USAA in the USVI just to compare actual experiences.

Thanks so much for the follow-up! USAA is pretty great- I'm glad I opened an account with them. I'm not too impressed with the banks here, so I am putting off opening an account for as long as possible.

i can't answer your question directly, however i live in the bvi & have had a usaa credit card (mastercard & visa) for many, many years. i am able to call them collect w/any questions & have ALWAYS had positve customer service experiences-not many companies i can say that about!

Feetfirst,

You won't be disappointed! Been a member for 35+ years and after trying out a few local banks here and there in my lifetime, I decided to stay with USAA. Like nemo said, "have ALWAYS had positve customer service experiences-not many companies i can say that about!"

I talked to my STJ buddy today, and he says that, although he doesn't use his USAA ATM card much here, when he has used it they refunded the charge (as the fellow above said).

Max

Excellent! Mystery solved. Everyone should use USAA- you don't have to be a member to use their banking services, they don't charge a monthly fee, refund your atm fees, and it takes $25 to open a savings or checking account. After a friend talked about them for years, I finally did it and have been really happy so far.

Okay, what is USAA?

United Services Automobile Association- Started as insurance and now does just about everything... It focuses on the military and
have to have some sort of connection with a military member. I've had an account there for about 5 years and plan on keeping them as my state-side acct when we move later next year. They've got goot insurance rates and Better interest rates on savings/checking than most banks too!

Amanda

for their Insurance services. Have nothing but positive things to say about them. Any claim I have ever filed has been reimbursed within days no questions asked.
I do choose not to use their banking services. I have looked hard at all the benefits but it still does not warrant me switching from Bank of America. I like being able to walk into a physical branch in over 30 states and as a Private Client Group member I never have to worry about ATM fees either.
USAA is fabulous for everything else. When I purchased my car before moving to St. Thomas they overnighted my shipping company the paperwork to allow me to bring the car to St. Thomas with a lien against it. I thought it would be hard but USAA made it simple.