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I've lived in Ames for 5 years and still use my old small town bank in Illinois. It's time to switch to a bank here...any suggestions? I'll mainly use it for checking/savings accounts and possibly a home loan. Any good/bad experiences in the area?
Thanks!
I've had & enjoyed Wells Fargo for 5 years. I have checking/savings and my mortgage with them.
Have to definitely recommend the people at First Federal Savings there at the branch in front of Target.
Advantage to a big bank (Wells Fargo, US Bank, BOA)
-They are national banks, so they have ATM's all over the US
-They have branches all over the US - if you are traveling and something happens you can go to the branch.
-They typically offer more products and services in house
Disadvantage - they nickel and dime you to death a lot of times with fees.
Local Banks
Advantages
-Far more personal service (IMO)
-Not as busy
-Can find better rates on car loans, home loans, etc. because they want your business
Disadvantage - they are not national, so ATM usage may be limited.
I bank with two national banks, and one local bank. The local bank hands down has the best service, but the national banks have far better online tools, and more locations.
I would try Greater Iowa Credit Union in Ames. They have decent locations, have branches in DSM, and typically credit unions have better rates/deals than banks.
I joined USBank when I lived in Ames. Was firstar back then. I never been nickel and dimed for anything. They are everywhere and a big enough and stable enough bank for me to feel confident in their products and services.
I've always been happy with First National Bank in Ames
I'm a fan of Ames Community Bank (and the smaller satellites). I went to a few before I picked that one and it just felt right. I've always been treated really well there and they take good care of you.
I'll second this. I've used USBank since I came to Ames 5 years ago and have been very happy with their service. The only fee's I've had have been from the occasional use of a non-USBank ATM, but that's to be expected. USBank's nationwide presence was very helpful on my internships as I was never far from a branch (and thus had easy access to free ATM's and whatnot).Quote:
Originally Posted by bos
One of my absolute best friends works here and he is absolutely one of the classiest, best guys I know and I know he loves it there. I would definitely recommend it to anybody.Quote:
Originally Posted by 3TrueFans
Also, don't let the ATM thing with smaller banks or credit unions deter you - they are almost always "priviledged status" ATM's and thus you won't be charged at any privilaged status ATM anywhere in the country. IMO this makes them preferable to major banks, because there are always priviledged status ATM's everywhere.
I've used US Bank for some time now. Their online access is great, and the online bill pay is really handy. I pay my rent and cell phone bills on there and they send a check for me.
#1 on my list of important items is their web site because 99% of the time that is what I'm going to use. I go into a bank about once every 3 years and that's to cash in my change. I have 3 different bank accounts and they are a good mix. One large bank, one online only bank, and one credit union. The large bank(BofA) is nice for things like buying foreign currency but other than that I would drop them. I do all my billpay (free) through my online bank. I've heard good things about ING Direct but have never used them.
For customer service the big bank sucks. Both the online and credit union have excellent customer service.
I agree with the others to find a bank that is "privileged status". They are the easiest atm's to find.
US Bank recently announce you will be able to deposit checks at home with a scanner very soon. this will be nice!
US Bank. They are everywhere (except in SE), and treat their clients well.
EverBank. Pays interest rates far above what any local or national bank will pay. I've banked solely online for almost 10 years and I can't think of one single instance where I wished I had a local bank branch to visit.
And as an added bonus, they just bought naming rights to the Jacksonville Jaguars' stadium. So there's that.
I have to say that I'm going through a refi right now with U.S. Bank and it's been kind of a mess. Never had any problems with them up until now though. Of course this is separate from their banking.