Done with USAA, looking for a better option

[Anonymous]

For those above who changed for lower insurance, beware that the new low quote will go up in a year. It’s just such a hassle.

[Anonymous]

A lot of customers service reps at USAA are contracted out. I immediately ask the person answering if they’re a USAA employee or a contractor. If they’re confused I ask who signs their paycheck.
I keep calling until I get a USAA employee. I will only use USAA for all our insurance. We do not use them for banking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of customers service reps at USAA are contracted out. I immediately ask the person answering if they’re a USAA employee or a contractor. If they’re confused I ask who signs their paycheck.
I keep calling until I get a USAA employee. I will only use USAA for all our insurance. We do not use them for banking.

Who do you bank with?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, 20 years ago I was singing their praise - it used to be you called USAA, for anything, and whoever answered the phone could help you with whatever you needed. Now it's 3 minutes of the voicemail from hell, all while listening to a recording telling you to login on their website. So challenging now to use USAA, but inertia is keeping me using them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of customers service reps at USAA are contracted out. I immediately ask the person answering if they’re a USAA employee or a contractor. If they’re confused I ask who signs their paycheck.
I keep calling until I get a USAA employee. I will only use USAA for all our insurance. We do not use them for banking.

Who do you bank with?

Chase. We also like their credit cards but this needs to be monitored regularly for best deals to suit our needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those above who changed for lower insurance, beware that the new low quote will go up in a year. It’s just such a hassle.

This. They are all the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, 20 years ago I was singing their praise - it used to be you called USAA, for anything, and whoever answered the phone could help you with whatever you needed. Now it's 3 minutes of the voicemail from hell, all while listening to a recording telling you to login on their website. So challenging now to use USAA, but inertia is keeping me using them

Hm. I haven't called them in over a year and I'm hoping I never have to.
My only gripe is that billpay on the chrome for credit card payment only is effed and has been for a while.
I had a workaround but they just changed billpay and I had to use the app instead.
I'm thinking of creating a ticket for their web team with screenshots and billing them for my analysis!

[Anonymous]

We have our home/car insurance through Erie and they have been pretty good to work with when we have had auto claims.

Banking is a mix - we belong to a company credit union that we have used for almost 30 years - goes back to when we lived in PA and my spouse worked there. Mainly because they have basically no fees for ATM, checking, etc.

We opened up Chase accounts for our kids as they got older because it was just easier to have a local branch that you could go to. Been pretty pleased with them as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the issue exactly? I use USAA for most things but haven’t had to call their 800 number in the last year. I called several times August 2024 about an issue we had with a payment for a car purchase (dealer issues) as well as with insurance questions and each time I reached live individuals who were very helpful. Did something change? I’d hate to have to move banks. I have had an awful time with Capitol One and I’m not impressed with Chase Bank. Capital One held my college kid’s money hostage for years (really years!) claiming they couldn’t release funds from her account because they had to freeze it with no valid explanation. I couldn’t get any help at the branch and had to rely on their 800# where they just kept passing the buck and promising to investigate.

The issue today is that I can't get the money from my savings account to pay a contractor. It's too much for zelle, no one takes checks (and I don't have checks anyway), the wire transfer function is "unavailable," and they've vastly reduced their 800 number hours. This is not the first time this has happened. But at least last time, a few years ago, I could get someone on the phone and get it done.

I'll be paying attention to insurance recs, too. Had a fender bender a year or two ago that took four months to resolve. And I haven't shopped for homeowners in a while.

I'm ready to get a new bank TODAY though. I'm that fed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the issue exactly? I use USAA for most things but haven’t had to call their 800 number in the last year. I called several times August 2024 about an issue we had with a payment for a car purchase (dealer issues) as well as with insurance questions and each time I reached live individuals who were very helpful. Did something change? I’d hate to have to move banks. I have had an awful time with Capitol One and I’m not impressed with Chase Bank. Capital One held my college kid’s money hostage for years (really years!) claiming they couldn’t release funds from her account because they had to freeze it with no valid explanation. I couldn’t get any help at the branch and had to rely on their 800# where they just kept passing the buck and promising to investigate.

The issue today is that I can't get the money from my savings account to pay a contractor. It's too much for zelle, no one takes checks (and I don't have checks anyway), the wire transfer function is "unavailable," and they've vastly reduced their 800 number hours. This is not the first time this has happened. But at least last time, a few years ago, I could get someone on the phone and get it done.

I'll be paying attention to insurance recs, too. Had a fender bender a year or two ago that took four months to resolve. And I haven't shopped for homeowners in a while.

I'm ready to get a new bank TODAY though. I'm that fed up.

I hear you. But to pay the contractor you can do a check online through billpay. You set it up and it does take a bit to go through. Probably about the same as a mailed check. If your contractor won't take a check I'm not sure what to tell you. Take out cash in lots of chunks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just left USAA for Liberty Mutual. Save $250/mo.

Same, and when I had a claim with liberty mutual this summer (hit and run, not my fault), it was handled super quickly, with a live person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This is concerning. I wonder which insurance company is better for service. ??

The OP's concern is about banking, not insurance.

[Anonymous]

Navy Federal is better. They all suck, but that's the best of the mediocre group.

[Anonymous]

We've banked with BOA for more than a decade, have never had any problems. No fees for accounts with direct deposit and for withdrawals if you use their ATMs (why we stick with them, plenty around). Has worked great for us. USAA was a no because their website is so clunky.

We use USAA for insurance, experiences have been good and we've had a fair number of claims. Credit card too, since APR is markedly better than our others. The only thing, again, is the terrible website.

[Anonymous]

I gave up on USAA several years ago and went with Fidelity. We use the cash management account as a checking account. They obviously also have all the investment account options you'd want so they are pretty one-stop shop. Of course, they don't have insurance, but I find it's better to shop around and switch insurance every few years anyway.