Local bank or credit union recommendations?

[Sasquatch]

My wife and I need to break down and get a new banking institution. Currently our accounts are with our old credit union in the PNW, and with US Bank which does not have a presence anywhere near Houston. I've had accounts with Wells Fargo and Chase before, and aside from liking Chase's fraud department's proactivity - I don't feel a burning urge or desire to go back to banking with either of those institutions. I like smaller, local banks or credit unions more, as you also tend to get friendlier service.

We have a Prosperity Bank and Wood Forest bank close by in town, but I'm open to other suggestions if there are good alternatives.

Its getting annoying dealing with everything remotely - wife's employer doesn't offer direct deposit, so she gets a paper check every Friday. We can deposit it online with our old credit union, but sometimes it takes a while for deposits to show up. There's also the inability to conveniently access cash when necessary.

I have a credit card thru Capital One, but the closest Cap One Bank branch is in The Woodlands and is damn near a 40-45 minute drive away, depending on traffic. Something in Old Magnolia or Tomball would be ideal.

 

[Vaquero]

Prosperity is Texas owned.
I've been with them for 30+ years.
Branches everywhere. All the way to Amarillo.

 

[Vaquero]

And their online/app banking is good.

 

[toddnjoyce]

Frost is a major Texas bank. Here’s a link to top tier FCUs in Texas.

America's Best Credit Unions In Each State 2023

To create the list, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista and surveyed approximately 31,000 U.S. residents. Participants were asked to name all the banks and credit unions where they have a checking or savings account and evaluate these institutions based on criteria such as...

www.forbes.com

 

[baboon]

I have used Primeway it seems like forever. I was going to move it when I moved but have not yet.

PrimeWay Federal Credit Union: Houston, TX - Financial Services | Online Banking

PrimeWay has competitive rates, loans, mortgages, checking and savings with convenient locations in Houston, Cypress, Missouri City and Sugar Land locations.

www.primewayfcu.com

 

[308nato]

Been banking with Woodforest for years in Tomball and Navy Federal Credit Union in Cypress.

 

[Fishkiller]

frost or Broadway unfortunately I bee not in the Houston area. I use security Stste a small outfit here in the big town. I hate big banks

 

[HKSig]

Something in Old Magnolia or Tomball would be ideal.

Amegy.

 

[RichardLW42]

We're with Advancial CU and also Houston Federal CU (HFCU).

Both are good and friendly. Advancial closed a few offices during COVID and we don't have a local one now. HFCU only has a few branches mostly around Sugar Land.

The main pain I find with both of them is they don't offer quite the same facilities as the big banks. Transferring money for example, I either have to set up a permanent payment destination or use wire transfer. Chase can do a one off electronic transfer.

 

[craigntx]

Investex is up in Tomball as well as 2 other locations in houston

 

[Tnhawk]

I probably need to find a local bank although I rarely enter a bank. I currently have auto deposits to USAA and a bank in TN.

 

[Sasquatch]

I probably need to find a local bank although I rarely enter a bank. I currently have auto deposits to USAA and a bank in TN.

We've been terribly lazy about getting around to getting an account setup. Still haven't done it - we're going to go with Woodforest because they are close and fairly prevelent in the area.

My debit card with my existing 'foriegn' credit union expired on the 31st, I never received a repalcement. Called them going "WTF" - "Oh, we mailed you one the first of April, you didn't get it?" No - our mail carrier for the last two months has been incompetent and inconsistent on a good day. Someone else got my damn card, if they actually did send it (probably did, they always sent cards a month or so before my old ones expired, and they have my correct address on file)

So they had to report the new card as lost/stolen, and it'll be two weeks before my new, new card gets sent to me.

 

[skfullgun]

I grew up in North Shore, on the east side of Houston. That's where the original Woodforest Bank was located, on Uvalde Rd. Woodforest was the uppity neighborhood near where I grew up. That's where my parents banked and my sister has had an account with them for almost 50 years. There are a lot of branches in the Walmarts around Houston.

It seems to be a pretty solid institution, and if you have one nearby, I think it'd be worth the try.

 

[GeorgeS]

Is RBFCU any good? Forbes rated thewm number one in TX, and there's a branch down the road.

 

[rotor]

Pick the closest institution that doesn't charge you anything and hopefully even gives interest as a source of getting cash when you need it and if they offer free billpay even better. If they have an app to deposit checks great. To me it is essential that I have a way to deposit checks easily into an account and I use USAA. I can then transfer cash to my local account as needed. My local account doesn't have a reliable app to deposit checks.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I've used Chase for the 30 years I've been in Houston area.
Don't plan on changing.

 

[Sasquatch]

I've used Chase for the 30 years I've been in Houston area.
Don't plan on changing.

Before jumping to the (formerly) local credit union, I'd used Chase for years. I don't love the company or some of their shady investment practices, anti-gun stance, whatever - but damned if they were not THE BEST at detecting fraud before the customer. Communicating that detection timely wasn't always the greatest - but their fraud department was damned good. I had my debit card info stolen a few times - once right before Christmas. Chase detected the fraud, shut down the card, refunded the money and sent a new card. They forgot to call me though - I found out about it when my card was declined tryingt o buy Christmas presents - I called chase going "Dude, there's four grand in that account, what gives?" "Oh, we're sorry sir, your card was shut down because we detected fraudulent purchases in Idaho and New York, we've sent a new one in the mail" - I was able to go into the branch and get a temp debit card to use until the real one arrived.

There isn't a Chase real close to us, or I'd actually happily return to them.

 

[PhulesAu]

Amoco Federal Credit union, if you "qualify ". Been good for me going on 25 years.

 

[mm54943]

Texas Dow Employees Credit Union is the only place I've ever used. They're opening more locations around the Houston area. No ATM fees at any Buc-ees locations. Customer service is typically pretty good at all the locations I've been to.

 

[Texasjack]

I wish I could recommend one, but I'm working on changing banks myself. DO NOT USE Wells Fargo! They are about to start charging $25/mo/account unless you maintain $50,000 total balance. I went around and around with them earlier this year when they pulled some crazy things with my accounts (like opening a credit card I had closed and charging to it). I complained and they fixed the money, but wouldn't address the problem. I eventually threatened to complain to the feds and they sent me some money to prevent it. All I wanted was for them to follow their own rules. They are run by idiots. I've banked with them for many years, and most of the time they were ok, but not any more.