What does your bank provide that a credit union can't do for less?

[CreekDog]

what are the advantages of a bank over a credit union?

[RKP5637]

1. To me, none that I can think of and banks are certainly nobody's friend. n/t

[Oregone]

2. Even my credit union has better commercials than my bank

http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/creative/featuredcampaign/article.jsp?content=20090304_144305_5776

[DJ13]

3. The only thing I can think of is a larger ATM network to avoid those fees

But with banks charging fees for everything they can think of that benefit isnt worth it.

Why cant the credit unions band together to create their own nationwide network of ATM's to eliminate that advantage?

[LeftyMom]

15. They already do.

http://www.co-opfs.org/public/locators/atmlocator/index.cfm

[bridgit]

4. Few if any worth enduring which is why we're moving to Golden 1

[pinto]

5. I belong to a small credit union. Love it.

All the services I need - which are minimal - including direct deposit, on-line access, electronic bill pay, and a no-fee-per-use card connected to my checking account.

[Merlot]

6. My credit union would not to a small business account (DBA checks)

So now I'm at a small regional business bank.

[gmoney]

7. I've been meaning to complete making the switch...

but it's pretty convenient having all the eggs (checking, credit cards, mortgage) in that one corporate basket.

[nightrain]

10. and they like it that way....

[chaska]

8. I'm very happy with my CU. And pretty much anyone can join one these days.

I hated Bank of America. That bunch is evil.

[napi21]

9. We belonged to a CR Union when my husband first started

a job with a new co. If you wanted direct deposit, you HAD to have the $$ deposited in the CR Inion account. That was the only choice you had. I was very disappointed in their service, level of expertiese in answering questions, and their rates were no better than my local bank. In addition to that, the closest branch was 34 mi. from our home or work so if you wanted to deposit a check you had to mail it. I opened an account at our local bank and when the co. finally agreed to do Direct Deposit to any bank we switched & closed the Cr Untion acct.

I've been very hppy with our local bank. Their interest rates are awful right now, but so is everybody's. Maybe some r Unions are great but the one we had sure wasn't!

[Lars39]

11. Our credit union uses the higher Beacon score, not a combined....

this allows more loans to be made. This was the only way we could get a car loan, after being turned down by bank after bank.

[Ernesto]

12. can you name a CU that has been shut down or failed?nt

[flvegan]

13. Mine's too big to fail.

Makes me feel good about it.

No, wait...now that I think about it, that's not right.

[Liberal In Texas]

14. The only thing I can think of is safety deposit boxes.

My CU doesn't offer them, and I don't think many others (if any) do.

[uppityperson]

16. Fewer branches can make it more difficult to deposit money.

Our local CU has 2 branches locally. If working elsewhere, difficult to get money there to deposit. Other than that, I like having my money locally and prefer it being in a smaller, member run, institution.

[MarthaM]

17. Only hours and locations

None of the credit unions here have evening hours or convenient (for me) locations, so I use a bank. There aren't any fees on my checking account unless I overdraw, which I never have done. I could move my savings to a CU if the rates were higher enough to justify that, but they're not on a basic savings account.

[dysfunctional press]

18. atm's all over the place that i can use with no fee.

coast to coast, with no need to hunt down the right network.