This page lists several little-known companies that I use and that I think
everyone else should use. I can get referral bonuses for some of them, but
that's not why I recommend them. Places that offer the referrals rely on
word-of-mouth advertising, and my experiences with them have been all positive.
This company has great long-distance rates - 3.5 cents a minute for most states (although it varies depending on which state you life in - check your rate here), and good rates for in-state calls. There's no monthly fee. Their international rates are great. The only thing that you should know ahead of time is that there's a $0.25 cent charge for automatic withdrawals from your bank or a percentage fee (and a small transaction fee) for using a credit card (around 2%). The reason they did this is because if they included this cost in their rates, you'd have to pay all of the FCC taxes on that amount. Plus, this way the people who cost them more money by using credit cards have to pay more, which keeps everybody's rates fair.
To put me down as a referrer, use the address avcinc.com@ryan.xar.us. For a referral, you get 5% of that person's phone bill credited to your account every month.
ING's savings accounts work as extensions of your checking accounts - there are no checks or ATM cards. You can access all your money by transferring it to or from your current checking account from the ING website. They pay money-market-size interest rates, which is a lot better than what most banks pay. There is no minimum balance, and it's easy to add new accounts if you want to split up your accounts into categories. (I use one for medium-term savings, one for as my own home mortgage escrow, and another for temporarily storing excess cash.) They also have CDs and other investment options.
ING also does mortgages and home equity lines of credit - I just refinanced my house through them. They don't offer 30 year fixed loans, but their rates are very good for 5/1 ARMs (fixed for the first five years, and adjusted every year after that). On average, ARMs are cheaper than 30-year fixed loans over the life of the loan, and most people end up refinancing a few times anyway.
To be referred, I'll need to send you an e-mail from their website, so just let me know. For the savings account, you get $25 and I get $10 if I refer you, and for the HELOC, you get $100 and I get $25.
If you want a checking account, you should check out USAA. (For most of USAA's services, you need to have been in the military, but their bank is open to everyone.) There's no minimum balance, they have good interest rates (although not quite as good as ING Direct), and the best part is that they reimburse ATM fees up to $1.50 a transaction and up to $15 a month. If you use your cash card as a credit card, they refund you 0.5% of the purchase price at the end of the month.
They have automatic overdraft protection which will transfer money from your savings account if you overdraw at no charge. If you don't have enough in your savings account, they can charge your USAA Mastercard (if you get one), but I'm not sure what sort of fees are associated with that - probably just the same as if you had made a cash withdrawal. They are open longer than most banks, and the staff is always helpful over the phone - one time, I was trying to make a transfer using the automated phone system and accidentally got ahold of an operator. I told the operator what I had done, and she put the transfer through for me at no charge.
Since they only have one branch in Texas, you probably won't be able to make deposits at an ATM. However, they provide postage pre-paid envelopes for deposits, and I've found that the money shows up in my account just about as quickly as ATM deposits.
I don't get any sort of referral for recommending USAA, but it's still a great company and I highly recommend it.
