Capital One gets a positive review from one member who has used it through numerous life changes.

Capital One Online Bank Review

posted in: Bank Reviews, Checking, Savings | 0

The online bank which began as ING Direct, then became Capital One 360, and is now simply Capital One, has gone through a trial by fire with this customer.  As a member of the military, then married to it for many years, it was usual to open new accounts wherever we went and close them as we left. That was just the beginning of more life upheavals than a lot of people go through in a lifetime. Capital One has been there through all of it, for better or for worse.

Capital One Advantages:

  1. This bank has dealt with an amazing number of life changes:
    • Twelve moves, all told, and five were from one state to another: from Nevada to Texas to Illinois to Texas to Oregon and then back to Texas.
    • Connecting and disconnecting at least half a dozen local, traditional checking accounts, with zero trouble moving funds either direction.
    • One bankruptcy and one divorce, including removing the spouse from all accounts.
    • One remarriage, including a name change and adding a new spouse to all accounts.
  2. They also dealt well with two debit card number thefts:
    • Three years ago, the number was stolen at a gas station while traveling. Small bit of advice — If the pump reader isn’t working, pay cash; don’t leave your card inside. Within a few days, there were four charges made in Mexico with the card. Capital One customer service called with an alert and then the bank refunded every dime.
    • Less than a month ago, two small charges showed up in California and their fraud alerts went off. Got a call, got it handled, and again, they refunded every dime. The gentleman on the phone said these were “feelers.” If they went through without protest, the next charges would have been much more expensive.
  3. They made accommodations for the fact that, at present, we live in the back of beyond, West Texas. Most banks get pretty sticky about having a street address. They worked with us to get the 911 address into their system and use the PO box along with it at all times. When you live 40 miles from the nearest grocery store, and the U.S. Postal Service won’t even deliver there, it can be a constant hassle. Capital One took care of it.
  4. Started an investment account with them, and they make it super easy to push funds to the account.
  5. Easily rolled my 401K over from my old employer to a separate IRA in the same investment portal. Do make sure the person who is the primary on the investment account is the one who deals with the banking business, as the primary investor is the only one who can make changes to that account.
  6. Consultant work means paper checks, and that’s been an easy process, scanning the checks in from the computer.
  7. Starting new savings accounts is a snap, and there are no issues with keeping the savings accounts disconnected from your debit card. Transfers between accounts were free and easy.
  8. The person to person payments are extremely easy, so sending money to the kids just requires a good e-mail address and the last four digits of their account number. It has always been much quicker than advertised, as well.

Capital One Disadvantages: 

  1. A few years after the investment account was opened, it was not easy to sell off the mutual funds to fund a down payment on a piece of commercial property. It took a couple weeks to get everything sold, get the money back into the checking account and then we paid a fee to get the cashier’s check sent to the local title company.
  2. The mobile check deposit process would never accept my photos.
  3. No check that is over $5,000 can be deposited online. You must go to a Capital One 360 ATM or send it by mail. Admittedly, it’s a nice problem to have, but sending it by mail is a pain when the post office is 40 miles away.
  4. You can’t open a business savings account online, and they don’t offer business checking. This may be a federal regulation for all I know. Has to be done in person and our nearest branch is more than four hours away.
  5. Their CD rates and their savings account rates always seem to be lower than their nearest competitors–but the difference between .75% and .80% is pretty minimal.

Overall Assessment:

Thumbs up — It’s been a good experience with Capital One.