<p>I was wondering about how most people handle banking at the Academy. I know there is a Navy Bank of some sorts on the yard in Bancroft, but I didn't know if all Mids have there accounts there or if they can open one at a bank in Annapolis. We weren't sure if having an account at the bank on the yard would complicate things with recieving money from home, etc. </p>
<p>Also, what are some of the investing/saving opportunities available to midshipmen at USNA?</p>
<p>Thanks in advanced.</p>
<p>I can't say for sure about naval, but at usafa my appointment info said you have to get one. It doesn't look too restrictive though with receiving money from parents. I'll find out when I get there what kind of investing I can do; I would like to save a lot while I can.</p>
<p>Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU)has a branch office in Bancroft Hall. NFCU also has a branch office in Halligan Hall as well as ATM machines in places like Dahlgren Hall.</p>
<p>USAA is also very easy to use and they reimburse ATM fees (I think it is about 10 a month) Branch office is just outside Gate 1.</p>
<p>Locations in 23 states.
Navy</a> Federal: Locations
Have been a member for years and have been saving a small fund for the kids since they were born. sort of a slush fund for their college time seperate from the college fund.</p>
<p>Both Navy Federal and USAA have their benefits. My Mid got turned off by Navy Fed and is sold on USAA. Some others have found the opposite. Investigate both options and make a choice based on what works best for your individual case. </p>
<p>My Mid also has kept a small amount in his Civilian Bank savings account and a good amount in the checking account as it has many local branches in Annapolis and DC. Since it is the same bank that I bank with it makes online transfer of funds very easy rather than having to pay a transfer fee to USAA or write him a check.</p>
<p>Both [url=<a href="http://www.navyfcu.org%5DNFCU%5B/url">www.navyfcu.org]NFCU[/url</a>] and [url=<a href="http://www.usaa.com%5DUSAA%5B/url">www.usaa.com]USAA[/url</a>] are excellent. Both are non-profit organizations owned by the members. NFCU is the world's largest credit union and has branch offices and ATMs at virtually anywhere a squid may be stationed. USAA Federal Savings Bank is an online bank; that's why they refund ATM fees.</p>
<p>USAA offers the most competitive insurance rates (auto and home) in the country. They are customer oriented and settle claims with no hassles.</p>
<p>I have been a member of NFCU for over 31 years and a member of USAA for approximately 29 years.</p>
<p>^^^ ditto. Both are very user friendly, and I use both. You just can't go wrong with either, IMO.</p>
<p>Since someone above mentioned insurance, perhaps you can answer an insurance question (or two). I'm sure that I've read that plebe parents should drop car insurance (for their plebe) as of I-day, since plebes can only drive during holiday leave. If plebes plan to drive during holiday leave, must they get their own policy, since they are no longer dependents, or can they temporarily be on the parents' policy? Is it correct to assume that they do not need any sort of insurance for their personal items, while they reside in Bancroft?</p>
<p>^^^^^
My experience with USAA was that they would not drop my son from the auto insurance policy unless his driver's license was rescinded. However, they did change his status to "infrequent driver" which dropped the rate to $21 per month. USAA's is concerned about their exposure when college kids are driving while they are home on leave.</p>
<p>No personal property insurance is required or necessary while residing in Bancroft Hall.</p>
<p>^^^^ Our homeowners policy (Not USAA as not eligible) has a claus that states that they will not cover a dependents belongings under this policy while residing on a Military base. We have a separate renters policy for his things in Bancroft.</p>
<p>We also changed his car insurance coverage to reflect that he is based over 100 miles from where the car resides. Saved about $75.00 a month and still fully covers him while on leave.</p>
<p>Son has accounts with both USAA and NFCU, checking and credit. Both offered EXTREMELY competitive rates for CC. Once a member of the family is a NFCU member the rest of the family is also eligible for membership. So other sibling's definitely benefitted from son joining. Again extremely competitive credit card rates for college students (7.9), no balance transfer fees and a new offer for 5.9 for transfer for the life of the balance with no transfer fee which is lower than other sibling's student loan rates.</p>
<p>NFCU offered great car loan rates as does USAA. All sibs have USAA accounts as well. Can't say enough about either company. Car insurance is also through USAA, been a member for 28 years and my dad (auto, life, house, IRA and god knows what else) has since dirt was invented!</p>
<p>Also as far as credit cards (MC, Visa and personal loan) NFCU is very generous. No balance transfer fees and great low APRs. Also decent reward cards. Checking is easy, son has auto deposit and withdrawl with his NFCU and USAA checking and cc are all linked electronically between sibs and parents.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>about how much do the 4 differents classes of midshipmen get paid each month?</p>
<p>We dropped our USMA cadet son as a listed driver on our auto policy. However, under the terms of the policy he (as well as any other person who has our permission) is covered when he drives our cars during leave. Initially, our insurance company wasn't going to drop him since they wanted to treat him like a normal college kid away from home. This changed when I explained that as a cadet he was an 'active duty' military person. Most insurance companies make a distinction between away from college students and active duty military. As they should.</p>
<p>Second regarding Cadet possessions at the academy. My understanding is that at USMA, the cadets are responsible for any damage or loss of their personal property. This includes their uniforms and computer equipment. Please let me know if I'm wrong. Although my son arrived with only a small duffle bag, after 3 years he's accumulated several thousand dollars of stuff. While our homeowners policy provides some coverage for possessions away from home, we purchased a stand along 'student' policy that provides up to $5000 of property coverage with a $100 deductible for about $100 a year. In fact, the deductible is waived on the computer if you load a tracking software program on the computer. There are a number of these type policies available via the internet.</p>
<p>We have USAA homeowner's and auto insurance. They advised me to remove the mid from the policy once she left for I-Day since she would be an occasional driver and the car title wasn't in her name. When she drove the car to Annapolis this summer she established her own USAA policy because she qualified for additional military discounts. Evidently they had her listed as a member since the day she was born! (That kind of shocked me...)</p>
<p>Up to 10 percent of our USAA homeowner's policy covers her belongings while away at college.</p>
<p>Many policies have a clause that an occasional driver--one who does not reside w/ you for more than 30 days--is covered when driving your car. Since the mid/cadet will not be a dpeendent after the first year, they sh/ be covered under this clause.</p>
<p>You should obtain a policy to cover mid/cadet belongings while at the Academy. USAA offers a renters policy that is, I'm trying to rmeember, about $100 or $200 per year. It covers theft.</p>
<p>You can take the bottom stub off the monthly statement from NFCU that the member gets each month. (Member can mail them to you/save them till you see each other.) I always have 3 or 4 stubs at home.
Make a check out the member, fill out the stub for which account you want the check to be entered into, mail stub and check to POB in Virginia on the stub.
Midshipmen gets the money in the account after the check clears.</p>
<pre><code> Easy, safe way to supplement monthly pay.
</code></pre>