is anyone here with a credit union?

 

i want to get out of my bank and switch to a credit union. i've searched for ones in the area online but having trouble finding something good.

 

what i want:

 

-no fees

-visa debit card (most seem to only offer master card)

-good branch locations

-free checking

 

rest is gravy.......just somewhere to deposit/store money that doesnt dock fees or have hoops to jump through

Check out Firefighters Community Credit Union.  This is one of those things I looked into a bit but never actually executed.  It's not necessarily about their actual branches but ensuring the CU is a part of a Branch/ATM sharing scheme.  FCCU is part of one that has a nice spread across the area.  There are minimum balance and minimum debit transactions per month required to maintain membership and the like.  They don't come out flatly with "No Fees, Free Checking" but they don't really state the contrary either.  The other ones that remain in my mind appear to be Master Card affiliates, so that's all I have.

I looked into them last fall when there was a mass switching, but couldn't find one with the things I was looking for that was open to "anyone," and my list of wants was similar to yours.

Depending on what you'll need to do at the branches (what do people do at branches?) you might also think about an on line commercial bank, like ING.  I think their "Electric Orange" checking account fits all your needs: http://home.ingdirect.com/electric-orange-checking?s=ElectricOrange

I also looked last fall because I really wanted to be part of a credit union. I used to be a member of the teachers credit union in Michigan and it was open to everyone. I took the bus to the "downtown" location of the Firefighters Credit Union on a Saturday morning only to find it closed on Saturday. I looked into the one near Metro Health which is open to people who live or work in Cleveland but their locations weren't that convenient for me. There is the Ohio Education Credit Union which is open to certain occupations/industries beyond teachers and may be worth looking into. There is a location near Cleveland State University and one in Lakewood as well as others. The St. Coleman's Credit Union is open to those who have some connection to the parish.

the Ohio Education Credit Union appears to be open to all graduates of Ohio schools -- that could potentially include most Ohioans, but it's not clear from the website whether that means public Ohio universities or high schools.  With a CSU branch, it's worth looking into for anyone working in the area.

Have you checked out the Steel Valley Credit Union? They have branch locations in Lakewood's Birdtown neighborhood and Cleveland's Brooklyn Centre neighborhood....

 

http://www.steelvalleyfcu.org/

If you're having trouble finding a credit union with open membership and the perks you're looking for but you don't want to go with a commercial bank, another thing you can look for is a community bank.  I don't know the ones up in Cleveland.  My parents in southwest Licking County have been with <a href="https://www.parknationalbank.com/Pages/default.aspx">Park National Bank</a> based in Newark for two decades now.  Here in Akron, we have smaller outfits like <a href="http://www.valleysavingsbank.com/">Valley Savings Bank</a> and <a href="https://www.westfield-bank.com/home/home">Westfield Bank</a>.  I've never actually used either of them, but I've met a lot of the people from both of them at various networking events (including the presidents of both, which is the kind of experience you'll probably never have with Key or Huntington or Fifth Third).  They seem pretty down-to-earth and friendly, and the banks themselves are pretty conservative (in the sense of being good at avoiding crazy risks like no-doc subprime mortgages and so on).

 

Personally, I'm still with Huntington and Bank of America because they both have very strong Web interfaces and I do most of my banking online.  If I were to switch, it would likely be to a fully online bank, but I still do occasionally use the Huntington branches and ATMs (though I understand that there are ways to avoid ATM fees using online banks as well).

some credit unions allow you to join just based on where you live. just based off of a 'cuyahoga county credit unions' there is at least 1 where the only parameter is being a resident of the county: https://www.taleriscu.org/about/index.htm

 

now, for me, if i were to join a credit union i would make sure it is part of the 'shared branching network' (taleris is not, but Ohio Education Credit Union is) http://www.cuservicecenter.com/

 

it's a way for credit unions to band together to allow deposits and w/d at other credit union branches, and also free atm transitions. basically it takes your little credit union and manages to make it a nationwide bank.

Charles Schwab Bank.