7th Ave. Banks: Chase v. Citibank?

After a few frustrating years at Astoria Federal, I'm thinking of switching to one of the other banks nearby on 7th Avenue - either Chase or Citibank - for checking and other basic personal finance stuff.

Anyone have any experience with one or both of these branches to share?

No experience with those branches, per se....but, we use Chase, and are surprisingly happy with them. It's a surprise, as I'm always hesitant about the much larger banks. However, Chase has ATMs everywhere (Duane Reade), and their online banking/bill paying is the bomb.

Both are fine - Chase has 2 local branches (7th and 5th Ave), which makes it a bit more convenient locally.

In Manhattan, you'll find plenty of both..

I use Chase b/c that's where my employer banks so everything is free. there's a branch on Flatbush that has some late hours.

Not too much further down is Commerce, on Fifth/1st Street, which has been good to me as both a personal and business bank. Banking on e.g. Sunday is terrific.

I've been with Chase for centuries and have never had a problem. Their web sit is great also - I pay everything on-line through them - cable, phone, rent, credit card, etc.

Livetotravel wrote: I've been with Chase for centuries and have never had a problem. Their web sit is great also - I pay everything on-line through them - cable, phone, rent, credit card, etc.

Commerce is good in that respect, too.

i was a member of Astoria too,.... for about 5 minutes! i dropped them like a bad habit and ran oiver to citibank, and have been loving it. I dont know if chase works like this, but when I deposit a cheque into my citi acct., all of the funds are available immediately, which i think is gr8. (their logo is also pretty kewl)

MeanDººD wrote: I dont know if chase works like this, but when I deposit a cheque into my citi acct., all of the funds are available immediately, which i think is gr8.

Even a personal check? With Commerce, you can't cash a check unless your account balance can cover the amount of the check... unless it's a payroll check etc.

Do you by chance have a mortgage with either? I know that Citibank will count the balance on your mortgage towards the minimum daily balance requierments for free checking.

If you travel much Chase just bought Bank One so you have all those ATMs in the Mid West

Citi's online banking is excellent. I haven't used paper for checks or banking in 10 years. I don't think Chase's is quite as good.

I have had a great relationship with several of the employees and branch managers at that citibank for years, since I opened Quick Byte. Good people over there.

i used to have a washington mutual account, but had nothing but problems. i switched over to citibank last year, it's been wonderful. i've also recently opened a few accounts with chase, and they're lovely too.

so, i use both chase and citibank over on 7th ave, and i love them both!

thanks! i must admit i'm amazed to see such positive reviews of both banks. after all this time with astoria i was prepared for horror stories, but i guess not all banks are hell on earth after all!

One more th citi thing. If you do go with citi they had a 5% e-savings acct when I signed up 2 weeks ago. The e account can only be opened online and I had problems with their cs when trying to fund it. But, I'll still take the 5%.
Also, citi will charge you for a book of checks, but I guess they all do.

Tom wrote: Also, citi will charge you for a book of checks, but I guess they all do.

That's true, but since you can write electronic checks for free, you can avoid buying a checkbook altogether. Or at least, if you do buy one, it will last you for about 20 years.

Subject: The Big Dogs

I have been a Citibank customer forever, ever since they pioneered the use of ATM's here in NYC.
Customer service is good at the 7th Avenue branch.
Their computer banking is first-rate.

Has anyone tried Bank of America?
I only ask because do a lot of business in California, their historical base ... and competition-wise, as LA and SF both have plenty of Citibank branches ... plus I know a lot of people on LI who now have BofA accounts as their Fleet Bank was taken over by BofA ... as Fleet took over many smaller LI banks in the past.
God, how I thought my little bank was BIG ... until I grew up and read about the Chase Bank, the Bank of the Manhattan Company, Alexander Hamilton, and the Rockefellers.

i have b of a, and it's been great. the only thing that is a little not so hot is that they don't have as many atms as chase, wamu, etc.

customer service has been very good.

Shitibank will rob you blind. At least at Chase on 7th Avenue, you deal with less homeless people than you do at Shitbank on 7th Avenue when walking through the entrance.

Anonymous wrote: Shitibank will rob you blind. At least at Chase on 7th Avenue, you deal with less homeless people than you do at Shitbank on 7th Avenue when walking through the entrance.

I'm not sure but I don't think the panhandlers are Citi employees. Plus, I've never given any of them a penny and the worst that's ever happened to me is that they tell me to have a nice day. During banking hours, Citi does have security in the branch, so any prevalence of homeless outside Citi's branch as opposed to Chase's is just a coincidence and not likely to last.

OMIGOD! That's so funny, Shitbank = citibank. I so get it.

Tom wrote:
Also, citi will charge you for a book of checks, but I guess they all do.

I'm sure it depends on the level of relationship banking. I have a premier account (the higest level) with HSBC. No charge for anything and special line in the branch. Not that I have a lot of money in the bank but because my mortgage is there and they count the mortgage balance toward my minimum average balance.

I use citibank. they make me mad sometimes, but they really are everywhere. Come to think of it, every bank has made me mad at some point. I close my WaMu account recently cause they were a bunch of bags of douche. For some reason I like the citibank on 7th, but I dislike the fact that the presumably homeless feller holds the door open for any potential bank rober in PS, and I am sure there are a lot of those in PS :P

Tom wrote: One more th citi thing. If you do go with citi they had a 5% e-savings acct when I signed up 2 weeks ago. The e account can only be opened online and I had problems with their cs when trying to fund it. But, I'll still take the 5%.
Also, citi will charge you for a book of checks, but I guess they all do.

I was about to leave Citibank, but this savings account kept me there.

Actually, they used to give me all sorts of problems, but now that I think about it, its been at least 2 years since I've had to call their customer service because of a screw-up.

I'm actually relieved to hear that Wash Mutual isn't perfect. Makes me glad I didn't switch to them.

caaahyoko wrote:
I'm actually relieved to hear that Wash Mutual isn't perfect. Makes me glad I didn't switch to them.

I got in a fight with the cs about their (WaMu) hidden fees (among other things that pissed me off). There was"no fee to use any ATM" on the account I had, yet I got charged everytime I checked my ballance at an ATM. They actually said, "well, we don't tell you THAT, you have to read the fine print." yeah, I probably should have, but in all honestly, how many people really read through those BOOKS of fine print they give you. I scanned mine and that that was above and beyond what most people do. Guess I missed that part.
So they would not refund me for it, so they lost me. They actually said, "you're gonna leave us over 8 bucks?" I tried to explain that it was the principle, and besides, 8 bucks to me is lunch, 8 to them is a drop in a fucking huge ass bucket! Anyway, it felt good to leave. Citi is not perfect by any means, but I've had better luck with their cs reps. Usually they are pretty understanding and nice.

I haven't had to deal with WaMu over many issues, but the one time I did they were stellar. Far better than my roommate had with Citi on the same problem.

I had my debit card info stolen (this is why I never use a non-bank ATM) and as soon as I saw unauthorized withdrawals being made I called WaMu and all my money was back the next day. No questions asked. No paperwork. Easy as pie.

Same thing happened to my roommate a couple months later and he had to fight tooth and nail with Citibank. After two weeks they put all the money back in his account, but he had to fight for two entire months to get the overdraft fees removed. He called, he went in person (to the 7th Ave location), he talked to managers. No one would help him. As soon as he got everything settled he closed his account.

jahverson wrote: I haven't had to deal with WaMu over many issues, but the one time I did they were stellar. Far better than my roommate had with Citi on the same problem.

I had my debit card info stolen (this is why I never use a non-bank ATM) and as soon as I saw unauthorized withdrawals being made I called WaMu and all my money was back the next day. No questions asked. No paperwork. Easy as pie.

Same thing happened to my roommate a couple months later and he had to fight tooth and nail with Citibank. After two weeks they put all the money back in his account, but he had to fight for two entire months to get the overdraft fees removed. He called, he went in person (to the 7th Ave location), he talked to managers. No one would help him. As soon as he got everything settled he closed his account.

Wow, I would have closed my account too. Guess this is further proof no bank is perfect for everyone!

sweet tea wrote: i have b of a, and it's been great. the only thing that is a little not so hot is that they don't have as many atms as chase, wamu, etc.

customer service has been very good.

FYI there is a new Bank of America ATM opening up on the corner of Union & Seventh Avenue.