I'll let Hiway service me whenever they want!!!
Written: Jul 20 '03
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Pros: Great services, helpful staff, great rates
Cons: Lack of ATM locations, annoying business hours
The Bottom Line: I couldn't give Hiway Federal Credit Union higher marks (unless they got more ATMs and had better hours).
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| Tibullus's Full Review: Hiway Federal Credit Union |
When it comes to making decisions about Credit Unions versus Banks, there are so many ways to make decisions. Most people probably just sit back and take whatever is easier without putting much thought into it. To be honest, I can’t really blame them since I really didn’t put much effort into finding this Credit Union (it was all my roommate, he’s the evil one who puts forth effort), however, now that I’ve seen the beauty I feel I must evangelize.
Hiway Federal Credit Union
Alright, so we know we’re in for a bit of a sermon, can you let us know what we’ve actually gotten ourselves into?
Hiway Federal Credit Union (from now on, since I’m sick of typing all of those letters, I’ll just refer to the Credit Union as Hiway) is a Credit Union (I bet you didn’t see that one coming) located in St. Paul. As with all Credit Unions, it has membership requirements, so all of those who don’t live or work in St. Paul, or who don’t have a roommate (oh, I love to be grand fathered in like this) in Hiway, you can read on, but let it be known that you’re only going to get jealous. It happens to be located on the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and Rice St., just north of the Capital, so its rather easy to find.
Services, services, services.
What does this place offer that makes it better than any of the other plethora of banks/credit unions that I could go to?
I think that Hiway actually has a gazillion (technical term) services that it provides. I could attempt, in what I am hoping to make a fairly succinct review, to elaborate on all services, but since I don’t have the time, nor frankly do I want to take the time, you must deal with the bits I’ve dealt with (mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha). So, without further ado, lets move on to things I have dealt with:
Accounts : rates left out for the faint of heart and the changing rates
You can get pretty much any kind of account you would ever want at Hiway (besides of course, the much sought after Swiss Bank account, which is tough for them to provide since they are neither Swiss, nor do they have a branch in Switzerland). Personally, I have both a savings and a checking account at Hiway. As with many credit unions, and banks for that matter, you earn interest on any and all deposit accounts that you have with Hiway. Hence, even though the return is quite low, you make money by having cash in your checking account (and there is no minimum balance).
There are actually two different types of savings accounts, your share account (of which your first $5 is your “share” meaning that you can vote and the like, and which also means that you can’t touch it), which earns different interest rates depending on the money (they insure the first $2000 you have in there), and a secondary savings account which earns the normal rate of interest.
You can get overdraft protection on your accounts, but its sort of funky. You end up taking out a “Fast Credit Line” loan, which basically operates as a line of credit loan that they dip into (at $200 increments) when you overdraft. Personally, I think this is quite the feature.
Loans
Besides the aforementioned Line of Credit loan, Hiway of course has any number of different loans with rather good rates (again, check the website for current rate information). I believe their process is rather low maintenance, unfortunately I can’t really compare and contrast since I haven’t been out shopping for too many loans.
Auto Buying Service
This was the service that brought me to the Credit Union. The basic idea of it is that you tell the service what kind of car you want (new/used, color, make, model, shape) and they go and find it for you. Not only that, but they negotiate the price with the dealer and hopefully get you a good price. They then do all of the loan paperwork and bring the car to the Credit Union for you to test drive (if you should so choose). Then, when you are finished, they either hand you the check to purchase the vehicle with, or they do all of the paperwork and you just sign on the dotted line, then drive away.
Both my girlfriend and I used this service, and loved it completely. It meant that I didn’t have to go out to the dealership and haggle with them, and nor did I have to be submitted to listening to them drone on about something which I didn’t care to listen to. The only caveat to this is that if you’re a good haggler, you’re probably going to get a better price on your own.
Internet Services
As with any bank or Credit Union that I will grace with my money, there has to be a good online presence so that I can avoid the bureaucratic nature of banks and the whole being sent around to various people before finding out what you are supposed to do.
Hiway has a very good online presence (actually better than a few banks that I have dealt with), with many of their forms, applications and rates being found on their website.
Beyond the simple forms you have complete access to all of your accounts over their “Tellernet” system, which provides you with the ability to monitor transactions and balances, and even to transfer money in between accounts. One of the nicer features I have found lately is the ability to change addresses and other things without having to tie up a teller’s (and your) time.
Let’s do the numbers
Now is the time where we offer some personal opinions and let you know if this really is a cool place or if it sucks
The good…
There are two really basic points that make Hiway a great place to put your money. The first is simply that they offer great service. I have yet to get the run around, and they are always able to meet my needs quickly and without any complaint. The only problem that I’ve had with getting what I want dealt with getting someone else to be a member that didn’t have proof that they were my roommate (I eventually went in and vouched for them personally, which worked).
The other good thing about banking here is that I know that my money is being used for things locally. I suppose there are people pulling money for use outside of Minnesota, but for the most part the money stays local, which means better things in the long run for St. Paul and Minnesota. (yeah, I’ll admit it, I’m a hippy).
The bad…
Unfortunately, there are a few bad things that I should bring up. The first is the ATM situation. While Hiway has negotiated a deal with Wells Fargo to use their ATM’s, the transactions take about 2 more days to process than usual, which means that putting deposits in through Wells Fargo can sort of suck as it takes awhile for your accounts to be credited. Personally, I’ve found that it is much faster to just send it in by mail, which is always sort of scary in my book. Often times, I just end up driving to Hiway in order to make my deposit and know it gets deposited on time, which brings me to the second bad thing.
To be blunt, Hiway’s hours suck. They are only open until 5pm which means that if you don’t work really close to Hiway, you have to either use your lunch hour or take some time off of work to get there to do your banking. I know that banks in general suck when it comes to this, but the lack of good ATM support really exacerbates this problem.
The Conclusion
When it comes down to it, I’m just a really, really big fan of Hiway Federal Credit Union. The amazing amount of services they offer, while not being a huge conglomerate bank, make me weak in the knees (so I get weak in the knees over weird things, give me a break). The ATMs and the hours really annoy me, but overall, I can give nothing but uber high marks to Hiway, and I think you should put your money with them!!! (harrumph)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Tibullus
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Member: Marc Chapman
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Reviews written: 69
Trusted by: 76 members
About Me:
Sometimes I like to look up and smile for the satellite pictures.
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