Comments on: Washington Mutual Online Savings Account Opening Process and Review

By: TheMightyQuinn

TheMightyQuinn — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:30:56 +0000

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:29:34 +0000

Lol! Your WAMU account is now a Chase account. great timing.

By: Chris Desmond

Chris Desmond — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:14:14 +0000

I called WAMU and “Ken” said credit-card funding does NOT result in a cash advance, but instead just like a regular purchase, on my credit card. Eager to reap $200 tax-free dollars using my penfed.org VISA card for a $10k online savings deposit, I clicked away, only to be told by WAMU’s online computer no, one can only deposit $300 that way. But I like the ACH-funding option, and it was otherwise smooth and efficient.

By: Dinesh

Dinesh — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:40:49 +0000

Thanks Nickel, I’m heading to WaMu Online

By: nickel

nickel — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:38:08 +0000

Dinesh: WaMu is FDIC insured, so as long as you respect the FDIC insurance limits, you should be fine.

By: Dinesh

Dinesh — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:36:32 +0000

Confusion is Me, what is the potential risk that I would be facing by opening a savings account in the new wake of the economic scenario? Simply, would I get my hard earned money back, jst in case the bank goes kaput? Kindly advice.

By: nickel

nickel — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:32:34 +0000

George: The Quicken Mac problem isn’t limited to WaMu. I can’t get it to work for a wide variety of banks. It appears to be a Quicken problem more than a bank problem. Also, the limitation on withdrawals applies to *all* savings accounts, it’s not WaMu’s rule.

By: george

george — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:10:13 +0000

umm…a few things: one, listen to what Jim Cramer has to say about WaMu; secondly, remember you have limited withdrawals from their SAVINGS account, this wasn’t stated when I signed up and whereas ING emailed a warning, WaMu dinged me $10, then emailed me.
They also have a black hole time period every night and sometimes for days when you don’t know, really, what the balance is in your account.
Oh, whether its me or WaMu, I cannot download directly into Quicken for Macs no matter what they say.
Not worth it to me.

By: TheMightyQuinn

TheMightyQuinn — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:08:29 +0000

I opened a free checking and online savings last night. I’ve also been buying their CDs. If enough people did this, it might help WaMy stave off collapse.

By: Chris Benard

Chris Benard — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:31:37 +0000

I’d also like to know about the “credit card” part. That’s what caught my eye. If it’s a “purchase”, I’ll be all over that, likely up to my limit and then pay it off immediately, creating a pseudo-transfer with a hell of a lot of cash back (Chase Freedom).

Yes, I know it caps out at $600 3% cash back each month, before someone says that, but I’ll take the 1% too.

By: WiseMoneyMatters

WiseMoneyMatters — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:26:33 +0000

You can usually use a Debit Card as a Credit Card for such transactions.

By: g

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:28:18 +0000

Ditto on the concern that funding with a credit card will be a ‘cash advance’ – which will include fees, immediate interest accrual, and likely no ‘reward’/'points’. I would investigate further before funding with a credit card (But if it does count as a purchase ~ that would be awesome).

By: jennifer

jennifer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:11:40 +0000

so if you fund your account using a credit card, does that count as a cash advance?

By: WiseMoneyMatters

WiseMoneyMatters — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:01:08 +0000

John,
Yes I understand that the cap is $100,000. I’m not sure if I will have over or under $100,000 after I pay off all my debts (1 credit card, 2 cars, current mortgage). It’s right around that number though. Anything over $100,000 will go into the Money Market account I already have at BoA.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:01:38 +0000

This walkthrough convinced me to go ahead and open an account there. I guess it just pointed out how simple it was. I had been planning and planning on doing it, but hadn’t gotten around to it, so thanks!

-Matthew

By: Eric Deckman

Eric Deckman — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:39:57 +0000

Wouldn’t be prudent…It’s only $4000 if you leave it there for a year. I wonder how big the locks on the door will be in a year’s time. Buffet wouldn’t do it. Always ask “WWBD”. What would Buffet do?

By: john

john — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:38:50 +0000

WiseMoneyMatters – you probably want to split that between two accounts, as I believe the FDIC insurance cap is 100k.

nickel – let me get this straight – you can fund your account with a *credit card*? I’m sure certain crazies will be interested in doing this just for the cashback on their card.

By: WiseMoneyMatters

WiseMoneyMatters — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:07:36 +0000

Thanks for this walkthrough. I’ve got about $100,000 I need to deposit into an account after my house sells while we look for a new house. I was thinking about WaMu, but was worried given their recent headlines. I know they are FDIC insured, but I just don’t want to deal with the hassle if they do go under.

I may go ahead and do it though. That 4% looks nice.