Good Credit Union or Bank?

[SydneyBristow]

Hey all, I am a out of state student at the U of O, and making some longer term plans to be in the Northwest. I would really love to start an account with a CU or Bank here, and looking for some recommendations. I want a Bank that has branches in Washington (Seattle/Tacoma and maybe some eastern Washington) and Oregon, but not be a huge corporation; a credit union would be ideal. Any thoughts? I am also posting this in the Oregon forum :)
Thanks for the help,
Syd

[Mojambo]

1. I'm with Watermark CU

They've been terrific for me. Did a car loan through them.

Last I checked they had 5 branches in WA state, but they're all in Seattle and the eastside. Nothing east of the mountains or in Oregon.

[eridani]

2. I am with three--Boeing Employees Credit Union (Renton)

Group Health Credit Union (Seattle)
Woodstone Credit Union (based out of Federal Way)

BECU or GHCU might have branches around the state, but I don't think Woodstone does. Credit unions tend to have fewer branches than regular banks.

[Sebastian Doyle]

4. BECU seems to have less branches than they used to

They had branches in Safeway for a while, but they seem to all be gone now, at least in the Olympia area. Good news is that most credit unions around here are part of the "Shared Branching Network" which means you can use the ATM's at other credit unions without any sort of fees, and some of these other credit unions will even take deposits. Kinda sucks not having an "official" local branch anymore, but so far I haven't run into any problems using the other credit unions.

[eridani]

5. That's odd. Still in my Safeway just south of Seattle n/t

[regnaD kciN]

6. Same here, but it's because of the "shared network" mentioned above...

They don't need branches everywhere in Washington, because there will always be a branch of the network nearby that can function as part of your own credit union. As a matter of fact, it goes well beyond Washington. When WaMu got handed to Chase, I moved my accounts to BECU, and discovered that BECU and its network has almost as many ATMs nationwide as Chase does.

[Norrin Radd]

3. I second Watermark being good.

[woofless]

7. I have been very happy with BECU.

We also have a joint account at Industrial Credit Union up here in Whatcom County. One has my car loan and the other has our mortgage. Could not be more satisfied.

[quiller4]

8. Recommend BECU as a credit union or Columbia Bank. n/t