Selecting a bank prior to basic training?

I am going to basic training not to long from now, my recruiter is on leave and I havent been able to contact him, I was wondering if anyone knows, does it matter which bank I make an account at so my earning while training can be direct deposited? I thought I heard somewhere that it should be a bank that has offices all over the nation.... is that true?

just make sure you have checks with you if your ATM card doesn't get there in time so you can ship, and the 1199 is filled out properly.

You can change banks once you finish training and get to your permanent duty station.

This is a website you should go to and not forget the address to. <vajoe.com> You will get all the answers to all your questions by fellow soldiers

Yes.
Pick one of the big chains so you can walk in anywhere. Makes it easier to draw cash without extra fees from the ATMs.

Not necessarily. Any bank will accept direct deposits but in order to write checks, you would be better served to apply at a bank like Bank of America which has offices and banks nationwide.

Bank of America is good, but there will be a bank that can set up accounts for you at all the basic trainings. If you don't have the cash to start an account or the bank won't let you open a checking account for what ever reason.

I went and looked at VAJOE.COM and found it will take you a long time to find the answer to your question there. I always used Bank of America as they are one of the largest banks in the world and so money and ATM's are everywhere.

depends on what branch your in.. if your going navy, navy federal credit union will show up @ boot camp and offer you an account.. they're world wide {altho somewhat limited} but definitely go with one that has nationwide atms, etc. Look for a bank that has no ATM fees as there is no point in paying fees twice if you can avoid it. After boot camp you can change banks it just takes a few weeks for paper work to switch. If you do this DO NOT close your old account(s) until they new one is receiving pay to it. USAA is a good option if you don't mind having to do everything online or on the phone as they not only have no ATM fees they refund fees charged by the ATM machine's owning bank.

It can be any bank you want. When my husband first enlisted, his pay went to a local bank that only had a few branches in our hometown. The reasoning behind using a national bank is that you can go to a branch near you to make deposits, etc, and save on ATM fees. It will also save you from having to change banks every time you move to a new duty station.

It doesn't really matter though. When we lived in Ft Polk, LA, there were no national banks in town. We use USAA now, which is a military bank. They don't have branches, but I do everything online. They also reimburse you for ATM fees. I'm not sure if you can set up an account with them before you have actually been in-processed into the military.