Big Fish, Little Fish
So Regions Bank and AmSouth are merging. Here we go again. Here I was, a happy-go-lucky Union Planters customer for, oh, the last 8-10 years or so. Then they go and merge with Regions. I feel sorry for the old Leader Federal customers--this would be the 3rd merger/takeover for them.
The Regions/Union Planters deal was kind of a win/lose situation for us. That is, there are some aspects of it which were annoying, yet another aspect of it which was a change for the better. For example, the Visa Checkcard that Regions offers has free rewards, which we didn't have with UP. Sure, the exchanges are absurd--spend $4000 and get a $5 Starbucks gift card. But hey, they're giving it to me, so I'm not complaining. Leah and I are awaiting $40 in gift cards for the Olive Garden/Red Lobster/Bahama Breeze family, which was ours for the bargain price of 16,000 points. But a free meal at Olive Garden is well worth it. I earned it, by gosh, by buying a refrigerator, groceries, gas, and online porn memberships. Wait, those cancelled--never mind.
In the annoying category, Regions online interface SUCKS. I basically refuse to open a bank statement (unless it's to file it), but would rather sign on and check things off. On the internet account interface, some online payments are so generic you can't even tell who they were written to. It'll say something like "DDA Post $25.00." Would it be too much to ask for a NAME? Another thing is that the branch that I usually visit--G'town and Trinity in Cordova--had a decent amount of business BEFORE the merger. Then it had to absorb not one, but TWO branch closings because of the Regions merger. There was a small branch inside of K-Mart, and a branch about 2 blocks away (across from said K-Mart). So now it's REALLY busy. And of course, on Fridays at lunch time, there's always 2 lanes of traffic backed up and 1 person working, which must be an FDIC mandated rule or something. 1 person--no more. 20 minutes in line is always acceptable.
Now you have the AmSouth deal. A branch right down the road from my Cordova branch. They gonna keep both branches? I doubt it. Service will definitely suffer. For a short time, I had an AmSouth account. I like their ATM's better, but there weren't too many of them. AmSouth is also a big partner with the Titans, and they currently offer a Titans logo Checkcard, which was cool. It wasn't the standard one, but there wasn't a cost for choosing the Titans design. The radio broadcast even features Mike Keith saying, "That's another AmSouth FIRST DOWN!!" It'll be interesting to see how the Titans relationship plays out with the new company, especially since they're keeping the Regions name. But then again, the Titans don't get too many first downs anyway, to it might be a moot point (he he he).
In short, I don't think it'll affect me much. My account number stayed the same with the UP/Regions merger, so hopefully there won't be any issues with the new deal. I guess the website will stay the same, so my login ID won't have to be changed to ER8%sel1?X or something like that. And if I can get a new Regions checkcard, with rewards, with a Titans logo, I'll be all set.
The Regions/Union Planters deal was kind of a win/lose situation for us. That is, there are some aspects of it which were annoying, yet another aspect of it which was a change for the better. For example, the Visa Checkcard that Regions offers has free rewards, which we didn't have with UP. Sure, the exchanges are absurd--spend $4000 and get a $5 Starbucks gift card. But hey, they're giving it to me, so I'm not complaining. Leah and I are awaiting $40 in gift cards for the Olive Garden/Red Lobster/Bahama Breeze family, which was ours for the bargain price of 16,000 points. But a free meal at Olive Garden is well worth it. I earned it, by gosh, by buying a refrigerator, groceries, gas, and online porn memberships. Wait, those cancelled--never mind.
In the annoying category, Regions online interface SUCKS. I basically refuse to open a bank statement (unless it's to file it), but would rather sign on and check things off. On the internet account interface, some online payments are so generic you can't even tell who they were written to. It'll say something like "DDA Post $25.00." Would it be too much to ask for a NAME? Another thing is that the branch that I usually visit--G'town and Trinity in Cordova--had a decent amount of business BEFORE the merger. Then it had to absorb not one, but TWO branch closings because of the Regions merger. There was a small branch inside of K-Mart, and a branch about 2 blocks away (across from said K-Mart). So now it's REALLY busy. And of course, on Fridays at lunch time, there's always 2 lanes of traffic backed up and 1 person working, which must be an FDIC mandated rule or something. 1 person--no more. 20 minutes in line is always acceptable.
Now you have the AmSouth deal. A branch right down the road from my Cordova branch. They gonna keep both branches? I doubt it. Service will definitely suffer. For a short time, I had an AmSouth account. I like their ATM's better, but there weren't too many of them. AmSouth is also a big partner with the Titans, and they currently offer a Titans logo Checkcard, which was cool. It wasn't the standard one, but there wasn't a cost for choosing the Titans design. The radio broadcast even features Mike Keith saying, "That's another AmSouth FIRST DOWN!!" It'll be interesting to see how the Titans relationship plays out with the new company, especially since they're keeping the Regions name. But then again, the Titans don't get too many first downs anyway, to it might be a moot point (he he he).
In short, I don't think it'll affect me much. My account number stayed the same with the UP/Regions merger, so hopefully there won't be any issues with the new deal. I guess the website will stay the same, so my login ID won't have to be changed to ER8%sel1?X or something like that. And if I can get a new Regions checkcard, with rewards, with a Titans logo, I'll be all set.
posted by Eric C at 11:03 AM
5 Comments:
I would just like to say that I'm very happy to see Wachovia opening branches in Memphis, so when I visit I don't have to pay ATM fees to another bank when I need a withdrawal.
That's why I switched to Bank of America. I have access to bank branches and ATM's in Waco, Memphis, and Nashville.
Regions was definitely a plus when it comes to that aspect....I don't think UP was present in the Nashville market, for example, but Regions certainly is.
Gee whiz, Jeff, it's almost as if the implication is that you're planning frequent trips to the Memphis area or something. Interesting. I'm puzzled. Flabbergasted. Utterly surprised.
/sarcasm off
Frequent trips that require cash!
A Titans check card and better online banking interface in exchange for inconvenient branches,long lines and slow service? Sounds like a fair trade...
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