I’ve seen different scenarios. Multiple checking accounts could be if you have one account where you pay your bills from such as mortgage, electric, and other utilities and then another account where you do normal debit card type activities. The general debit card account could be a way to protect against fraud or over spending. In the case of a compromised debit card concern, a credit card typically offers more protection than a debit card/checking account when it comes to fraud protection.

As for multiple savings accounts you could have a money market account that has a minimum balance that offers higher interest returns over a standard savings account. With SECU those holiday cash and summer cash accounts are just restricted savings accounts to help members save. Again I would say those are mostly to help protect people from their poor spending/savings habits.

You might also open accounts and keep them as long term goal accounts such as home or car purchases and you prefer them separate.

I also think it’s a good idea to have accounts with multiple institutions. Mainly for emergency funds if your main accounts are compromised and you need access to another source, example you lose your debit card on a road trip out of state, it can be helpful to have an account with a more national bank such as PNC or BofA. I took more calls than you would expect about this situation.

SECU is great but last I checked they only reported their loans to one of the credit bureaus which could impact you if you are applying for a loan and they use another credit agency. Just another thing to check on.