The BEST Bank Account For American Expats

0to60 · Post by **0to60** » Thu Aug 21, 2014 10:55 pm

Just had an online chat with one of their representatives. He confirmed that all of their branches(including San Francisco) are brokerage firms. They do not accept or give out cash.

YouTube · Post by **General Mackevili** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 1:34 pm

giblet wrote:Good point. They block my card ALL OF THE TIME ...

Yeah, they wanted to know the EXACT date I was heading to the desert.

They said they would block any transaction in the States starting the date I gave them, so it had to be exact, and the "note" in the system would only last 30 days.

They did say it would learn my travel habits over time though, whatever that means.

0to60 wrote:Just had an online chat with one of their representatives. He confirmed that all of their branches(including San Francisco) are brokerage firms. They do not accept or give out cash.

You might technically be right about the "cash."

To get the banking side started I had to make a deposit at the branch, BUT they couldn't take cash, so I had to run over to a 7/11 and get a money order. For what it's worth...

They were also the most competent when it came to setting up my power of attorney. Took less than 10 minutes. My Wells Fargo took over 30 minutes, and my local/regional bank took 2 trips and well over an hour, even though I had already done one there earlier this year and I was simply trying to update it. Seemed like it was the first one that branch had ever done, both times.

I also found a notary that charged $3 a page, which must be a steal. And no charge for the 2 witnesses.

I think I'm set on all of my paperwork, for once.

Sir_Quality_U_Feel · Post by **Sir_Quality_U_Feel** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 1:16 am

I use Chase bank. They don't charge me a foreign trans. fee when I withdraw from Canadia bank. I must keep 1500+ USD in my account at all times. I really do love not being hit with that 5$ FTF at the ATM. It seems to be only when I use my Chase VISA card at Canadia bank.

I am allowed 500 USD withdraws from Canadia bank. Never tried another bank.

0to60 · Post by **0to60** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 2:59 am

If you get electronic deposits from Social Security or Paypal, this would be a good option. Since right now all my money comes from Asia in cash, it doesn't really do anything for me. I doubt many employers in Cambodia will pay you via direct deposit.

Sir_Quality_U_Feel · Post by **Sir_Quality_U_Feel** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 8:22 am

0to60 wrote:If you get electronic deposits from Social Security or Paypal, this would be a good option. Since right now all my money comes from Asia in cash, it doesn't really do anything for me. I doubt many employers in Cambodia will pay you via direct deposit.

The NGO I used to work for did direct deposit. It was freaking annoying, though! I had to open up a bank account that was different from my Canadia bank. For some reason the boss wouldn't DD into Canadia. So every payday I had to go to one bank, withdraw all the money and then take it over to Canadia. Would have been easier to just get the cheque in hand.

I had an old school pay us in cash in an envelope. I never did like leaving work with $1000+ cash in my pocket, just in case I got mugged or something.

wackyjacky · Post by **wackyjacky** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 9:14 am

Sir_Quality_U_Feel wrote:I use Chase bank. They don't charge me a foreign trans. fee when I withdraw from Canadia bank. I must keep 1500+ USD in my account at all times. I really do love not being hit with that 5$ FTF at the ATM. It seems to be only when I use my Chase VISA card at Canadia bank.

I am allowed 500 USD withdraws from Canadia bank. Never tried another bank.

I wish they offered that a couple years back, I wouldn't have had to switch to First Republic. FR is a real bank, takes & disperses cash. That's why I went with them instead of Chuck. Most of Chase credit cards don't charge for FOREX either.

4000islandsguy · Post by **4000islandsguy** » Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:31 pm

General Mackevili wrote:

Yes, I know I said the "best." Get over it, LoL.

I've heard about this card before and finally got around to signing up while I'm back in the States.

It's a Charles Schwab brokerage and banking account.

I opened one with only $50 cash and there's no minimum balance requirement.

It's actually 2 separate accounts: 1 brokerage and 1 banking/checking account. I opened both at the same time.

Trading stocks on the NYSE costs only $8 if done online.

Also, any amount of money up to $250,000 in your "checking account" is FDIC insured.

There are no charges at all for the bank account or the brokerage account. You DO need to deposit at least $1 into the checking account to trigger them to send you a Visa card, which takes about a week.

It's all truly free.

No membership charges.

No charges for the Visa card.

No foreign transaction charges.

And the best part! THERE ARE NO FEES AT ALL TO WITHDRAW CASH FROM ANY ATM'S WORLDWIDE! !

You can use ANY ATM around the world and they charge you NOTHING. They even pay the ATM fees for you! That's crazy! ! ! No more hunting around Cambodia for a Canadia Bank ATM to avoid ATM charges.

So, if you want to withdraw $100 from your account at any ATM in the world that takes Visa, your account is only deducted $100, total.

That's as good as it gets for expats! !
http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/ban ... count_faqs

I am somewhat suspicious, where and when did you amass $50 cash all at one time? Did Vlad kick you a very short term payday loan?

4000islandsguy · Post by **4000islandsguy** » Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:33 pm

General Mackevili wrote:

Yes, I know I said the "best." Get over it, LoL.

I've heard about this card before and finally got around to signing up while I'm back in the States.

It's a Charles Schwab brokerage and banking account.

I opened one with only $50 cash and there's no minimum balance requirement.

It's actually 2 separate accounts: 1 brokerage and 1 banking/checking account. I opened both at the same time.

Trading stocks on the NYSE costs only $8 if done online.

Also, any amount of money up to $250,000 in your "checking account" is FDIC insured.

There are no charges at all for the bank account or the brokerage account. You DO need to deposit at least $1 into the checking account to trigger them to send you a Visa card, which takes about a week.

It's all truly free.

No membership charges.

No charges for the Visa card.

No foreign transaction charges.

And the best part! THERE ARE NO FEES AT ALL TO WITHDRAW CASH FROM ANY ATM'S WORLDWIDE! !

You can use ANY ATM around the world and they charge you NOTHING. They even pay the ATM fees for you! That's crazy! ! ! No more hunting around Cambodia for a Canadia Bank ATM to avoid ATM charges.

So, if you want to withdraw $100 from your account at any ATM in the world that takes Visa, your account is only deducted $100, total.

That's as good as it gets for expats! !
http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/ban ... count_faqs

StroppyChops · Post by **StroppyChops** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 1:36 am

4000islandsguy wrote:I am somewhat suspicious, where and when did you amass $50 cash all at one time? Did Vlad kick you a very short term payday loan?

Come on now, you know he's sensitive about his height...

Driftless · Post by **Driftless** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 4:49 am

I recently inquired at CS about opening a bank account and was told if I did not make any transactions in the US for more than six months they would lock the account. I don't know if making a trade or direct deposit counts as a transaction. Food for thought.

The BEST Bank Account For American Expats

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