Dovster

I linked to the Schwab brokerage account. It made two tiny deposits to my BoA checking accounts and I had to tell them how much the deposits were for -- when I did, the accounts were linked.

I never opened a Schwab checking account but was given one, along with both paper checks and a Visa card, upon request from the brokerage. However, when I have a problem/question about the checking account Schwab transfers my phone call to the bank.

Superorb

I have a Schwab Brokerage and Checking accounts. And BOTH of them allowed me to setup my ACH connections online, without mailing anything in. I have 7+ connections for both Schwab accounts. All were done online.

uds0

Thanks - here's what the SAVINGS account External Accounts window shows:

External Accounts
Download Schwab Bank Electronic Funds Transfer Enrollment Form to add accounts to transfer between your ...

so perhaps the paper form is unique to the savings account?

I know that external (ACH) transfers done via checking are online but by phone for savings, and that they are working on adding that feature to the savings account. Since I have no current need for checks and other stuff the checking account and brokerage account provide, and I already have too darn many accounts to track, the savings account is just the ticket.

Happy

If they are JT accounts, you would need to use paper forms.

If they are individual accounts, you can link up your external accounts online.

Fido allows one to link up external accounts online regardless it is individual or JT. But Schwab only allows individual, at least that was the case in the past.

Happy

The highest cash amount I ever used in a single trip was $400 in China this Summer (2 weeks in China followed by 2 weeks in France). I was annoyed that I had to pay cash everywhere. This is also a trip that I used ATMs many times because I constantly ran out of cash.

Other trips the cash amount was way lower because I used CC whenever I can, even for a 2 euro at supermarket. I just hate using cash which is difficult to keep track of while CC usages are all "on the record".

Why would you even incur a 3% forex fee and $5 withdrawal fee when there are several options that would be free on both? I dont think I have paid such fees for like 15 years.

Besides, my time and energy are much more limited than many of you who would spend it on this, even for the high road some of you claim to be taking.

Happy

You also need to pay attention on the BofA Global Network - the member banks only have free ATM withdrawals in their home countries - i.e. if you use Scotia bank in Canada, the ATM withdrawal is free with your BofA card, but if you use it in Mexico, you would be charged by BofA ATM withdrawal fee. ditto Deutsche bank only works in Germany, not anywhere else, such as China where you would need to take your money from Construction bank's ATM.

That is why the Fido and Schwab cards are so much better - no need to find a specific bank in a specific country to avoid fee. One can walk into any bank, or any financial institution anywhere in the world for ATM withdrawals without worrying about the fee.

That is why I made that distinction - that your living expenses are from US-based bank accounts and you live aboard for the most part of the year.

For travelers, it simply is not a big thing to get so wound up.

joshwex90

Deutsche Bank is free only in Germany or throughout the Euro zone?

uds0

Since BofA added 3% FTF fee to ALL transactions in Nov 2013, the GN doesn't avoid that fee.

Is Fido easy to qualify for and set up online and simple (no fees period, no minimums, no sneaky or annoying stuff, etc)?

Is Fido card chip and signature/pin?

Here's a sort thread on this card:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...xperience.html

Dovster

That does not apply to the BoA Signature Travel Rewards Card, although I wouldn't use it for ATM withdrawals -- in fact, I don't know if I can.

uds0

Best you not even try!

If you need to use a CREDIT card for cash advances, Andrews FCU is one of the very few that charges only low interest (no FTF, including no 1% VISA ISA fee pass through, no monthly, no annual) and no cash advance fee.

True, the BofA Travel Rewards card is one of the rare VISA CREDIT cards with no annual fee, no FTF (including no VISA 1% ISA) and 1.5 cents/dollar, and has chip and signature (may even support online pin but BofA doesn't claim that even though CVM shows it).

A perhaps more focused forum for no/low fee CREDIT card discussions:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...n-fees-26.html

Happy

Only free in Germany.

In Spain you need to use Santander.

I dont know there is any other banks in Europe that belong to BofA's Global Network than Deutsche and Santander.

I used to carry a little slip listed out all the member banks in my wallet but I threw it away ever since I switched to use Fido / Schwab exclusively a few years ago. Such a freedom gained. Can walk in a financial institution (not a retail bank per se) in some port cities and use either Fido or Schwab card to get some cash without fee of any kind. Did this at Medeira and Cadiz.

Happy

No idea on BofA's adding forex fee on ATM withdrawal. Stopped using BofA cards several years ago.

Also no idea on any nuisance of Fido account.

We have both Fidelity and Schwab brokerage accounts for over 25 years. The Cash Management account used to be Fido's response to Schwab's Investor Checking and was called mySmartCash or some catchy name. It is linked to the brokerage account but one can turn off the overdraft function - meaning it would not use any fund in the brokerage account once this function is turned off.

I usually only have a few hundreds in those cash accounts and only put some funds in before a trip just as a reserve. We hardly used more than 200 euro in our European trips which normally are a month or more long. The only trips that used a lot of cash were trip to Russia and to China - In Russia it was because transportation costs could only be paid by cash, and it could be a lot when you stayed a week in St. Petersburg and a week in Moscow. In China it was because it is basically still a cash society.

Tidbits on Fido and Schwab

As I mentioned before, the only advantage Fido has over Schwab is that Fido has local toll-free numbers in many countries - this can become handy should you need to contact them. The BNP at Aix-en-Provence not only ate my Fido card but did not give me the 100 euro withdrawn. I saw a withdrawal and a credit posted back to the account that day, so I thought it was fine. Yet, on next day the credit disappeared, leaving me 100 euro short. By that time, we were already in Italy, our next port of call. Contacted Fido brokerage which rep patched me to the bank rep (no idea which bank had our account) and reported the incident. I also did an online chat, as well as SM to Fido on this. They replied back via REGULAR email explaining the missing credit - because BNP did not use the same authorization on withdrawal to put back the credit - when there was no matching authorization, the credit would fall off after a biz day, was the reason given, but they assured me I would keep whole (they better!) and the credit reappeared a few days later.

Schwab is harder to communicate by phone, but SM works well.

Because Schwab has its own bank, the transactions even on weekend and holiday, would post in correct sequence. Fido's timeline could mess up - if you have a withdrawal on Sat or Sun, and then have another withdrawal on Mon - the Mon's withdrawal could post earlier than the one made on the preceding weekend - it could be confusing first time you saw that happening.

Schwab also has nicer reps and better customer services. Plus Schwab has a higher daily limit which could be raised should you need higher limit. Fido has a low $500 limit and the reps have NO CLUE why it is so low when the customer has hundreds of thousands assets with them. The daily ATM limit is set by the bank the client's account assigned to - that is the reason why but the CSRs all are clueless.

uds0

Thanks again for your most helpful posts.

To be clear, Fido = Fidelity?

Since the Schwab rep I chatted with was very clear, repeatedly, stating that walk up "in bank" teller fee for "cash advance" (which he also repeatedly insisted was called an "advance", not a "withdrawal" as it is at an ATM for some odd reason) was not reimbursed because it was a "convenience" fee, and only ATM cash withdrawal fees (not balance inquiry, etc) were reimbursed (and VISA ISA 1% fee was absorbed), please clarify your "walk in" no fee experience.

Perhaps you mean use the ATM in the bank?

uds0

Sorry for the long post, and it does contain some useful info:

Activity ID: 6373866 Case ID: 4647926

Paul: For international transactions, VISA charges banks approx 1% "ISA" fee. Is that fee absorbed by State Farm Bank or passed on to the account holder please?
Paul: Is balance inquiry fee via "foreign" ATM also reimbursed (up to max reimbursement limit, if any)?
Adrianna: ... It looks like that the 1% fee would be a charge from Visa, meant as a currency conversion fee for international transactions. They may be able to direct you to get it refunded, however, if you contacted Visa the merchant. For any ATMs, whether in the USA or abroad, fees will be refunded up to $10 per statement cycle, or unlimited if you have a direct deposit. [at least during the billing cycle having ATM fees] ...
Paul: "ISA" is not currency conversion fee, rather it is for use of the network as International Service Assessment. "Visa charges acquirers an international service assessment fee" This is a common misconception.
Adrianna: Thank you for clarifying that, I actually was unaware of that information from Visa. In that case, we would be able to refund those fees to you, as the only fee you would be assessed would be any currency conversion fees. ...
Paul: Here is the specific language: "What is Visa's fee structure for international transactions? Visa Inc. does not assess any fees to cardholders or merchants. Visa applies International Service Assessment (ISA) fees ranging from 0.15 to 1 percent to its financial institution partners for their use of the global payment system."
Paul: This is a big deal to clarify in your agreement (which is silent on this) since I recently chose Schwab because they did spell it out
Paul: and Schwab card is chip and online, so I still need a timeline for State Farm to add that critical feature needed in many places while traveling abroad.
Adrianna: Of course, that is understandable, and I can certainly submit feedback regarding that chip and online access for you, to be reviewed by bank leadership for you. And let me call over to our ATM servicing unit to be certain about that for you, as I certainly don't want to provide any incorrect information. You have given a lot of information to work with, as well, which will help in describing this to our ATM unit. ...
Paul: "The fees are paid by financial institutions on transactions that require the use of our global infrastructure. Since Visa does not assess any fees to cardholders or merchants, we have no involvement in financial institution pricing to cardholders or merchants. If financial institutions or merchants decide to assess a foreign transaction fee to their customers, they are required to provide details to their cardholders and consumers." from same VISA disclosure may also be useful.
Paul: http://usa.visa.com/personal/card-be...q.jsp#anchor_1
Adrianna: Thank you for that, I am speaking with one of our ATM specialists right now, and I will let them know that as well. ...
Paul: Chip and pin availability forecast please? Is Balance inquiry fee reimbursed when using "foreign" ATM? (including ATMs in FOREIGN countries, which are also "foreign" ATMs) Some OFFline card terminals (standalone, no network access) abroad require OFFline PIN validation while other card terminals are ONline so only Online PIN validation is needed. Thus both ON and OFF line PIN validation is really needed (via the chip). OFFline PIN validation is not possible with magnetic strip since the PIN is not stored on the strip whereas it is on the chip with OFFline PIN capability.
Paul: Finally, since chip and PIN priority cards are issued all over the world EXCEPT the USA, which is now issuing chip and SIGNATURE with PIN as a 2nd method, US cardholders default to signature here and abroad, a real pain while traveling due to extra time, no benefit (no one checks signature), and delays caused by confusion of clerks expecting PIN request and getting piece of paper spit out for signature. State Farm Bank has a real opportunity to join the very few banks (UN FCU and Diners Club) that have chip and pin priority chip cards in the US. Sorry for the blast of info, and this stuff is not well understood by many bank reps or decision makers.
Adrianna: Paul, I do appreciate your patience as I spoke with our ATM servicing unit here, and no need to apologize about all the information, this is all helping me to service customers in the future as well. They also confirmed that VISA does assess all of those fees. However, upon closer reading of the above disclosures you sent, it does show that we would assess those fees, you are correct, but our bank information about fee refunds will be taken care of on our end, as we would refund them. Fees assessed while doing international travel may need to be refunded manually, but we are able to do so.
Adrianna: If you would like any refunds for it, any receipts you can keep while abroad will be helpful in getting refunded, as well. As we are a virtual bank, we would need a written request sent to us about any fees you are assessed, along with the receipt documentation, and we can refund it for you.
Adrianna: And I do not have chip or PIN availability, I do apologize about that, Paul, but that feedback I submit will be sure to include all of the information you included above, which is very thorough and will help our decision makers.

Paul: In summary, 1) State Farm Bank either does NOT pass on the approx 1% VISA ISA fee to customers or reimburses it by request. 2) It also reimburses any balance inquiry fee assessed by "foreign" ATMs. 3) The exchange rate used for foreign transactions does not include the VISA ISA fee.
Adrianna: Yes, that is all correct, Paul, from my information on the disclosures, on the VISA website, and from the ATM specialist I spoke with.

Paul: Any timeline on chip and pin (or signature)?
Adrianna: No, I do apologize about that Paul, they did not have a timeline for it at this time.

Note: currently, since ATMs worldwide, in my experience and others' reports, virtually always accept mag strip+pin, chip and pin/signature is most important for purchases. Of course, if ATMs did enforce chip only (or at least chip over mag strip), that would be a huge security improvement.

joshwex90

I really don't understand why you need to continue speaking to these reps who most likely (as evidenced by your conversation with them) have no clue what you're talking about.
Field evidence has shown State Farm to offer the standard Visa rate of conversion exactly (meaning no additional 1% charge).