islandguy84

You only need to setup the first transfer account by mail. I was able to add any subsequent accounts online and then the verification process was actually quicker than Fidelity's because they use trial deposits which take 1-2 days instead of Fidelity's 5 business days.

freeflyin

I have not seen any recent posting on the length of approval time if not instantly approved.

I applied online on 9/21 and status is still showing pending decision.

FICO in the 800 range,but I do have many CC accounts active with significant limits,but always pay in full.

Any insight here as to whether I should be concerned?

Update 9/30.This morning the website is showing approval with a 15K credit line.It took a bit longer than I expected,but I am anxious to get this going.Timing is not good though-I am overseas now and would have liked it for this trip.Thanks everyone for your input

925

I had the same thing happen to me. It was very annoying that they set the expectation for immediate approval, then gave the message that you got, then didn't communicate well. The ONLY communication I think you will get is that finally the credit cards will show up in your mail box, and MAYBE a phone call. IIRC, you will NOT get an email, and they will NOT update your status online.

rove312

I got mine in July, and I found out on the Web site that I'd been approved, with the line of credit, before the card arrived in the mail.

zakami

I applied in March and had the same experience.

Happy

Call them to find out the status if you indeed want the card.

I applied in late April specifically for an extensive overseas trip to be taken between late May and early July. FIA took their sweet time to review my application. After not hearing anything for almost 2 weeks, I finally called them and told them the sole reason I applied this card was for the 0% forex as we were very happy with Fidelity, but wanted a Visa with 0% forex. After some back and forth, they reduced the CL from an existing Schwab card and gave me approval on the 2% card over the phone with the CL I wanted. Card arrived 2 weeks before we departed for the long trip. There is never any communication from them in the 2 weeks before my call.

Slightly OT - I opened the brokerage account after receiving the credit card. It did not generate any hard pull. However, when I enquire whether it would be any hard pull if I get the Investor Checking Account to go with the brokerage account, I was told they could NOT guarantee there would be no hard pull. After a few emails back and forth on the Soft Pull versus Hard Pull subject, they called me today and basically subtlely told me, despite we had previous history with Schwab brokerage (1994), but since we never have banking history with Schwab Bank, they might do a hard pull for the Investor Checking Account. The rep suggested me to have a cover letter attached to the application form to stress that if a hard pull is required, then customer does NOT want to open the checking account....

The reason for opening the Checking Account is, its rate is 0.75% for parking idle cash, versus the MMA inside the brokerage account only pays 0.25% - totally out of whack that the checking account pays twice as much. Also the check card has a $2000 daily limit versus Fido's mySmartCash has only $500? daily limit? I knew I could not withdraw 400 Euro but could do 300 Euro.

southerndoc

I wasn't approved online either. I called them 5 minutes later and they approved it with a 20k limit.

martona

Is there a way to get these guys to report the CL to the credit bureaus?

I have a few cards, most of them report the CL. I pay in full every month, yet my score constantly suffers from using too large a % of my available credit.

This card supposedly has no limit, which is bogus, as everyone knows. The only effect of this "no limit" policy is the negative factor on your credit report. Any way around that?

josephstern

Your Schwab VISA has no limit? I think you're the first to report that here. I've only seen that before with Amexs.

dinosims

Technically, the Schwab Signature Visa card has a credit line, as well as 'no spending limit' meaning that if you go over your CL, there's no fee, but as to whether or not they'l approve charges over your CL, that's another story. For me, once I hit my limit, I started getting declined, even though I pay in full every month.

mia

No preset limit is not the same as "no limit", and is a standard feature of all VISA Signature and Mastercard World & World Elite cards. American Express charge cards (Green, Gold, Platinum, Centurion) have "no preset limit", but credit cards issued by American Express do have specified limits. American Express cards issued by Bank of America, Citi, etc vary.

No preset limit merely means that a transaction which would exceed the stated limit will be considered based on the information known to the issuer. It doesn't assure approval. It doesn't mean the cardholder is special


VISA Signature website:
http://usa.visa.com/personal/visa-si...fits/index.jsp


Mastercard World Elite website:
http://www.priceless.com/us/personal..._services.html

Mastercard World website:
http://www.priceless.com/us/personal....pcom.us.world

mia

Ask the issuer if you can "downgrade" to the Platinum Plus version of the card. VISA Signature has the "no preset limit" feature, but Platinum Plus does not.

buschoi

Just a data point. When I applied for the Investor Checking Account when they rolled it out in late 2007 or early 2008, they didn't hard pull on me. The new account was opened in about a week, and then I received all the confirmation documents. Of course things may have changed a lot since then. This is just my experience.

jbalmuth

Are you sure that you're talking about the Schwab accounts? This appears to directly contradict both my lengthy conversation with a Schwab CS rep on the phone, and my actual experience. To my knowledge there is not currently a way to add subsequent accounts online, and would appreciate knowing how you accomplished this. Thanks in advance!

bawr

It is possible to add external accounts for ACH transfers online, and verify them with trial deposits, if you also have a Schwab One brokerage account.