How to sell EE-Bonds / I-Bonds
 

I understand that I can buy i-bonds/ee-bonds from the US gov online (and charge it to a ffm credit card). Would I be able to sell the bonds (after the required 6-months) at any bank? What is the procedure? Do I need to have an account at that bank?

Hope one of you can help me on these

At my bank (Union Bank of California) they gave me a form to fill out which I mailed with the bond in a business-reply envelope they also provided. Money showed up in my account a few days later.

http://www.savingsbond.gov/

Some answers to your questions might lie here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I was able to redeem mine at Wells Fargo, where they provided me with the funds once I turned them in to the bank.

I did a little research on this as I just purchased my first I Bonds. It seemed that most local branches of large banks would cash $1000 of bonds a day, but to cash out a large sum you would need an account with that bank. Bank of America has a fee-free My Access Checking Acct (free with direct deposit) and after a six month history with the account they will deposit my $30,000 of I Bonds directly into my checking account (they have forms to fill out that you deposit with your bonds - treated like any deposit).

Hope this helps.

I thought you had to hold the bonds for a certain amount of time (6 months is what I recall) before you cash them in. Is this not correct? Will banks do it immediately? How long does it take to receive the bonds and get the money back in your checking account?

Yes, you must hold them at least 6 months - although that means 6 months from the issue date, which is the 1st of the month in which you purchase them. There is a 3 month interest penalty, if cashed in before 5 years. I can't answer any of your other questions, as I haven't cashed any yet.

Thanks a lot for the replies. I would check with my local bank about cashing-in the bonds.

FWIW, I bank at Citibank. The branch told me that they do not redeem Series I bonds (but do redeem EE bonds). I called customer service and inquired as to why and to register a complaint. They had no answer and promised to call me back. Never did. They did refer me to the Federal Reserve - which of course says all major banks redeem them. Pretty odd - Citibank is about as "major" as they come.

How much will this end up costing you?

I'm assuming that if you buy the bonds, hold them for 6 months and cash them in you should get back at least what you paid, maybe a bit more.

So, am I correct in thinking that you'll basically get the miles for free at the end of the day, or am I missing something?

d

There are numerous threads touching on this very topic. If you cash out after 6-months, before 5 years, you lose 1/2 of earned interest.

FALSE.

If you cash out before 5 years, you lose only the last three months' worth of interest.

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/mar/...restronredempt


Kathy

And to answer the original question, look here:

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/mar/...deem.htm#where


Kathy