Alternatives to Bank of America?

[OliverKlozerof]

I'm finally past fed up with BoA (long story), and am looking for an alternative. Things I need/hoping for:

 

- dependably withdraw cash from ATMs in USA, Europe, Asia and elsewhere

- no fee (I'm happy to keep reasonable minimum balance, if necessary)

- checking, I guess...though almost can't remember last time I wrote one

- very good website

- very easy to contact them via messaging system on their site (I DO NOT want to have to call them, and I DEFINITELY do not want to deal with a voice maze or automated robot who tells me my acct balance and 20 other things I'm not interested in)

- good smartphone app

- very easy to get an ACTUAL PERSON by phone if ever necessary

- easy to transfer money in and out online

- no ads

- can set up acct without having to appear in person in USA (Thailand, no problem of course)

 

I guess you get my drift. Any helpful suggestions appreciated. Thx.

 

[ackruu123]

Although I don't think that it is technically a bank, I use Fidelity and have a Cash Management account with them.  It ticks most of your boxes.

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

16 minutes ago, ackruu123 said:

Although I don't think that it is technically a bank, I use Fidelity and have a Cash Management account with them.  It ticks most of your boxes.

Agree with the Fidelity suggestion.  Had my debit card cloned in Indonesia and they refunded the money fairly quickly.  As of now you do need to call them to put travel notifications.

 

[OliverKlozerof]

4 minutes ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

Agree with the Fidelity suggestion.  Had my debit card cloned in Indonesia and they refunded the money fairly quickly.  As of now you do need to call them to put travel notifications.

 

Hello Mr. Holzerfilled. Klozerof here. (Hello ackruu123.)

Actually the Fidelity idea is interesting...especially since I already have an acct with them. It currently has 29 cents in it. (I needed an acct there a few years ago for some reason, but have always used Schwab for investment.)

So, what--I just need to deposit some cash there then request credit and debit cards? Anything else?

Hmm, setting travel advice by phone? At least that's something BoA has online. But if it's easy to get through to them and you're not abused by voice maze/stupid music/informercials, then might be tolerable.
Come to think of it, maybe I could use my Schwab acct same way?? May have to look into that.

 

 

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

1 hour ago, OliverKlozerof said:

Hello Mr. Holzerfilled. Klozerof here. (Hello ackruu123.)

Actually the Fidelity idea is interesting...especially since I already have an acct with them. It currently has 29 cents in it. (I needed an acct there a few years ago for some reason, but have always used Schwab for investment.)

So, what--I just need to deposit some cash there then request credit and debit cards? Anything else?

Hmm, setting travel advice by phone? At least that's something BoA has online. But if it's easy to get through to them and you're not abused by voice maze/stupid music/informercials, then might be tolerable.
Come to think of it, maybe I could use my Schwab acct same way?? May have to look into that.

 

 

I believe Schwab has a debit card that reimburses all ATM fees as well.  Yes Fidelity has not integrated travel notification ability into their website yet unlike every other financial institution I use.  Yet when my card got cloned and used (6 months after I last used it) Fidelity let it be used 4 different times at ATMs before they locked it.  So i asked them why have i been calling you the last three years before i travel to put travel notifications if you are going to let someone make multiple withdrawals from Indonesia?  No good answer. 

[asiaexpat]

OP, if you have Schwab already I suggest suing them over Fidelity. I have Fidelity and find them a little difficult to deal with from Thailand. To get the Money Management account you will need to be in the USA most likely (that was a retirement when I open that account.) Trying to reset ATM Pin has been impossible from Thailand so far. Schwab has been more usable.

[sukhumvitneon]

Charles Schwab Bank high yield investor checking is the way to go.  No ATM fees charged by them plus they reimburse ATM fees worldwide.

[DrDave]

I have both BofA and Fidelity accounts.

For the Fidelity CMA account, I had to setup the outgoing transfers (wire and EFT) in person at a local office when I was in the US. This is because Fidelity required something called a Medallion guarantee, which is similar to a notarization, if the forms are filled out off-site and mailed/faxed in. The problem was that a Medallion guarantee cannot be obtained anywhere in Thailand. Once setup, transfers were easily initiated through their website. This was about 5 years ago, so I'm not sure if the Medallion requirement is still in place, but it's something you should check into if you're considering using Fidelity to wire funds to your Thai bank.

[rwill]

I have read about N26.  They have transferwise integrated into their service.  But they are not open in the USA yet.  It is supposed to be this year.  I am on their waiting list.

 

As mentioned above Charles Schwab is a good choice.  But may be hard to open without actually being in the USA.  I have read to use a vpn to apply otherwise they will ask you to visit an office.  They ask a bunch of security questions too about past accounts and addresses and such.

[Pinot]

I use Schwab and I can't imagine a better alternative. I transfer in 70k baht every month to my Kasikorn Bank account to qualify for the monthly income alternative. I use XE Money Transfer service. I see no fees. XE does take about $15 from the transaction with a lower exchange rate. There are alternatives. Schwab does the transfer for $25 and it's even easier. Schwab and Kasikorn work for me. 

[Pinot]

On 7/1/2019 at 9:23 AM, asiaexpat said:

OP, if you have Schwab already I suggest suing them over Fidelity. I have Fidelity and find them a little difficult to deal with from Thailand. To get the Money Management account you will need to be in the USA most likely (that was a retirement when I open that account.) Trying to reset ATM Pin has been impossible from Thailand so far. Schwab has been more usable.

I have an International account with Schwab with the checking account. Probably easier to set up an domestic account with checking, then convert it later. Use a US address. There may be a problem setting up an International account and having checking. 

Edited July 2, 2019 by Pinot

[Suradit69]

On July 1, 2019 at 9:23 AM, asiaexpat said:

if you have Schwab already I suggest suing them over Fidelity

Hopefully you meant "using" rather than "suing."

[elgenon]

On 7/1/2019 at 12:47 AM, ackruu123 said:

Although I don't think that it is technically a bank, I use Fidelity and have a Cash Management account with them.  It ticks most of your boxes.

I looked into Fidelity but didn't like the fees. Can't remember in particular what it was. I already have an investment account with them.

[OliverKlozerof]

On 7/1/2019 at 12:20 PM, sukhumvitneon said:

Charles Schwab Bank high yield investor checking is the way to go.  No ATM fees charged by them plus they reimburse ATM fees worldwide.

Cool. Somewhat of a tangent, but I wonder how they can reimburse ATM fees? (I have next to zero knowledge of the whole ATM system.)

[tlandtday]

check out etrade may work for you... yes bofa sucks

[OliverKlozerof]

Since I've had an acct with Schwab for many years, I walked through the form to add the High Yield Investor Checking® Account. After agreeing to all the terms, electronic signature, etc., came the option to transfer money into the new acct. Well, this is where their programmers appear to have dropped the ball: I could select one of my existing accounts to transfer FROM, but the new checking account didn't show up in the TO column. 

So, I clicked their Chat button to see what was up. (Actually, I was notified at this point to use Firefox or Chrome instead of Safari for the chat feature. So I logged in from Firefox.)

I typed out my question about not seeing the option to choose the new account. Unfortunately, there was a character limit in the text window, so I had to make my question rather terse.

But, I did get someone on the other end almost immediately. Well, it turns out it will take a couple days before the new acct is completely set up and then it should show up when I'm logged in. Again, it seems the programmers should have caught this, so I told the chat guy to let them know. (At least we can try to give constructive feedback.)

So, I'm hoping in a couple days the acct will be set up and ready to fund. They'll send the debit card and checks to my official address at my sister's in the US, which she will forward to me.
The graphic on the page below does make having a Schwab checking acct look pretty appealing. hard to believe I've been paying BoA $25/mo for many years for what-I-don't-know. 

 

https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/banking_lending/checking_account

BTW, I recently transferred the equivalent of B800k from Schwab to my Bangkok Bank acct, which I intend to just leave there to fulfill the retirement visa requirement. (I know there are arguments for making smaller monthly transfers, but this works for me.)

However, I'm a little concerned about having all my eggs in the single proverbial basket. Whenever I've had to call Schwab...I may have once or twice told them (when asked...or am I thinking of BoA?), that yes, I was calling from outside the US. (I just tell them I travel a lot.) But I know some people have been forced to close longstanding accts with, say, Lynch, to comply with some regulation about owning mutual funds from abroad (or something like that). But because my address with Schwab is in the US, I guess this won't happen to me. And I think Schwab is a bit more lenient about it??

Edited July 2, 2019 by OliverKlozerof

[Shouldhaveknownbetter]

8 hours ago, DrDave said:

I have both BofA and Fidelity accounts.

For the Fidelity CMA account, I had to setup the outgoing transfers (wire and EFT) in person at a local office when I was in the US. This is because Fidelity required something called a Medallion guarantee, which is similar to a notarization, if the forms are filled out off-site and mailed/faxed in. The problem was that a Medallion guarantee cannot be obtained anywhere in Thailand. Once setup, transfers were easily initiated through their website. This was about 5 years ago, so I'm not sure if the Medallion requirement is still in place, but it's something you should check into if you're considering using Fidelity to wire funds to your Thai bank.

When I needed a Medallion guarantee with some Troweprice forms I had the forms notarized at the American Consulate and Troweprice accepted the forms.

[Martyp]

I would suggest NOT using Wells Fargo. I’m happy with BofA but WF was a disaster for wire transfers.

[Thailand J]

4 hours ago, OliverKlozerof said:

I wonder how they can reimburse ATM fees?

For example, 5000B ($160.04) was pulled from Bangkok Bank ATM which charged 220B ($7.04).

$167.08 ($160.04 plus $7.04) was posted on my account of which $7.04 was reimbursed immediately.

[cmarshall]

If Fidelity get wind that you are living in Thailand they will close your account.  The only institution that I know of that will knowingly open an account for an expat is State Department Federal Credit Union.  Service is fine.  I have talked with them on the phone a few times.  Billpaying feature works fine.  I have other banks, but they are my preferred bank now.

[GinBoy2]

4 hours ago, tlandtday said:

check out etrade may work for you... yes bofa sucks

I also used etrade, the downside with them is they don't hav a SWIFT code so transfers become more problematic

Edited July 2, 2019 by GinBoy2

[OliverKlozerof]

44 minutes ago, Thailand J said:

For example, 5000B ($160.04) was pulled from Bangkok Bank ATM which charged 220B ($7.04).

$167.08 ($160.04 plus $7.04) was posted on my account of which $7.04 was reimbursed immediately.

So (using the approximate dollar amounts), you withdrew $160 from your Schwab acct, using a BK Bank ATM in Thailand. BK Bank added on $7 for using their machine. Then Schwab reimbursed you for that fee. Cool.

But what I don't understand is how Schwab can do that. (Could well be because I'm daft when it comes to things like this.) Does, 1) Schwab use their own money to pay you back? Or, 2) do they have a relationship with BK Bank such that they get the fee waived? I don't understand how Schwab is able to do this.

And honestly, I don't really understand what these fees are for...in the sense of, what machines/labor/processes/etc. need to be compensated for. After all, all this stuff happens pretty much via software. And if there are rational reasons why banks should be compensated for the use of the ATMs and the infrastructure behind them, again...how is it Schwab is able to effectively nix this?

[OliverKlozerof]

56 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

If Fidelity get wind that you are living in Thailand they will close your account.  The only institution that I know of that will knowingly open an account for an expat is State Department Federal Credit Union.  Service is fine.  I have talked with them on the phone a few times.  Billpaying feature works fine.  I have other banks, but they are my preferred bank now.

One guy PM'ed me saying he also uses SDFCU. He said he found about them through American Citizens Abroad (ACA), and had to join ACA first (70 dollars), which gave him an intro to SDFCU. Did you have to do something similar? Do you think I can do this all from Thailand? Thx

[Thailand J]

1 hour ago, OliverKlozerof said:

how is it Schwab is able to effectively nix this?

SCHW is showing growing revenue and EPS. I hope they continue with the business model for a long time.

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by Thailand J

[OliverKlozerof]

1 hour ago, Thailand J said:

SCHW is showing growing revenue and EPS. I hope they continue with the business model for a long time.

 

Here's Fidelity's Cash Mngmt Acct page. They also offer ATM fee reimbursement. Again, cool. I just don't understand how they can do it.

 

"ATM fees: None. All ATM fees automatically reimbursed nationwide."

Actually, now I see it's "nationwide" (i.e., USA), but still....

 

https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/fidelity-cash-management-account/overview

[gk10002000]

4 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

I also used etrade, the downside with them is they don't hav a SWIFT code so transfers become more problematic

Yes, I too have Etrade, for my brokerage and and bank and IRAs and have had them for almost 20 years now.  A few years ago when I asked them about SWIFT code to transfer money out the agent had no idea what I was talking about.  Since then, they seem to be somewhat aware, and searching their Help section, turns up some things where you can apparently use SWIFT but it goes through an intermediary.  I don't like the sound of that, but it may all work fine

 

"Wire payments (USD)

Pay to	JPMORGAN CHASE BANK
Swift	CHASUS33
For the account of	JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (CHASGB2L), account number 001 0 962009
IBAN	GB68CHAS60924241018480
For further credit to	Account name ETRADE SEC LTD USD CLNT MONEY, account number 41018480
Please reference	[E*TRADE customer account number and name]

[gk10002000]

4 hours ago, OliverKlozerof said:

So (using the approximate dollar amounts), you withdrew $160 from your Schwab acct, using a BK Bank ATM in Thailand. BK Bank added on $7 for using their machine. Then Schwab reimbursed you for that fee. Cool.

But what I don't understand is how Schwab can do that. (Could well be because I'm daft when it comes to things like this.) Does, 1) Schwab use their own money to pay you back? Or, 2) do they have a relationship with BK Bank such that they get the fee waived? I don't understand how Schwab is able to do this.

And honestly, I don't really understand what these fees are for...in the sense of, what machines/labor/processes/etc. need to be compensated for. After all, all this stuff happens pretty much via software. And if there are rational reasons why banks should be compensated for the use of the ATMs and the infrastructure behind them, again...how is it Schwab is able to effectively nix this?

Etrade reimburses all my USA ATM transaction fees.  Why and how?  Well, Etrade's policy is if you have over $50,000 USD on deposit across all your accounts, checking, savings, Brokerage, IRAs, etc.  they refund USA ATM fees.  I also don't have to pay for checks and some other things.  That is their business model. 

[moana]

49 minutes ago, OliverKlozerof said:

They also offer ATM fee reimbursement

Note that Fidelity (and Etrade) charges 1% FTF. Schwab is 0% FTF.

 

They refund ATM fees out of pocket, yes. It is WAY cheaper than setting up their own ATM networks, and we get to enjoy it worldwide.

Edited July 2, 2019 by moana

[Langsuan Man]

Schwab is your best option.  After over 40 years with Fidelity some smart ass CSR blocked my online account access because I refused to discuss my "travel plans" when having problem with a US domestic transfer

 

Called Schwab and they were more than cooperative and told me that first of all if I said I was residing in the US, that was enough proof for them so long as  I did not spend more than half a year outside the US.  They could track this by ATM use if they were forced to but were not looking to discourage customers.  So they got my entire portfolio and I retained just enough in Fidelity to use their free International Wires when Bangkok Bank finally eliminates EFTS 

 

State Department Federal Credit Union is also an attractive option if you have not already established a Schwab account.  I have them and they used to have the lowest rates for International Wires when I purchased a condo 13 years ago.  Of course that fee went up but isn't all that outrageous compared with some others

[Thailand J]

8 hours ago, OliverKlozerof said:

One guy PM'ed me saying he also uses SDFCU. He said he found about them through American Citizens Abroad (ACA), and had to join ACA first (70 dollars), which gave him an intro to SDFCU. Did you have to do something similar? Do you think I can do this all from Thailand? Thx 

NO. Click "I do not qualify to join......" and " I agree to join the American Consumer Council..." and proceed to personal information.