Question for US Citizen with US-based Charles Schwab Account

[connda]

I have a brokerage account that used to be Datek, then TDAmeritrade, and now Charles Schwab.

I've got a couple of questions for those who still hold a US based account with a US residence address.  Do any of you use your US address as your permanent physical address and your Thai address as a mailing address.  The reason I'm asking is that I've obviously have had a brokerage account for a long time but I'm considering opening a bank account with them now too as I have to begin pulling money out of my IRA and I might as well bank it with Charles Schwab.  Having a Charles Schwab debit card would be a plus with it's no foreign ATM fees. 
So I was curious to know if they would mail the debit card to a Thai address?  Has anyone done that? 

I know I could open a Charles Schwab International account, but I don't believe you can assign a beneficiary with that account.  That's important as I don't have a US "Will" and when I die those funds need to be transferred to my wife who is my beneficiary which is set up for my IRA and Individual brokerage account (TOD).  So at this time I'm not looking at the International account.
So just checking to see if anyone else with a US account and a US physical address has used a Thai mailing address to receive their debit card.

[jas007]

18 hours ago, connda said:

I have a brokerage account that used to be Datek, then TDAmeritrade, and now Charles Schwab.

I've got a couple of questions for those who still hold a US based account with a US residence address.  Do any of you use your US address as your permanent physical address and your Thai address as a mailing address.  The reason I'm asking is that I've obviously have had a brokerage account for a long time but I'm considering opening a bank account with them now too as I have to begin pulling money out of my IRA and I might as well bank it with Charles Schwab.  Having a Charles Schwab debit card would be a plus with it's no foreign ATM fees. 
So I was curious to know if they would mail the debit card to a Thai address?  Has anyone done that? 

I know I could open a Charles Schwab International account, but I don't believe you can assign a beneficiary with that account.  That's important as I don't have a US "Will" and when I die those funds need to be transferred to my wife who is my beneficiary which is set up for my IRA and Individual brokerage account (TOD).  So at this time I'm not looking at the International account.
So just checking to see if anyone else with a US account and a US physical address has used a Thai mailing address to receive their debit card.

I used to have a TD Ameritrade account and now have a Schwab account.  I have a US mailing address, but I no longer have access to the phone number I have registered for that account.  Anyway, for that reason I can't access the account. I haven't tried using a Thai number.  So, for now, I guess, the account just sits there.  I have stocks in it, but none I was planning on selling anytime soon, so I just leave it alone.  I have two other brokerage accounts and I just switched to using one of those for new buys.  I suppose I'll straighten it all out at some point if I'm back in the USA for a visit. 

 

I could try a Thai mailing address, I suppose, but then I'd have to get into a discussion with them as to why I'm in Thailand and why I no longer have the old phone number.  So, I haven't bothered.  I left a message for them one time, but they never got back to me.

 

What I should probably do is switch the whole thing to a Schwab International account, but then I'd have the same problem as you about the beneficiary. No wife, but I have my niece listed as the beneficiary.  The alternative would be to switch the stocks out of that account and into another of my US accounts onceI have access.. 

 

 

[LivingNThailand]

19 hours ago, connda said:

So just checking to see if anyone else with a US account and a US physical address has used a Thai mailing address to receive their debit card.

I haven't read the responses yet, but I have a Charles Schwab debit card and a US credit card. When I need a replacement I call them and tell them I am currently temporarily living in Thailand and can they mail it to me.  They usually Fed Ex it or something like that and charge me $15.  I've done this a few times and no problem.  The Schwab debit card is very handy and if you use the ATM they reimburse you the 250 THB ATM fee at the end of the month.

 

Edit:  You have to have a US phone number though if you want the fraud alerts, etc.  I use my brothers phone number and he doesn't mind.  Since Skype is going bye bye, I'm thinking about getting a new calling app with a phone number I can access.  Just got to figure it out....I have enough credit for about a year so no rush.

[Hawaiian]

Two ways to contact Schwab from Thailand:  By mail: 

                                                                      Charles Schwab & Co,

                                                                      International Account Solutions

                                                                      P.O. Box 982601

                                                                      El Paso, TX  79998-2601

                                                                      USA

                                                         By phone:  001-800-12-066-4363

 

 

[Hawaiian]

5 minutes ago, Hawaiian said:

Two ways to contact Schwab from Thailand:  By mail: 

                                                                      Charles Schwab & Co,

                                                                      International Account Solutions

                                                                      P.O. Box 982601

                                                                      El Paso, TX  79998-2601

                                                                      USA

                                                         By phone:  001-800-12-066-4363

 

 

https: international.schwab.com/expatriate-essentials

[StandardIssue]

You might want to see about getting a PMB (private mailbox) in your local USA town. Most all do mail forwarding and they are very handy for making sure you get all your business mail in the same place if you are a frequent traveler or live abroad half the year and home the other half. Saves any of this mess revealing your travel to Thailand or other countries for extended time. I prefer to not reveal my travel and just use the PMB and forwarding service rather than mess about with contacting individual banks, insurance companies etc have mail forwarded.

As far as phone number, yes get a Google Phone number or other VOIP service (skype is going away but there are others)

[LivingNThailand]

12 minutes ago, StandardIssue said:

You might want to see about getting a PMB (private mailbox) in your local USA town. Most all do mail forwarding and they are very handy for making sure you get all your business mail in the same place if you are a frequent traveler or live abroad half the year and home the other half.

That's what I have, a PMB.   I call them every so often and have them forward the mail.  Can be a bit pricy. Make sure they only forward first class mail or you will get catalogs, and junk mail.   You can also have your debit card sent to the PMB and have them forward it to you.  But I've never had any problem having Schwab sending me a card to Thailand, I just say I live here part time.   If you have something like Skype you can call their 800 number.

 

BTW, it is a good idea to get the fraud alerts if you can.  They can be sensitive to certain types of internet purchases and decline the card unless you verify.  For example I bought something from Apple Thailand and it was declined until I straightened it out.  Electronics and Travel  internet purchases are two hot spots for them.  Clothing and other types of purchases not so much.

 

 

[davb]

19 hours ago, connda said:

Do any of you use your US address as your permanent physical address and your Thai address as a mailing address. 

 

 

I live in Thailand, but my banks require a US address. What I did was set up a personal mailbox with https://www.escapees.com/

 

They offer a service where they will scan each envelop that arrives and, if you want, you can have them open it and scan all the contents and upload to their website for you to read.

They will also save your physical mail and you can have it put in a box and shipped to Thailand. The one thing they won't send here is packages.

So far the banks, and Wise, accept it as proof of a physical address and residence in the US. For example, I have my bank statement physically sent there and it is considered proof of physical residence (but if the banks crack down further and require a rental agreement or utility bill, then I'll need to do something else).

You could open an account with them, have the debit card sent there, have them scan it so you can use the debit card online, and then have the service send it to you in Thailand. Some financial services aggressively cancel accounts for expats, so this may be the safest approach instead of asking your company to send it here.

For receiving US based phone calls and SMS, I have a US number with https://parkmyphone.com/ They record voicemail and forward text messages to my email. For me, this has worked about 80 percent of the time - I think it's possible for a company to detect it's VOIP and some will refuse to use it. But for me, it's been OK. I can't make outgoing calls with that number, though, but can do outgoing text message responses.

There may be better or cheaper services out there, but these have worked for me.

[Equatorial]

I am surprised. I looked into a similar service with a different provider, https://www.texashomebase.io/ . 

 

Their FAQ states (https://www.texashomebase.io/faqs) :

 

You cannot use a CMRA (Commercial Mail Receiving Agent) as a "physical address" for bank accounts because of the Patriot Act. You can use our address as the "mailing address" but would need to use a friend or family member's address for the "physical" requirement.