USAA Credit Cards Now Fee Free

[JimGant]

The below link is an excellent look at DCC, with many tidbits. Check on the many links for additional info; and enlarge the charge slips to see what a reversal of DCC looks like.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1542983-dynamic-currency-conversion-dcc-2014-2016-a-135.html

One tidbit:

Quote

 Don't settle for merchants claiming that "it has to be done this way" or "pay cash if you don't want this". Be prepared to walk away, and, if you must complete the transaction, write "DCC refused & merchant didn't give a choice" on the receipt and cross out the amount. Let the merchant know that you will be filing a dispute with your bank.

 

Edited March 7, 2017 by JimGant
left out link

[JimGant]

Quote

Most places these days simply ring up the bill automatically using regular Thai baht.

Hospitals used to be the worst, especially if you have a catheter hanging out. Any recent experiences? (Wife used Bumrungrad recently, but she's prepped to say "Thai baht" when handing her credit card to the clerk. So, don't know what would have happened without the prep.....)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, JimGant said:

Hospitals used to be the worst, especially if you have a catheter hanging out. Any recent experiences? (Wife used Bumrungrad recently, but she's prepped to say "Thai baht" when handing her credit card to the clerk. So, don't know what would have happened without the prep.....)

In the past, I believe I've been asked several times by cashiers at both Bumrungrad and BNH if I wanted my bill rung up in U.S. $, after I had handed them my U.S. bank card.

 

But off the top of my head, I can't recall right now a specific instance where they automatically rang up the bill as DCC, and then I had to ask them to re-do and reverse it. Might have happened once somewhere along the line, but if it did, it would have been pretty long ago.

 

I think them asking is more the pattern than not. But oftentimes, depending on the location, I'll automatically/out of precaution tell them, "Please ring it up in Thai baht." That's been my experience with outpatient visits at those two hospitals. I've never had an inpatient bill to settle there.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 3/7/2017 at 0:04 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Schwab has U.S. domestic accounts and international accounts, which have different features depending on where the account holder's account address is located.

 

For U.S. accounts, yes, there is still the Schwab debit card that has no foreign currency fee for purchases and withdrawals, reimburses other banks' ATM fees and typically has a $1000 daily withdrawal limit as the default. The U.S. accounts basically have no min. deposit amounts or yearly fees. You get the card and its associated checking account by opening the required Schwab brokerage account, which you don't have to actually use unless you choose to.

 

The Schwab international accounts are somewhat different. I think their debit card is pretty similar. But to open the international brokerage account, I believe a $10K minimum initial deposit is required, unlike the U.S. domestic accounts. The international brokerage account also, AFAIK, cannot be used to purchase U.S. mutual fund shares. There may also be a difference in the timing of how ATM fee reimbursements are handled with the international accounts.

 

Unlike Thailand, the ATM use fees in the U.S. are going to vary from bank company to bank company. They're not all the same, unlike Thailand. Typically, if you have a bank card that belongs to Bank A, then you can use any of Bank A's ATMs without any fee. But if other bank company cards try to use Bank A's ATMs, then they'll get charged the fee.  Also unlike Thailand, though, a lot of U.S. banks and credit unions belong to networks that allow shared, fee-free ATM use among their member institutions. That's pretty common with smaller banks and credit unions that don't necessarily have their own individual national ATM coverage, unlike the major MEGA banks that do have their own.

 

 

 

FYI, got an interesting email from Schwab the other day re their U.S. brokerage accounts. As of March 3, they have lowered their fee for online stock trades/purchases to $4.95 per for regular, U.S. domestic stock purchases... whereas I believe it was $6.95 previously for a short time, and then before that, $8.95 for a long time.

 

It looks like E*Trade is making a similar move. As of March 13, they're reducing their standard U.S. domestic stock trade fee from $9.99 to $6.95, and down further to $4.95 per if you happen to be making 30+ trades per quarter.

 

[55Jay]

Regarding confirmation of US addresses, my buddy here finally had enough of Wells Fargo, and I suggested USAA as he's directly qualified, the ACH ceiling based on comments from some of you in the past, and my belief they would likely accept his address here w/o need of a US physical address.  I recall they, and Navy Federal, didn't balk when I changed my mailing address to here, unlike Capital 1 and Schwab.

 

Anyway, on-line application wouldn't go through, so he called.  All seemed to go well, set up the initial deposit via hard pull from Wells, and then went into a hover pattern for days.  The charge for initial deposit in Wells fell off the screen, never went through.  He's still in holding pattern nearly 2 weeks later.  They will only say the application is under consideration.  He's not a financial derelict so I suspect it's his physical location at issue here.  I hope he gets the account, but I doubt it at this point, and am watching with interest on how it pans out.

Edited March 8, 2017 by 55Jay

[Pib]

You are saying he applied to USAA and his application is on hold, right? Or he applied to Wells?

I ask because you say the charge for the initial deposit in Wells has fell off the screen like he was making a deposit into Wells. Maybe you meant the withdrawal/pull from Wells to USAA failed to fully process and it's no longer appearing in his Wells Ibanking.

Regardless of whether the application is to USAA or Wells, strangle the will not tell him the reason for the hold. Each time I've applied for a new bank account and it got blogged down/delayed for some reason the bank would tell me why. Happened to me on three applications over the last half dozen years...in each case it was due to additional docs needed from me to prove identity or address.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 hours ago, 55Jay said:

 He's still in holding pattern nearly 2 weeks later.  They will only say the application is under consideration.  He's not a financial derelict so I suspect it's his physical location at issue here.  I hope he gets the account, but I doubt it at this point, and am watching with interest on how it pans out.

 

There's a reason I have long advised regarding U.S. banking matters, stick to using a U.S. address and keep your world wanderlust out of it. Things will invariably go much smoother that way.

 

 

[55Jay]

7 hours ago, Pib said:

You are saying he applied to USAA and his application is on hold, right? Or he applied to Wells?

I ask because you say the charge for the initial deposit in Wells has fell off the screen like he was making a deposit into Wells. Maybe you meant the withdrawal/pull from Wells to USAA failed to fully process and it's no longer appearing in his Wells Ibanking.

Regardless of whether the application is to USAA or Wells, strangle the will not tell him the reason for the hold. Each time I've applied for a new bank account and it got blogged down/delayed for some reason the bank would tell me why. Happened to me on three applications over the last half dozen years...in each case it was due to additional docs needed from me to prove identity or address.

 

USAA.  Yes, it was the hard pull from Wells to prospective USAA Acct.

[Pib]

If the application hasn't been approved in two weeks that don't sound positive at all....that's a long holding pattern.  Strange the ACH pull to fund the account fell off his Wells Fargo account unless maybe it was a "test" pull never meant to go through....like one bank just pinging another bank to confirm such an account does exist and funds are available.

 

In my recent SCU application which got slowed down for few days as they asked for copies of ID documents and a military service doc, after they got those they were happy.  Got an approval on a Sunday...on a Tuesday ...two days after application approval the ACH pulls (two different one) to fund the new accounts "posted" at my other bank (USAA).   Since they are not in Pending status and in Posted status at USAA that means USAA have let the funds "leave the USAA building" so to speak.  

 

And my SCU accounts balances are showing those pulls although the funds are not available to me yet since U.S. law allows banks X-business days to ensure a transaction has fully processed (and wasn't fraudulent) before they make the funds available to you...where you can access the funds for whatever.  U.S. laws allow different amounts of days depending on the type of transaction it is (i.e., ACH transaction, paper check, etc)...but it seems 5 business days is generally the max allowed once the bank initially processes/begins the transaction....but I'm sure there is "fine-print" in the law that allows banks to stretch out that clearly/funds availability period in some cases. 

 

Webpage Talking Funds Availability

https://wallethub.com/edu/available-funds/11314/

 

[Pib]

Speaking of ACH Transfer limitations and funds availability time when you become a new PenFed CU member during the first 6 months of your new account they are very restrictive on how much you can "transfer in and out" via ACH.   It's like a probationary period of sorts I guess.  

 

Link to PenFed CU Disclosure Doc

 

Partial Quote

Quote

ACH LIMITATIONS AND AVAILABILITY FOR DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS INITIATED AT PENFED: For security reasons, limitations are placed on the number of and dollar amount of ACH deposits or payments you make. This includes ACH transfers made to your PenFed account or to your account at another financial institution. For information concerning the frequency and dollar amount limitations, contact us at 800-247-5626. If your membership has been open 6 months or more, the maximum you are allowed to transfer to your PenFed account is $5,000 per day. If your membership has been open 6 months or less, the maximum you are allowed to transfer to your PenFed account is $50 per day. In addition, if this is your first ACH deposit or payment or it’s been more than 6 months since your last successful ACH deposit or payment, the deposit or payment you make will be credited to your account as of the date it is scheduled to transfer; however, the credit in the amount of the deposit or payment will not be available to you for 5 business days following the date of the transfer.

 

[Pib]

The number of states the new USAA Limitless 2.5% cash back card is available in has just increased from 20 states to 26.  See the list as of 9 March/today...if your USAA registered address is in one of these states you should be able apply for the card.  But remember you must have a monthly ACH deposit of at least $1000 going into your USAA checking account to get the 2.5% cash back; otherwise it's just 1.5%

 

Quote

 

1 This product is currently available to members residing in the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX and WA. It will become available in additional states at a later date.

 

3 A qualifying direct deposit is a single electronic transfer of at least $1,000 that you initiate with your employer, a government entity or an external financial institution. Fund transfers between USAA accounts are not qualifying direct deposits.

 

 

[CaptHaddock]

Turns out that the USAA Limitless card is apparently only available to USAA members with genuine military connections, not those of us who opened accounts in the past by contributing to a charity, an option which is no longer available.

[Pib]

And "if" this Web link is correct you would also need to have insurance with USAA. While I would meet the past active duty requirement, I don't have the insurance.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/USAA-2-5-Targeted-Offer-UPDATE-MARCH-2017/td-p/4761334

[CaptHaddock]

Bummer.  But it figures since a 2.5% kickback for maxpayers (who don't pay interest) means the bank would make almost nothing on CC transactions, assuming the merchant fee is about 3%.  So, the bank has to have some other lucrative incentive to offer the product, in this case, insurance.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

And "if" this Web link is correct you would also need to have insurance with USAA. While I would meet the past active duty requirement, I don't have the insurance.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/USAA-2-5-Targeted-Offer-UPDATE-MARCH-2017/td-p/4761334

 

Has anyone confirmed the insurance part with USAA directly?

 

I read the above forum thread that included a reference by the OP to there being an insurance requirement. But then down below in the details and terms that others posted in follow-up, I didn't see any reference to an insurance requirement.

 

[Pib]

The only requirements I've seen on a "USAA webpage" is your USAA registered address being in one of the state's the card is now available in....and then to get the 2.5% cashback you must have an monthly ACH deposit of at least $1000...otherwise you only get 1.5%.

I haven't seen the requirement for military service "to get the card" like Capt H. mentioned although that's "generally" the requirement to open a USAA bank account but with other ways to qualify for a bank account depending on the person. Would think with a USAA bank account already then a military service record wouldn't be required to get the card.

And like I said regarding the insurance requirement that's "if" that myfico webpage I gave earlier is correct. And that page may be incorrectly intermixing bank account and card openings requirements.

[CaptHaddock]

19 minutes ago, Pib said:

The only requirements I've seen on a "USAA webpage" is your USAA registered address being in one of the state's the card is now available in....and then to get the 2.5% cashback you must have an monthly ACH deposit of at least $1000...otherwise you only get 1.5%.

I haven't seen the requirement for military service "to get the card" like Capt H. mentioned although that's "generally" the requirement to open a USAA bank account but with other ways to qualify for a bank account depending on the person. Would think with a USAA bank account already then a military service record wouldn't be required to get the card.

And like I said regarding the insurance requirement that's "if" that myfico webpage I gave earlier is correct. And that page may be incorrectly intermixing bank account and card openings requirements.

 

It's my surmise that USAA refused the Limitless card to me based on my lack of a military record.  I couldn't even get to the application even though my registered address is FL, so I don't see what else could be the basis for the rejection.  My FICO score has always been over 800.  USAA has refused various products to non-military accounts in the past, so it's not a surprise.

[Pib]

2 hours ago, CaptHaddock said:

It's my surmise that USAA refused the Limitless card to me based on my lack of a military record.  I couldn't even get to the application even though my registered address is FL, so I don't see what else could be the basis for the rejection.  My FICO score has always been over 800.  USAA has refused various products to non-military accounts in the past, so it's not a surprise.

OK, that was an assumption you made about the card....but it may be due to another reason.    In fact I would bet it is due to another reason I talk about below.

 

With this card still in the "online pilot - limited availability" stage to use USAA's own words, maybe it's something else.  When you look at the USAA webpage below talking this card it has a Note Code 1 after those "online pilot - limited availability" words....and looking at their Note 1 it just reflects the states it's available in.    And I wonder about the "online" word in "online pilot"....what do they mean by "online?"  Maybe you can only apply on online and not by phone....I don't know.

 

 I understand when someone says a "pilot" program that means something along the lines of a  "small scale, short term test/program."  So, maybe even with an address in one of the Note 1 states, it not even available to "all" people with those addresses....just some....like by invite only.  Once again, I don't really no...just guessing.

 

And within those states where card is available and it is indeed  by USAA invite only, at this point in time without an invite any application will fall...can't even start the online application.  

 

That's what happened to me late last year when I tried to apply online with no invite...I couldn't even start the application because it required me to log into my USAA account first which I did and then immediately I got an error not allowing me to start the application.  But I could still accomplish all my normal ibanking.  

 

And even when calling a USAA rep who tried to take/force my application she couldn't get it to work...heck, the card was even new to the reps at the time....the reps that initially take your call.   She put me on-hold for a minute to ask the credit card department what was going on, then came back online and just said the new card was still in its early stages and only being offered in a few states and my USAA registered address was not in one of those states.  At that time it was either only 4 or 7 states.....now up to 26 states. 

 

 Without me looking again at posts at those other websites/forums of people who got the card maybe you have to receive an invite via mobile test or an email to apply for the card.  But I do remember enough of those posts without looking again that many did get invites (maybe all did without looking again at the posts)...they responded to the invites...and all/most got approved.

 

Summary: it still may be by invite only if you live in certain states....but I'm guessing.

 

USAA Webpage Talking Their Limitless Card

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/bank_cc_limitless_cashback_visa_signature?akredirect=true

 

 

 

[Pib]

At the USAA Limitless Card webpage I gave in above post, I pressed the Get Started icon for the card as in applying for it, the next screen that pops up is my USAA ibanking logon page, I logon, and immediately get below message regarding the card....basically says currently not available in my state...try again later.   I expect as soon as I logged on, it compared my USAA address with the states the card is currently available in, there was no match, and I was told Sorry, Charlie.

 

 

[JimGant]

Pib, that link you posted contained the following link:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/usaa-limitless-credit-card-review-2-5-cash-back-purchases/

Which has the following re the Limitless Cash Back card:

Quote

You’re eligible if you fit in these categories:

    Active, retired and honorably separated officers and enlisted personnel of the U.S. military.
    Officer candidates in commissioning programs (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS).
    Adult children whose eligible parents have or had a USAA auto or property insurance product.
    Widows and widowers of USAA members who have or had a USAA auto or property insurance policy.

 

So, you, being retired military, don't need an insurance connection -- at least according to this info. But why your non military son wouldn't qualify -- solely because (or if) you never had USAA insurance -- is a mystery.  I bet USAA would have actually liked to have had the direct military connection for all who apply for this card -- just as it still does today, I believe, for obtaining insurance from USAA. However, maybe this was felt too limiting -- but certainly containable against too many unwashed military dependents -- as long as the direct deposit requirement was inserted. Who knows.

 

Bigger question mark is: What address in their files are they using to see if you are "residing" in one of those chosen states. When I sold my house in Virginia last Nov, I updated online with USAA my new mailing address (a mail forwarding service in Texas), which then followed by a box to check: "This is also my physical address." Nope. So I was directed to fill in my physical address. But my Chiang Mai address wouldn't compute. I kept getting "wrong formatting" or some such, but the only symbol I used was a slash, which the USPS says is ok. But apparently USAA's software doesn't agree. Anyway, I gave up, and inserted my mail forwarding address as my physical address. Accepted, no problem (even tho' USAA could have programmed their software to flag that address as a known mail forwarder). Anyway, I'm now on file with USAA as the proud resident of Houston. If they ever query, sure I'll provide them the Chiang Mai info to insert themselves. No big deal, as all correspondence goes to your mailing address on file, to include your renewed credit/debit cards (already tested). And getting mail from the US to Chiang Mai has historically been hit or miss. The only real glitch would be: I don't reside in one (or any, eventually) chosen states for the Limitless Cash Back card.

 

And I can't apply yet, 'cause I'm up against the $50,000 limit USAA has imposed on all their cards in total. Thus, waiting for the cancellation of one card I never used to show up at the credit bureaus (yeah, really dumb, even tho' their records show I cancelled my card, and that my credit number is north of 800, and that all my fortune is in their bank -- nope, can't apply until the credit bureau reflects I cancelled my card). Maybe by then I won't be the proud resident of Houston, in USAA's eyes. Sigh.

 

[Pib]

Those eligibility requirements are for "USAA Membership" which you must have before you can even apply for the Limitless card.   Then they say the card is only available in XYZ states right now.

 

It's like unlocking several locks on a door.  The lock that must be unlocked first before you can proceed to the second lock is having USAA membership.  

 

Once the first lock is unlocked, then you can move along to the next lock dealing with the what states the card is available in and credit limit requirements.  Or, you might want to consider this really lock #2 regarding the states and lock #3 regarding the credit limit.    

 

So, it seems like if a person is already a USAA member, it just boils down to having the right address and not exceeding credit limits to get the card.....or not.  

 

 

[JimGant]

This starts to get even more bizarre....

Ok, back to this criteria -- as the first step of two to become a USAA Member:

Quote

 

    Active, retired and honorably separated officers and enlisted personnel of the U.S. military.
    Officer candidates in commissioning programs (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS).
    Adult children whose eligible parents have or had a USAA auto or property insurance product.
    Widows and widowers of USAA members who have or had a USAA auto or property insurance policy.

Yeah, but you're not a "full" USAA Member, unless:

Quote

If possible, you want to be a full member. Full membership means that you meet the criteria above and you hold some sort of insurance product with the company.

http://www.hullfinancialplanning.com/are-you-eligible-for-usaa-membership/

Ok, Pib, that's where this insurance requirement is coming from (sayeth this article, anyway). Thus, unless you have some form of USAA insurance, you ain't a full member. And, apparently, only full members are getting the Limitless card (any non full members out there to differ --  I hope?).

 

And, yeah, as you said Pib, Cpt Haddock should be grandfathered, since he qualified earlier under less restrictive rules for USAA banking (tho' he never qualified for car or home insurance, thus, I guess, he never qualified for full membership). Or, maybe he was denied because, while he said Florida was the state in his profile -- was that both mailing and physical address? If Thailand was the physical address, presumably that could be why USAA denied his application....

 

Now, I had insurance with USAA, at least car insurance, for the 50 years I've been a member. Later, house, boat, liability, household goods, etc insurance. All that's been cancelled with my permanent move to Thailand. I would think ludicrous if USAA still required me to have active insurance (as the Hull link, above, implies) to maintain "full membership." But you never know.

 

 

 

[Pib]

It's always the fine-print that bites a person.   Once (if) the card is available in all states and I'm still blown-off in applying for the card I'll give USAA a call or send an email from ibanking to see what kind of story I get.     

 

It seems to me that unless there were some other discriminators/requirements for this Limitless card once it open to all states there would be no reason to apply for any of the other USAA cash-back cards which pay a lower cash-back percentage assuming a person could make at least a $1,000 monthly ACH deposit via direct deposit/manual transfer.

[Pib]

USAA membership requirements have changed over the years....using below USAA link runs a person through a couple of questions to see if they are qualified for membership under "today's" requirements.....requirements which may be different than yesterday's, last year's, 10 years ago, etc.

 

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/why_choose_usaa_main?wa_ref=pub_global_usaaandu

 

Edited March 10, 2017 by Pib

[Langsuan Man]

I qualified for the card immediately since both my past state and present state were on the initial list.  Had the old USAA Credit card and dropped it several years ago because my credit score suffered from too many cards with no balance due on them

 

But I satisfied all the requirements;  have my pension direct deposited into USAA Savings Bank, have both homeowners  and car insurance with them at a US address. So I didn't need to worry about the fine print  

 

Despite being with them for over 48 years did notice that they still did a credit check on me before issuing the card

 

Only problem was physically getting the card.  They would not send it to my address in Thailand but did allow it to be sent to my remailer in CA, who forwarded it here  Unfortunately this caused a cascade of address changes which I quickly put to a halt via an email to Customer Service reminding them that this was a one off address addition, not a change   

Edited March 11, 2017 by Langsuan Man

[55Jay]

On 3/9/2017 at 8:00 PM, Pib said:

If the application hasn't been approved in two weeks that don't sound positive at all....that's a long holding pattern.  Strange the ACH pull to fund the account fell off his Wells Fargo account unless maybe it was a "test" pull never meant to go through....like one bank just pinging another bank to confirm such an account does exist and funds are available.

//snip///

 

Yup, seems the writing's on the wall at this point.

 

No, it was the initial funds to open the USAA account - think he said $25. 

 

Turns out USAA has asked him repeatedly for a copy of his Social Security card, which he doesn't have and has told them so.  He's shotgunned other documents to them - DD214, tax returns, US driver's licenses, etc., to no avail.  SS card is their deal breaker....  He's not arsed to get a new SS card, so has pretty much abandoned the USAA idea.

 

This event shot a hole in my unsubstantiated idea that USAA might be more lenient wrt overseas customers.  I think they are, certainly moreso than Schwab/CAP1 in my experience, but new joiners are, nonetheless, run through the same post-9/11 wickets. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by 55Jay

[Pib]

That update explains things.  Sometimes banks just will not open an account (especially when applying online) unless they get the specific document(s) they are asking for....just will not accept a substitute.   Otherwise, you must physically visit one of their branches.  Preach to the choir I know  

 

I would always recommend a person have their social security card and keep it in a safe place like other key docs like birth certificate, etc.  Documents which you will "rarely" need to show, but sometimes you must show them.

 

About two months ago I took an American neighbor (actually dual Thai-US citizen) to Bangkok Bank to open a Direct Deposit account as she was getting ready to apply for here Social Security pension and needed the Direct Deposit account for the monthly payment.

 

Anyway, Bangkok Bank wanted to see/copy her Social Security card which she has long lost..finally convinced them the Social Security number she put on the application was indeed accurate...was indeed her's...and they finalized opening the account.    

 

I've seen quite a few other ThaiVisa posts of where U.S. folks were asked for a copy of their Social Security card when trying to open a Thai bank account.   

 

Probably time for your friend to get a replacement SS card....he'll do doubt need it for something else "sometime" in the future.

 

 

[55Jay]

32 minutes ago, Pib said:

That update explains things.  Sometimes banks just will not open an account (especially when applying online) unless they get the specific document(s) they are asking for....just will not accept a substitute.   Otherwise, you must physically visit one of their branches.  Preach to the choir I know  

 

I would always recommend a person have their social security card and keep it in a safe place like other key docs like birth certificate, etc.  Documents which you will "rarely" need to show, but sometimes you must show them.

 

About two months ago I took an American neighbor (actually dual Thai-US citizen) to Bangkok Bank to open a Direct Deposit account as she was getting ready to apply for here Social Security pension and needed the Direct Deposit account for the monthly payment.

 

Anyway, Bangkok Bank wanted to see/copy her Social Security card which she has long lost..finally convinced them the Social Security number she put on the application was indeed accurate...was indeed her's...and they finalized opening the account.    

 

I've seen quite a few other ThaiVisa posts of where U.S. folks were asked for a copy of their Social Security card when trying to open a Thai bank account.   

 

Probably time for your friend to get a replacement SS card....he'll do doubt need it for something else "sometime" in the future.

 

 

Yup, preaching to the choir.  He's a cantankerous old fella, has said, "Oh well, screw them!", so that's the end of that.  LOL. ///  Cheers, Pib.  J.

[JimGant]

Quote

Only problem was physically getting the card.  They would not send it to my address in Thailand but did allow it to be sent to my remailer in CA, who forwarded it here  Unfortunately this caused a cascade of address changes which I quickly put to a halt via an email to Customer Service reminding them that this was a one off address addition, not a change   

Interesting. So, you've got your Thai address as your mailing address -- and USAA won't send mail, or at least charge cards, to foreign addresses, or at least Thailand? And your physical address with USAA is in a state allowed for the Limited card, right? Just curious why you don't leave your remailer address as your mailing address, as you may have to go thru this goat rope in the future for renewal cards if USAA's policy is not to mail cards (or any correspondence?) to Thailand....

 

I'm probably in a different situation than you, in that I have trouble getting my postal service mail from the States out here in the sticks of Chiang Mai. Thus, having my remailer address as my mailing address with USAA has been helpful, just recently  getting their Preferred Cash Rewards card forwarded by my remailer via DHL. Not cheap, but they, at least, can find my front door.

[Langsuan Man]

16 hours ago, JimGant said:

So, you've got your Thai address as your mailing address

No, USAA does not have my Thai address, my mailing address is my US Residence address, and I use a remailer when I am away from my US residence

 

This situation only happened because I was in Thailand when USAA started offering the new Signature VISA card and I did not want to take the chance that the USPS would not forward a card to my "temporary" change of address location; which is my remailer.  So USAA was only given the remailer address as a one off address to send the card.  It has been hit or miss on whether the USPS will forward "cards". Seems to be dependent upon what terminology the sender uses on the envelope.  Address Correction Required  appears to be non forwardable

 

Capital One, on the other hand has no problem in sending a renewal card or an updated "smart" card to my Thai address, so long as I tell them where to send it 

 

16 hours ago, JimGant said:

Just curious why you don't leave your remailer address as your mailing address

Then I would be changing my USAA mailing address every year when I return to my US residence.  And when you get into the area of car insurance  I could run into problems getting a WA car insurance ID card with a CA address  (address of the remailer)  

 

My situation is different than most because I annually spend 8 months in Thailand and 4 months in the US