Choosing Bank for Bank Account

[bappi48 4]

Dear All,

After moving to USA I want to open a bank account. But for opening a bank account, which bank is a very good option considering credit card, debit card (its charges), online account monitoring etc..?

[mallafri76 1,012]

I chose Bank of America because it's a well know bank with branches everywhere and also, if you move state, they will have a branch wherever you move to. There's a website where you can prepare different banks though, which I found quite useful:

http://banks.credio.com/

When it comes to online banking, don't get your hopes up too high. I don't know what you're used to, but I find online banking in America to be very..... Underdeveloped is the nicest way I can describe it. It's definitely got a long way to go before it reaches the full potential of online banking.

When it comes to credit cards, many banks seem to have a card you can get that helps you increase your credit score when you use it, so maybe look into that too. That's definitely something I'll be getting once I move over. What I liked with Bank of America was also that I could open an account and get a debit card even though I still haven't moved over to the US. That was a huge plus for me.

Good luck with your choice of bank.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

Don't be afraid to check out the banks and what they offer

When I moved to Tennessee I choose a credit union instead of normal bank as they offered free online banking, free money orders, free certified bank checks, free copy machine, free notary and many other services. these have all been helpful going thru the immigration process. They also told me how to add him to my checking account when he was still in Morocco by getting the ITIN (took some time to do it as had to wait for tax filing season) but this facility helped the most. So ask if they have all these services free.

[ginnyirishrose 16]

FIDEsuggest something a little bit different FIDELITY INVESTMENTS smart money management account there no minimum fees or minimum deposits but you can take the card and travel anywhere in the world with it also you can also invest with the cards

Fidelity accounts are brokerage accounts but they can work like a checking account and you can also take the money and invest with it

And FDIC Secure.

You can open account by going to Fidelity Investments online and then you would have a week or so to fund it

[ginnyirishrose 16]

The other accounts are a minimum of $5000 deposit but if you do a direct deposit into the account of $100 or more they will waive the $5,000 minimum

[ginnyirishrose 16]

There are no fees ever for the smart money management account and all ATM Fees are refunded