md95065

Yes, you want an account that offers you basic banking services with no monthly maintenance charge as long as there is a credit balance in the account (ie no minimum balance requirement is required to waive monthly fees)

Note that actual physical check books are not "free" in the US so, while you might get lucky with a student account, don't be surprised if you have to pay a small one time fee for that - $15 or so should get you more checks than you are likely use while in the US for a couple of years on an F visa.

petitefrancaise

my kids' accounts require a certain number of transactions per month (?10) or paperless accounts- totally online in order to be free.

Maste

Cheers for this heads up! I guess I'll need to research banks close to where I'll be living, and compare the accounts.

Ah okay, I didn't realise this! I will have to do my own comparison based on local banks. Thank you

Maste

I am going to look into local banks and try to figure out which one offers the best account for me. I'm thinking I need to answer these questions?

What is the minimum balance?
What is the maintenance fee?
What are the ATM fees (own & other)?
How much is a checking book?
Is there a good online banking app?

Am I missing anything else I should be answering when looking at bank accounts?

Pulaski

All that should be on their web site, along with any special deals they have for students.

Don't buy a checkbook from your bank, they are almost certainly much cheaper from a check printing company. You'll just need your bank account number, and routing & transit number to order checks, and you can do it all on line. You may also need deposit slips, which are even cheaper than checks.

malch

Too much of a security risk as far as I'm concerned. I never do banking on my phone, only my desktop computer. Some of my friends (who are very technically qualified) even boot up a dedicated and sanitized Linux system just for their financial transactions.

petitefrancaise

I'm with Pulaski on this one.

I don't have the mobile app for my accounts on my telephone. I do have it on my tablet which is always at home so that I can photograph any checks paid to me to deposit them easily. The tablet is protected and the app needs to go through 2 security checks to access it.

Think about getting a venmo account. My daughter ( a college student) uses it all the time. No more bothering with checks etc with your friends. It's very popular.

malch

Snap. My college student daughter uses Venmo too. It seems to work well and she loves it.

Pulaski

I don't think it's the phone that is the problem, it's public wifi. I access banking on my home and work computers, and on my phone at home using my home wifi, and sometimes on my wife's Chrome book on home wifi. I even occasionally use my phone for banking using mobile data - but I always make sure to turn wifi off before doing so.

malch

Public wifi is a big exposure. But phones can get snatched, stolen, lost etc. I'm not going to leave my desktop on the Clapham omnibus.

Personally, I haven't lost a phone yet. But I understand that about 5 million smartphones are lost or stolen every year so the risk is significant.

There's also malware and the fact that I trust AT&T, Verizon et al about as far as I can throw them, which isn't far!

Pulaski

I am not sure what that has to do with accessing a bank web site through a browser on my phone via data (not public wifi).

I use few apps, in fact I hate most of them, and "mobile skins" too, including BE's, so I am not how, or if there is a risk if my phone is stolen. ... Is a phone app permanently logged in, so like a door left swinging open?

petitefrancaise

this.

I've never lost my phone either but if it was lost/stolen then I'd rather not have to worry about someone accessing my bank account.
You get signed out of the mobile app if you haven't used it after ?5 minutes.

Glasgow Girl

Looks like if will be 100 degrees when you arrive on Saturday, but that will be cooler than the few days beforehand. Travel light!

Maste

Thankfully, I'm arriving in Chicago where it's a little cooler and spending a day there before heading down!

But I'm excited to say the least

Maste

I've been sorting through stuff for packing, and realise I have more stuff to bring than I have space/allowance for.

I'd ideally like to leave my bulky, heavy winter stuff here for now, and ship it over when needed, or ship it over separately now.

What companies/websites can I use to compare prices? Or does anyone know of any cheap shipping companies? It will literally be a bunch of clothes and some shoes for the winter, which is pointless in me taking now in the middle of the midwest summer! I want to see the cost implications, as I'd rather not buy clothes over there if this works out cheaper.

Cheers