Go Back  British Expats > Living & Moving Abroad > USA
Reload this Page >

AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Old Dec 4th 2011, 10:53 am
  #1  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
the_deep_end's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: UK, soon to be USA
Posts: 18
the_deep_end is an unknown quantity at this point
Default AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Hello All,

Apologies if I've missed some information on the forum: I've done a search on this and didn't come up with any recent (i.e. in the last year) information. I also emailed AIG a few weeks ago and still haven't received a reply. From reading on the forum it seems that AIG offer(ed?) a great USA inbound package which among other things helped with cheap auto and renters insurance, as well as assisting in opening a decent line of credit in the USA. Does anyone know if this service is still offered, and/or have used it in the last few months?

My personal situation is I've been issued a 10 year green card and just received my SS number/card. We're (my wife and two kids - all USC) planning to relocate to the FS bay area in January. I'm with HSBC in the UK and so can open an international account for £100. Does anyone know if I use this to get a dollar/US account with a credit card, will this be linked to my SS number and feed into my FICO credit score?

Any help very much appreciated!
the_deep_end is offline  
Old Dec 4th 2011, 11:27 am
  #2  
Septic Sprout
 
tonrob's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 7,993
tonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Not sure about the other bits, but for the sake of a month can't you open bank account for free when you arrive in the US (and one that has a proper branch network at that)? I wouldn't take the HSBC option if it were free.
tonrob is offline  
Old Dec 4th 2011, 12:27 pm
  #3  
 
Weeze's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 2,262
Weeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

AIG changed their name to Travelguard. Yes they still offer it. We are still using it. We saved more than the joining fee with out first lot of car insurance so for us, it has definitely been worth it.
Weeze is offline  
Old Dec 4th 2011, 1:30 pm
  #4  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
the_deep_end's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: UK, soon to be USA
Posts: 18
the_deep_end is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Hi Tonrob,

sorry for not being clearer. From what I've read on this forum (and also the wiki) if I walk into a bank off the street with a brand new SS number, I have no credit rating and therefore access to credit and will therefore have take a lousy pre-paid secured credit card to start building a rating up which will, in six months or so, allow me to get a proper credit card with a low limit. By using HSBC (with whom I have a good credit history), I can potentially get a unsecured card with a good limit (i.e. tens of thousand not hundreds) while (presuming the account is reported to FICO) simultaneously building a credit rating. However in answer to your question, I will certainly also be opening an account with a bank that has a proper network and taking out a secured credit account to aid the credit building process.

Hi Weeze,

thanks for that! I'll give them a call in the next week and see if I can get this included in the relocation package.
the_deep_end is offline  
Old Dec 4th 2011, 3:09 pm
  #5  
 
Weeze's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 2,262
Weeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond reputeWeeze has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Oh, and Wells Fargo International will let you open an expat account that will give you a real credit card straight away. Sorry, don't think I have their contact number any longer. You can't do it in branch, but can do it over the phone before you move to US. We also switched our Amex to a US one. This ment we got a real Amex taking our UK history into account. Officially you have to have had an Amex for a year in the UK, but we had only had it about 6 months.
Weeze is offline  
Old Dec 4th 2011, 3:51 pm
  #6  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
the_deep_end's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: UK, soon to be USA
Posts: 18
the_deep_end is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Thanks Weeze,

Wells Fargo sounds good as it's a little late to open an AMEX account now! It sounds like Wells Fargo will do what I was hoping HSBC to do - except for free!

Thanks again.
the_deep_end is offline  
Old Dec 4th 2011, 5:22 pm
  #7  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Oct 2011
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 157
FinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond reputeFinnDiego has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

HSBC Premier worked as advertised to me, but then I'd been with them in Canada before too. I'm not super-impressed with the logistics though - HSBC Canada lost all the cards, cheques and paperwork once, and it took ages to sort this out. At the end of the day I got a real credit card out of it and thinks link up through Global View so it was worth it for me.

However as others have pointed out their branch network can be limited to non-existent in many areas, so you may want to open another account for day-to-day use with a local bank anyway. Plus I do have a colleague who got denied a credit card due to "no US credit history" even though he used the HSBC international service, but I don't know if he'd been with HSBC for long.
FinnDiego is offline  
Old Dec 5th 2011, 12:03 am
  #8  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 471
Wibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud ofWibblypig has much to be proud of
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Hi,

We are using AIG/Travelguard We have been really happy with their service. We have our car insurance and renters insurance with them. They also organised a unsecured credit card with HSBC with a $10K limit (we don't bank with HSBC). They also put us in touch with a company to get a good deal on a car. Oh not forgetting the expat mortgage (4% over 30yrs), although we didn't have a big enough deposit (10% down, another 10% in savings) as we still have our UK house and decided to rent first just to make sure

HTH

Vicki

P.S. We have only been here just over 2 months so it's all very recent for us
Wibblypig is offline  
Old Dec 5th 2011, 4:39 am
  #9  
BE Forum Addict
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,847
HarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

We had a similar experience with AIG - they sorted out HSBC credit card with big limit, and also a car. It's well worth the $400 one-off fee - saved more than that in car insurance payments in the first 6 months!

Don't worry about having zero credit rating - it's had very little (as in none) impact on us since we got here- just finished our first year here, green card application in the works.

good luck!

Cheers

Harry The Spider
HarryTheSpider is offline  
Old Dec 5th 2011, 11:34 am
  #10  
Lump Of Coal
 
GetOutOfBlighty's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Home or Work.
Posts: 148
GetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really nice
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Originally Posted by Wibblypig
Hi,

We are using AIG/Travelguard We have been really happy with their service. We have our car insurance and renters insurance with them. They also organised a unsecured credit card with HSBC with a $10K limit (we don't bank with HSBC). They also put us in touch with a company to get a good deal on a car. Oh not forgetting the expat mortgage (4% over 30yrs), although we didn't have a big enough deposit (10% down, another 10% in savings) as we still have our UK house and decided to rent first just to make sure

HTH

Vicki

P.S. We have only been here just over 2 months so it's all very recent for us
Was that their "Inbound USA relocation assistance"?

Will deffo look into this as a few have mentioned it's been worth the money.
GetOutOfBlighty is offline  
Old Dec 5th 2011, 12:32 pm
  #11  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Dec 2011
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Posts: 10
FridaysChild is an unknown quantity at this point
Smile Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Originally Posted by GetOutOfBlighty
Was that their "Inbound USA relocation assistance"?

Will deffo look into this as a few have mentioned it's been worth the money.
Yes, that's the one - I took out the 12-month option in January this year for $400, and would estimate that it's so far saved me in the region of $5000. The HSBC credit card with $10k limit was available with a letter from my employer certifying my salary, and the vehicle and home insurance (with 21st Century and Chartis respectively) gave much better deals than anything I could find by myself.

The only remaining issue you'll have is that it will take 6 months to get any kind of credit rating, so be prepared to pay deposits for things like TV service, mobile phone service, etc.

Good luck!
FridaysChild is offline  
Old Dec 6th 2011, 1:43 am
  #12  
BE Forum Addict
 
yellowroom's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Was Virginia, now Yorkshire.
Posts: 2,333
yellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond reputeyellowroom has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

I used AIG/Travelguard - my company paid as part of my relocation package. They've been very helpful and at least I'm sorted for my renters and car insurance (Chartis and 21st Century, seems there's a pattern there!) without having to do all the ringing round.

I also had an HSBC account opened before I got here - I'm with First Direct in the UK, and as that's part of the HSBC family it made things very straightforward. The plus was having a checking & saving accounts and a credit card before I got here. The negative is that there are no HSBC branches anywhere near where I live in the US, and the telephone support is appalling by UK standards - over 30 minutes to answer the phone is standard. The customer service motto seems to be "if we can cock it up, we will".

HSBC has served it's purpose, but once my SSN is through I'm opening a checking account at a bank or credit union that serves my local area.
yellowroom is offline  
Old Dec 11th 2011, 5:21 pm
  #13  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 16
LucyWoodhead is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Does anyone have any links to more info on the Wells Fargo or AIG/Travelguard packages? Im googling but without much luck! thanks.
LucyWoodhead is offline  
Old Dec 12th 2011, 12:36 pm
  #14  
Lump Of Coal
 
GetOutOfBlighty's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Home or Work.
Posts: 148
GetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really niceGetOutOfBlighty is just really nice
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

Originally Posted by LucyWoodhead
Does anyone have any links to more info on the Wells Fargo or AIG/Travelguard packages? Im googling but without much luck! thanks.

http://assist.travelguardworldwide.c...61_254929.html
GetOutOfBlighty is offline  
Old Dec 12th 2011, 1:58 pm
  #15  
BE Forum Addict
 
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 4,759
GeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond reputeGeoffM has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: AIG relocation assistance and HSBC international

It almost sounds too good to be true... it's $440 now but still seems very cheap, and I can't find much information on their website.

Maybe somebody could answer these questions (I've emailed them as well):
1. Are pre-existing medical conditions covered? Or do/can they increase the premiums if they do cover them?
2. That $440 is per year, per person, right? No discounts for kids or a family plan instead?
3. Is the auto program any good? Does it work like International AutoSource (buy before you head to the US) or is it basically just assistance in getting any car loan from any dealer?

Thanks.
GeoffM is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.