graceplant

I am moving back to the UK next week after spending 4 years here in Virginia on an F1 visa. I have a BB&T bank account and I'm wondering if I should close it or keep it open with say just $20 in it. My husband in a citizen here in the US and will most likely keep his credit union account open as we do plan on moving back to the US in a few years time. Many people are advising me to keep it open as they say it will help with me later but I do not see how.
Would I be making a mistake by closing it now? To be honest I do not like banking with BB&T and when we move back to the states I will most likely switch to my husbands credit union anyway. I just wanted to see if anyone knew of a good reason to keep my own account open for the time being.
Thanks guys

avanutria

Do you foresee any need to have access to a US account while you're gone - for example, online shopping on sites that don't accept UK addresses? Do you want to be able to take advantage of sudden swings in exchange rates? Do you have any US loans that require payments from a US account? Have you been building up a credit history that might end if you close the account? (I don't know the intricacies behind credit history building)

Also you'll want to check and see the rules on your bank for nonactivity or perpetually low balance - some banks will start sneaking small maintenance fees after a certain period of inactivity until the account is empty, and then close it. If you catch them at it (as I did with HSBC) you can demand the money back and they may or may not give it to you (they did) but it was a heck of a hassle.

Michael

Bank accounts aren't reported to credit bureaus unless you have overdrafts that you don't pay so it doesn't make any difference whether you close it or not.

However, if you have credit cards try to keep those open to keep your credit running. If you can figure out how to charge on those credit while in the UK, do that since that will keep your credit score high and your credit history long.