US bank account

TheAngryLibrarian

Hello everyone,

Long-time reader of the MSE website, but first-time user of the Forum here. I'd be grateful for any advice forum members might have regarding setting up a US bank account.

I'm a UK citizen, and will be travelling to the US for six months in 2015 for work (5 months) and visiting family (1 month). I will be being paid in $.

My thinking is this: if I get paid into my UK bank account, I will incur costs of my pay being converted from $ into £ and then back into $. If it goes straight into a US bank account, I avoid all that. (The £ is also quite weak against the $ at the moment, though of course that could change).

I am a Nationwide customer, and eligible for their Select Credit Card, which I plan to use to pay for flights and any other travel. It comes with unlimited, commission-free purchases abroad, so if I'm getting short in my US bank accounts, I can use it to pay for things by card.

However, the card does charge for cash withdrawals: 2.5% (min £3). Having a US bank account would mean I wouldn't need to worry about extra charges if I needed to withdraw cash.

I would like to know if anyone else on here has set up a US bank account, what their experience was, who they might recommend, things to beware of.



James

Archergirl

Not got a US account but the Nationwide flexaccount card has free atm withdrawals.
Has your company sorted you out with health insurance?

Voyager2002

Most of the major banks offer US-dollar accounts, although that might not work for you. For instance, ask NatWest about their dollar account and what you can and cannot do with it.

My experience was with Citibank: I opened an account on-line with their London branch, and as an add-on got a dollar account with them. It was easy for my employer in the USA to pay my salary (in dollars) into this account. That might be all that you need, but later they helped me to open an account with Citibank in the USA, which made some things easier (I could make electronic payments out of the US account, but not from the dollar account in the UK.)

TheAngryLibrarian

Hi guys,

Thanks very much for your advice; really helpful.

@Archergirl: I thought the Flexaccount debit card charged for atm withdrawals abroad: 2% transaction fee and £1 non-sterling cash fee.

[I'd give the link, but as a new user, I'm blocked from doing so].

I won't actually have an employer as such. I'm going to do research, and will be receiving monthly stipends from four different institutions, so I will have to sort out my health and travel insurance separately.

@Voyager2002: thanks for that; I hadn't actually considered a dollar account with a UK bank...I'll have a look on those banks' websites for more info.

James

Archergirl

Thinking about it we have the flexplus account which has free cc fees, free atm,(although some machines over there charge) car breakdown and included travel ins we pay £10pm.

TheAngryLibrarian

Ah right; I only have the ordinary flexaccount - but I'll look into whether I could upgrade. Thanks for the pointer!

benjus

The FlexPlus card is good for cash withdrawals but still charges 2% on purchases. Also, FlexPlus is £10/month and most of the packaged products you get for that will be useless when living outside the UK. Halifax Clarity is a better all-rounder.

[Deleted User]

TheAngryLibrarian wrote: »

Hello everyone,

Long-time reader of the MSE website, but first-time user of the Forum here. I'd be grateful for any advice forum members might have regarding setting up a US bank account.

I'm a UK citizen, and will be travelling to the US for six months in 2015 for work (5 months) and visiting family (1 month). I will be being paid in $.

My thinking is this: if I get paid into my UK bank account, I will incur costs of my pay being converted from $ into £ and then back into $. If it goes straight into a US bank account, I avoid all that. (The £ is also quite weak against the $ at the moment, though of course that could change).

I am a Nationwide customer, and eligible for their Select Credit Card, which I plan to use to pay for flights and any other travel. It comes with unlimited, commission-free purchases abroad, so if I'm getting short in my US bank accounts, I can use it to pay for things by card.

However, the card does charge for cash withdrawals: 2.5% (min £3). Having a US bank account would mean I wouldn't need to worry about extra charges if I needed to withdraw cash.

I would like to know if anyone else on here has set up a US bank account, what their experience was, who they might recommend, things to beware of.



James

Talk to https://www.moneycorp.com.
Setting up a bank account in the US can be a fraught business.I went with these guys 5 years ago and they ensured it wasn't.
End of.

Roger1

Archergirl wrote: »

... the Nationwide flexaccount card has free atm withdrawals.

Not quite, as you now know.

Nationwide Flex accounts can be confusing.

The FlexAccount charges 2% PLUS £1 for foreign ATM withdrawals, as does the FlexDirect.

The FlexPlus account has no surcharge - but has a £10 per month account fee and offers other benefits.

Compare at http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/going-abroad/fees-charges

SD-253

Never had a problem opening a US bank account but I used my brothers address in the US. Personally I would simply ring a US bank in the area your staying and ask them what info they need for you to open an account. If there is a possibility of you going back again then leave the account open as I did. No problems in the future that way.

SD-253

PS US ATMs charge for taking money out if you are not using your own banks ATM. Can remember paying between $1-$3 to take money out no matter what size the transaction.