<p>Hello, I'm coming into Austin for the first time this August, and my first objective is to set up my bank account. Any recommendation what bank should I use?</p>
<p>The University Federal Credit Union. They have ATM’s everywhere - lots around campus.</p>
<p>I agree. Very convenient.</p>
<p>That’s great! Thanks for the news =D</p>
<p>Bank of America is also everywhere with ATM’s. I also prefer it since, you know, it’s a “real” bank that you will find all around the country.</p>
<p>I went with Chase Bank. There’s an ATM in the CVS on the drag (directly across guadalupe from the Texas Union) and they have actual tellers at their location between 24th and 25th on the drag.</p>
<p>The BoA on the drag does not have any tellers there, if that’s important to you, but you can do deposits at their ATMs now. Also BoA or UFCU are the only ones with ATMs on campus. There are ATMs for wells fargo and the others that I mentioned on the drag.</p>
<p>Now I’m a bit confused about which bank to choose. I’m coming from overseas, and will receive my funds via transfer. My concern is that UFCU perhaps is not listed as a “real” or “common” bank, and am afraid that this will be a problem in the future… </p>
<p>And one more thing, what about credit cards?</p>
<p>@What about credit cards? unless you can manage your finances, it’s always a bad idea…
Though if you just want an electronic way to access your money, the majority of banks and UFCU will give you a debit card linked to your account so you can use it like a credit card (up to available funds).</p>
<p>Credit unions and banks are both insured so you don’t have to worry about that, but if you’re doing a lot of transfers between your account in your home country to Austin, it may behoove you to look into the banks to see how much they charge for wire transfers.</p>
<p>UFCU is $3.00 per incoming international wire transfer…I don’t know about the other banks.</p>
<p>I have BBVA compass. If I were you, I think having a bank in which is nearby where you live is good. so you can make deposits (or your parents)</p>
<p>and vachee, banks use something called automated clearinghouse transfer (ACH) which is your bill pay online feature. If you use that feature to transfer money, there is no processing fees… but you may have to wait at least a week for the funds to get to your account</p>
<p>I still suggest using a major bank like Bank of America. You’ll be able to keep this after you graduate and use it all around the country, since it’s one of the largest in branches and ATM networks. UFCU is only around UT campus areas and a few satellite locations, you won’t find it almost anywhere else.</p>
<p>Plus BoA does credit cards, auto loans, mortgages; things you’ll inevitably need in the future (even if not for a decade). It’s good to have a standing relationship with a big bank for a long time. If they see you can hold a checking/savings account for many years, and never overdraft and you have a constant steam of income, they are more likely to approve you for larger lines of credit and lower rates on loans/mortgages.</p>
<p>whoa now i’m confused.</p>
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<p>I was trying to answer Eclipze’s question but it seems i messed up the typing. S/he is coming from overseas so I assume is an int’l student that’ll still have to transfer funds to their bank account here.</p>
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<p>BoA is a good idea…if Eclipze is planning on staying stateside after graduation</p>
<p>I use to have an account with Chase and it was a bad experience. Go with Bank of America and tell them your going to college. They will set you up with a 5 year checking account that doesn’t allow you to pay any monthly service fees or make you use your card a certain amount of times during the month.</p>
<p>Credit cards = Discover</p>
<p>^ Discover has a poor rewards program and gave me a horrible APR. I think it’s something like 18%. I got a credit card with an 11% APR and a much higher limit from Citi Mastercard. Now I pay my balance off every month so it’s moot point really, but at least this means they view me as a “better” customer and offer me cards with better rewards.</p>
<p>I’ve used BoA my whole life, from New York City to Ft Lauderdale Florida to Plano TX to Austin TX. I’ve found ATM’s plentiful everywhere I’ve traveled, to Buffalo, Chicago, random cities in Ohio, etc.</p>
<p>Poor rewards? 5% cash back on certain places for gas, groceries, etc. OR double cash back bonus on first $250 purchases each month, 1% cash back on everything else, 0% APR first 6-12 months, no annual fee. New discover card users are offered 11% to 18% APR, but it will go down if you stick with it. I’ve never seen anyone get offered 18% APR with a discover unless you have bad credit. My dad and my brother have less than 5% APR. Discover is also known to have higher credit card limits than Citi, Visa, and MasterCard.</p>
<p>I’m getting one soon, thats why I know this :).</p>
<p>WhyTwoKay’s advice is sound. Since I’m not a texan, I will move out of texas someday and thus BoA will be a good choice I guess. Is BoA @ Austin convenient as well?</p>
<p>Yes there are tons of ATM’s right on campus. There are two in the downstairs section of Jester, one across the street at the PCL, a few on the drag, etc. There is a branch office with a person there on the drag. It’s not a teller, more like an account manager if you wanted to open/close accounts or move large amounts of money around. All of the ATM’s allow you to deposit cash or checks right into them, and it is credited to your account the same day (cash) or the next business day (check).</p>
<p>Yes, I understand eclipze is an international student. I am sorry; I thought banks internationally had a program similar to ACH.
I would think Chase is better than Bank of America. I know first hand that Chase has ATM locations in Cleveland Ohio that Bank of America does not. (The only national banks in Ohio, I think, are Chase and citi bank) </p>
<p>Furthermore, Chase has a location on Guadulupe</p>
<p>But after you get a Bank of America account, please read their privacy policy and call their toll free number to opt out of marketing preferences. They do sell the names and addresses of their customers to third parties.</p>
<p>xtra, chase rips people off. They won’t tell you that you will be charged if you don’t use your card a certain amount of times when obtaining certain kinds of checking accounts, they don’t let overdraft fees slide, theres no “keep the change” at chase, and there are many people that I know who are dissatisfied with Chase for many more reasons. When I went to re-sign up for a chase checking account a while ago, they pulled my credit for a credit card without my authorization. I was ****ed, they make money off of that and my credit score goes down. There ATMs are convenient, but I would go with another bank when it comes to customer service, rewards, and less fees</p>
<p>Yes, DenuMz, I understand your frustrations. That is why I read every line of the terms and agreements booklet they give me before I sign any documents to apply for an account. </p>
<p>At my bank BBVa compass, the terms and conditions actually says that for the overdraft protection, they would apply the check that is the greatest amount first regardless of how much is in your account. For instance, I have a 20 dollar charge and a 180 dollar charge. They would always remove the 180 dollar charge first in my account. I am okay with doing that because I read that booklet they gave me.</p>
<p>I don’t actually recommend any of the large banks; I am still irritated at how they got a “good deal” when they bailed out the other failing banks. Chase bailed out washington mutual. Bank of america and merrill lynch.</p>
<p>However, I think since this student is an international student then she or he ( gender neutral:)) is stuck with one of the big banks.</p>
<p>But to the original poster, check if the bank you have at your country has a service to what the United States has that is similar to ACH; that way, you do not have to pay fees to transfer money to an account in the United States (if that service exists).</p>