Posts by Ethan Taylor9

I think I saw someone earlier asking for some clarity on what the fees look like over at PayPal, so I figured I’d just drop a helpful link right here for anyone who needs it https://www.paypal.com/webapps/help/article/fee-information

George Taylor28 said:Greetings to everyone! I find myself with a rather minor inquiry regarding the JPMorgan Chase mobile banking app;
I went ahead and submitted a formal request to my representative at the branch, making sure to check the specific box indicating that I wanted a brand new username and password... however, she insists that this information was already provided to me during the initial account opening process. Which, quite frankly, is simply not the case!
I am curious to know, when exactly did you all receive your login credentials and passwords?

It’s totally possible it just never hit your inbox, honestly. I went through this exact same headache with my online banking a while back. I ended up jumping on their live chat first, and then they had me hop on a quick call for security verification, and man, everything was sorted out in literally minutes. I'd definitely suggest doing the same thing because they told me the exact same story—that I was supposed to get an email with all my details—but nothing ever showed up.

nimblenomad26 said:Ethan Taylor9 says:
I think your best bet is to scout out all the major banks in the US first to see which ones actually offer loans to non-citizens. I managed to dig up a link from Chase because they have options for foreigners, so there’s a good chance the regulations will be similar elsewhere. This should at least give you a decent starting point to see how it all works.
If you scroll down to the credit terms section, there's some extra info there.

Wait, I don't get it—are the terms there actually worse than what we're seeing at Chase?!

See, this is just one of those loans that Chase offers specifically to foreign nationals, and honestly, I think it's pretty standard that the terms end up being a bit tougher on them compared to what our local American clients get...it doesn't seem all that unusual to me when you think about how banks operate, right?

So, I was actually sending some cash over to a buddy’s checking account at Goldman Sachs just a few days ago, and it totally triggered a memory of this old post, so I figured I’d jump back in here—hopefully, this helps someone out 🙂
. Anyway, when you're making a deposit into a bank, the standard way to handle it is to lead with the bank's routing number, then follow it with a dash and the specific account number for that institution, and then for the "payment reference" or memo field, you just put the recipient's actual account number. To give you a concrete example from my recent transaction at Goldman Sachs, my deposit slip looked exactly like this:

2402006-1031262160 (See, that stretch of numbers before the dash is the routing number for Goldman Sachs, and everything after the dash is their specific branch account number)
Payment Reference: 32xxxxxx (this is where you plug in the account number of the person you're actually paying)

But honestly, even though that's how it works, 😉 the teller I dealt with seemed completely clueless—either she just didn't know or maybe she was just having one of those rough mornings, you know? But look, there’s always gotta be someone at the bank who actually understands the system and can input it correctly into the computer, so if you ever run into a situation like that, don't be afraid to politely ask for a manager or another staff member who knows their stuff.

urbanpilot said:Sometimes I really wonder what the hiring standards are over at JPMorgan Chase.
Yesterday my mom came by to drop some cash off, but their systems were down.
Fine, whatever, not exactly their fault.
So she goes back today, the computers are working just fine, but...
The teller behind the glass apparently has no clue how to transfer money from a JPMorgan Chase account to a checking account at Goldman Sachs.
First, she’s making a fuss because she doesn't have the Goldman Sachs routing number. Then my mom gives it to her, then provides my account number, then she starts grilling her for my home address...
My mom gives her the address, but then suddenly she needs my Social Security number too... After thirty minutes of this endless back-and-forth, she finally tells my mom she can't process the transfer because their system won't accept payments destined for Goldman Sachs. 😲😲
It’s honestly unbelievable. My mom does this exact transfer every single month, plus she pays off a loan at Goldman Sachs using that same account at that same bank. 🙏

Ugh, man, that is just straight-up ridiculous. At any given moment, you should be able to send money to any account; the only thing that should ever change is the transaction fee for sending it to a different bank.
For something like this, you absolutely have to ask for the shift supervisor or the branch manager. Either the teller genuinely doesn't know how to do it, or she just doesn't want to deal with it—or maybe both!😠, but regardless, it SHOULD be possible, so just demand to speak to someone in charge!!

Jesse Johnson95 said:Can I pull cash from ATMs in Canada using my JPMorgan Chase card?

So, here’s the deal—if you’re carrying a JPMorgan Chase debit card and you head over to Canada and manage to find a JPMorgan Chase ATM, you won't be hit with any extra transaction fees, though you'll still deal with that tiny little bit of a loss on the currency conversion, which is basically unavoidable when you're crossing borders. But, if you end up at some random ATM from a different bank while you're there, you're going to get hit twice: once for the conversion and again for an additional fee, but just remember that the specific amount of that fee is determined by the fee schedule of your own bank, JPMorgan Chase, rather than whatever local bank owns the machine you're standing in front of.

Olivia Thompson9 said:I was thinking about opening a checking account at Bank of America to get a Visa debit card, so I'm just wondering... does it actually work for online shopping?

What our friend here is saying is spot on—you’ll have zero issues using that card online, it works perfectly fine for web purchases. But, I really should point out one little thing that might trip you up later, because if you start buying stuff in foreign currencies—which, let's be honest, most people do when they're browsing the web—and you're tied to a US dollar account, you're basically at the mercy of whatever exchange rate the bank decides to slap on you that day. It can be a bit of a headache! If you go with a multi-currency setup or a travel card instead, you won't have to deal with all that fluctuation; like, if you have 10 Euros sitting there, it stays 10 Euros. So, for anyone who travels abroad or shops globally, a foreign currency card is definitely the smarter move, though you aren't "wrong" per se—that Bank of America card will get the job done just fine for your online orders. 🙂

nimbleraven802 said:I'm wondering how using a Visa Electron card works when you're booking flights online.

Specifically, I'm looking at buying some tickets from American Airlines, and their payment section says this:

You can pay at spanair.com with any of the listed cards... We also accept debit cards provided that They show The Visa or MASTERCARD.
NB: If you pay with a debit card or Visa Electron, a temporary charge will be made to your card for the total price of the ticket plus a withholding of the same amount.

What does that last part actually mean? Is it saying they’ll take the full ticket price plus an extra amount, or just hold that extra bit temporarily?

My Visa Electron is through Chase. Am I going to get hit with any extra fees for this?

darkstar made a good point there, honestly, with that Chase card you probably won't even be able to pull off the transaction, but as for what you were asking about.... I'm not entirely sure, but it sounds a bit like that thing where you rent a car or check into a hotel, you know? Like, they "charge" you right at the start—well, they don't actually take the money, they just put a hold on a certain amount on your card—just in case something goes sideways, like if you scratch the rental car or cause some kind of trouble at the hotel. That way, if everything stays perfect, you just pay the actual price and that extra held amount gets released back to your card. But why on earth would American Airlines want to hold double the ticket price? It'd probably be best to just shoot them an email so we can get the real scoop.

Benjamin Murphy34 said:Hey Benjamin Murphy34... I have a question. I’m planning on heading to college this year and I was thinking about taking out a student loan. But here’s the thing: I wouldn't be using it for tuition, just to cover my driver's ed costs. Does that kind of loan actually cover stuff like that, or does it strictly have to be tied to school fees?

Oh, you can definitely do that! Honestly, some banks offer specific student loans meant for general living expenses too, so instead of looking for one giant lump sum for tuition, you could grab a loan that gives you, say, $300 a month, and just use that to pay off your driving lessons over a few months—it works out great. For instance, JPMorgan Chase has this whole setup specifically tailored for younger people,
I mean, my only thought is that you might struggle to find a lender willing to cut you a single check for the entire cost of a driver's license upfront, because like my buddy mentioned earlier, it's pretty tough to get a loan approved for things that aren't directly related to your degree. But using that monthly stipend to chip away at your driving costs? That's a solid plan.

If you’re holding onto more than half of a bill and the serial numbers aren't all beat up or damaged, you can actually just swap them out at any bank according to the law. Honestly, you might as well just hit up whichever branch is closest to you—it’ll save you a ton of time and gas in the long run if you don't go driving across town for no reason 😁

So, if you’ve set your overdraft limit at, say, one and a half times your monthly paycheck, then yeah, you’re essentially stuck without using the card until the bank actually clears your payment. It really just comes down to whatever arrangement you made with Chase—whether they automatically pull the funds from your checking account or if you’re manually transferring the cash over yourself. Either way, you should probably be prepared to wait a little bit after you make the deposit; sometimes there’s a bit of a lag while they process everything and get it posted to your account, but once that's settled, you can get right back to using your card like normal. 🙂

wireddriver45 said:Is anyone actually alive on this forum?🙄

Haha, so, what game are you actually playing lately? I feel like I can never decide if I want to dive back into some massive open-world RPG or just kill an hour with something casual on my phone while I'm waiting for my coffee at Starbucks. It's a struggle, honestly! 🙂 So, I was just sitting here wondering—are you actually looking to pick up a specific item, or are you thinking about just loading up a prepaid card to get it over with? I can't decide if that's the smarter move or if it's just more hassle in the long run, you know? Sometimes I feel like I'm constantly debating between just grabbing what I need right then or playing it safe with a little extra cushion on a card, but man, it always feels like such a toss-up when you're staring at the checkout screen. What's your plan? 😁
Ugh, okay, so here’s the deal—you’re going to need a checking account, obviously. But if you're still a minor, things get a little more complicated because you’ll actually need your parents or a legal guardian to sign off on everything first. The only real exception to that rule is if you’ve already landed a job; in that case, you can just show the bank a confirmation from your employer proving you're officially on the payroll.
Honestly, the whole process is pretty straightforward once you get moving on it—you just head down to the bank with a signed consent form or bring one of your parents along, since they’re basically setting up the account in your name. Just keep in mind that they’ll only hand over the actual debit card to your parent, not you directly. You also really want to be picky about which bank you choose; if you go with somewhere like JP Morgan Chase or Bank of America, you know for a fact you can handle all your online shopping without any hiccups using their Visa or Mastercard options. So, when you're sitting there at the desk opening the account, make sure you emphasize that you want a standard checking account and specifically ask for a Visa card. After you wrap everything up, it usually takes about ten days or so for the card to actually show up. Once it arrives, you just load some cash onto it, and you're good to go—you can pay for whatever you want online, and it'll just convert everything automatically based on whatever the current exchange rate is for the currency you're using. It's super easy.

Noah Thompson said:Does seriously nobody know which bank in, say, Nevada actually lets you pull a loan like this?

sasa00, where did you end up going?

thanks

Honestly, I think your best bet is to just pull up a list of all the major banks in Austria first, and then dig through their individual sites to see if they even deal with non-residents. It’s a bit of a rabbit hole, but it helps. I actually managed to dig up a link from Erste Bank—they’re known for being pretty open to lending to foreigners, so there’s a good chance the regulations for everyone else will be somewhat similar. Just thought I'd share so you have at least a little bit of a starting point to look over. http://www.erstebank.com/English/housing_loan.asp
If you scroll down to the credit terms section, there's some extra info there too.

Lawrence Wright7 said:I’m writing this with an incredible sense of relief 😁
,,,,,,,,,,,, I ACTUALLY DID IT,,,,,,,,,,,,
I’m finally done being a slave to the banks—settled the debt, sold the house 😁
Being free... man, that feeling is priceless. I can actually breathe again!!! (It feels amazing)
Next step is packing up and heading back to the Midwest to be near my kid.🙂 I even have a little bit of cash left over
to pick up a decent gift.
It was a Long, grueling journey, but I pushed through and somehow found the light at the end of the tunnel. If only I’d had the guts to do this sooner.
Like some people here were saying: four walls aren't worth all this misery—and they were absolutely right!
Thanks to everyone for the support, the harsh critiques, the advice, the answers......

Later ☕

I’ve been following this thread closely, and man, I am just so happy to see everything worked out for you.
Huge congrats 🙏 and I really hope things only go uphill from here!
The hardest lessons are usually the ones that stick the most, and I truly hope you can take all this experience and turn it into something great.

Good luck!👍

velvethawk4 said:So, I was wondering... can other people actually put money onto this card? Like, could someone just walk into a Chase branch or hit up a local CVS with a standard money order and deposit funds directly onto it?

Yeah, you definitely can,

but there’s a little catch—you’ll need to grab that specific card batch number from your account details and make sure it's included in the payment reference field when you're making the transfer to Chase. Honestly, the easiest way to figure out exactly what that number is without driving yourself crazy is to just give your bank's customer service line a quick ring; they'll have it right there on their screen for you.

casualpanther9 said:Yeah, I was only in the red for a few days. Thanks for breaking it down, makes sense now.😁

No worries at all, really! Happy to help out. 😁 If there’s anything else on your mind, seriously, just shoot me a message and ask! I'm happy to dive into more details if you need them. 🙂

casualpanther9 said:So, I’ve been rocking that student account at Chase and using my Maestro card for a few months now. I actually dipped into the red on my Maestro a couple of times, but I haven't seen any interest charges hit my account yet. Honestly, those 14% annual interest rates they talk about just confuse me. Like, how does that math even work in practice? Probably a pretty dumb question, but I'm just lost here.

They definitely would have calculated it, but honestly, the amount was probably so tiny you wouldn't have even noticed it on your statement.

The way it works is that they calculate the interest on a daily basis and then just charge you once a month. So, what that means is if you end up overdrawn at the beginning of the month, but you manage to move money back in and clear that negative balance after about a week, they’ll calculate the interest specifically for those seven days you were in the red, and then they'll just tack that total onto your bill at the end of the month.

For example, if you go into the negative $333, that 14% interest rate would mean you're looking at something like maybe 10 or 15 cents a day depending on the amount. If you cleared that balance pretty quickly, you probably didn't even realize those few pennies were being added up...

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what happened here.

granitebadger18 said:c/p from http://www.clubmed.com/ErsteClub/Er...ti01012010.pdf

II. STUDENT LOANS FOR EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES

This loan is for Club Med package members looking to cover undergrad and
grad school costs in the US or abroad (housing, food, travel, books, and gear)

Loan amount: up to $40,000.00, subject to currency adjustment clauses
due date: up to 7 years, with an option for a 12-month grace period
How to use: monthly or quarterly disbursements until graduation (max. 7 years)

Collateral Requirements
- up to $10,000.00 requires no additional collateral
- from $10,000.01 to $20,000.00 requires a qualified co-signer or life insurance policy plus a 10%
deposit or a mortgage at a 1:1.5 ratio
- from $20,000.01 to $40,000.00 requires a mortgage at a 1:1.5 ratio

A co-signer is mandatory for loans used to study overseas
If the borrower is over 25 or already working full-time, the Club Med
package isn't required.

So—since they say a co-signer is a must for studying abroad, but you don't need extra collateral for loans under $10k—does that mean if I'm just taking out a student loan for living expenses, I don't need a co-signer OR a guarantor?

Thanks...

If you're working a steady job here in the States, you won't need a co-signer or a guarantor.

Jesse Chase32 said:I was wondering how long it actually takes to get a student loan processed and moving? Like, is there any chance a bank would just wire the cash straight to the university on the same day you sign everything, or is that just wishful thinking?

In the real world, once you actually hand in the application, it usually takes somewhere between one and three weeks to get everything processed and the money released.

Joshua Davis said:Hey everyone...
So, I got back from my graduation trip this summer with about $30 sitting in loose change—just a bunch of coins... I was hoping to swap them for USD so I could actually do something useful with the money... but all the currency exchanges and banks have been giving me the cold shoulder.
Does anyone know if there are any banks in San Francisco that will actually take coin (50 cents and up) and exchange it for cash? Thanks...

Actually, just a few days ago, I saw this guy standing right in front of me in line at a Citigroup branch—well, it was down in Washington, D.C.—and he was successfully swapping out his coins... you should definitely give it a shot there, and since I think Citigroup has a branch in San Francisco too, you might have some luck with them... good luck!

restlessowl13 said:Quick question regarding online banking...
I’m trying to finalize a payment right now, and at the very last step, it's demanding authorization (it gives me this specific code, and then I'm supposed to type in some sort of response). The problem is, nothing I enter seems to work. I've tried typing the code itself, my card number, my PIN, you name it... none of it is being accepted. What exactly am I supposed to be entering here?

Which bank are you using?