Intel Visa

The lady at the bank I visited last time actually tried to sell me on the idea that you can pay for things online using a Maui card... so much for her being "well-informed."

Anyway, getting back to the main point... if I put those 2 $0.00 into a two-year CD, what does that actually entail? Does it mean I won't be able to touch that 2 $0.00 for the full two years (just like how I couldn't get my hands on that $13 I spent on the Maui card last week), or am I misunderstanding something?

And what exactly constitutes a "card limit"?

Can anyone recommend a decent bank that will 100% approve me for a credit card (Visa) if I commit those 2 $0.00 to a two-year term?
....

Look, I can give you the lowdown on that specific setup because I actually carry one of their cards myself.

So, you take your cash and put it into a fixed-term CD at, say, $667 for two years. It’s your standard certificate of deposit—you lock it up, and yeah, you earn interest. In exchange, they hand you either a Visa Classic (which is basically a revolving line of credit) or a standard credit card. I’ll focus on the Visa since I don't have the other one. The credit limit they grant you is $600. Now, here is the kicker: the interest rate on that card is whatever your CD rate is, plus an extra 2.49%. So, if the CD is sitting at 4%, you're looking at 6.49% on the card. You can blow through that entire limit whenever you want.
With this particular card, you're required to pay off 5% of whatever you spent immediately after you get the notification about the transaction. As for the rest? You can pay it off over those two years—or whenever you feel like it—but then you're stuck paying interest. If you clear the whole balance right away, there's no interest, and your full limit stays open.
As for the money you put in the CD? Well, obviously you can't touch it. That cash is locked tight for as long as you hold the card. I mean, what were you thinking? Did you think you could just open a CD, grab the card, and then withdraw the principal? Come on.🙂
And no, it’s not some free lunch. That card isn't free. I honestly don't know the exact breakdown of the fees because I’m on one of their bundled monthly packages, so I just pay a flat monthly service fee for everything.

I think I’m finally starting to wrap my head around all of this, but I still have three lingering questions...

1.) If I put $2,000 into a two-year CD, once those two years are up, do they just take back the card (assuming I don't want to extend it) and hand me my $2 $0.00 (plus interest)? Also, is there any way to break the CD early—say, after a year—return the card, and have them release my $2 $0.00 to me?

2.) I’m still a little fuzzy on the whole concept of $600. If I’m following you correctly, $600 is basically the spending limit on the card for those two years? Isn't that a bit low?

3.) Is it possible to go into a negative balance using this credit line?

p.s. Please excuse the rookie questions; I'm still totally new to all of this...

1) YES, EXACTLY.

2) Seriously, please go back and actually read my previous posts. If you try to withdraw cash at an ATM—say, at a Chase branch—the daily limit is usually around 90% of your total credit line. Just withdraw more money to bump up that limit.

3) You have the limit, so deal with it. There’s no "overdraft" here. And honestly? At your age, don't even let the idea of going into the negative cross your mind—not now, and definitely not later on. It's just bad practice.

p.s. You really need to sit down and learn the actual difference between a credit card, a charge card, and a debit card... You only end up in the red when you fail to pay a bill, and by then, you're already looking at serious trouble.

Thanks so much, Kimberly Nguyen, I finally get it now! 😁 I know JPMorgan Chase is being difficult about all of this, so I was wondering—do you happen to know if there’s any bank here in the States that accepts a smaller amount of cash for a CD but offers a higher credit limit (say, 200% of the deposit)? 😍 Also, would I be able to increase that deposit once I've used up the initial limit the bank grants me? 😕

I’ve got a Microsoft card linked to my foreign currency account over at Bank of America. I’ve used the card for in-store purchases—standard PIN stuff—but also for online shopping where you don't need a PIN, just that security code on the back. So, yeah, you can definitely make online payments using a Microsoft card from Bank of America.

Have you actually managed to use an Intel card online? How? Please, just name one single website where you’ve actually had success completing a purchase...

soundvision said:You actually bought Intel online? How? Come on, please just name one single website where you actually managed to complete a purchase....

For example, check out these or those.

Oh, I see there’s actually an option for Visa Electron here... now that’s interesting...

By the way, looking at this second link, it looks like a sportsbook... how exactly did you go about collecting your winnings?

The money will be credited back to your account. Like I mentioned before, your Intel card is tied directly to your foreign currency account, so you can only spend what’s actually sitting in there. Other people can transfer funds to you, too. There's no PIN required for payments, but you'll need to enter the CVV code from the back of the card. Personally, I just stick to using American Express for all my other online transactions.

Awesome 😁 .. once my Intel Visa arrives (they told me about ten days), I’ll be heading over to that site 😁

Quick question though—will it be an issue if my Visa isn't linked to a foreign currency account, but just my standard checking account?

soundvision said:Quick question—will it be an issue if my Elon Musk card is linked to my checking account instead of a foreign currency account?

That shouldn't be a dealbreaker. However, if you're pulling from a standard USD account, just keep an eye on those conversion fees...

I’ve been browsing through this page for a bit, and I’m feeling a little lost regarding the minimum payout amount. It mentions that the house covers the fees for the very first withdrawal of the month, but what happens when you try to take money out for a second or third time? Are those extra transactions subject to additional costs? Also, is there any kind of monthly maintenance fee I should be aware of?

Kevin Morris12 said:The whole parents thing is out. It’s honestly ridiculous that in this day and age, NOT A SINGLE bank here in America offers a card like a Visa Contactless—basically anything designed EXCLUSIVELY for online shopping...

Actually, there is one! It’s not technically a bank, but still...
http://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/e-card.html

Oh, and yeah—students can get it too.

True, but to even get an American Express e-card set up, you first need to hold a standard Diners Club card, which I don't have. And if students want to apply for a basic Diners Club card, they'd need a parent or guardian to co-sign and guarantee all the payments—which likely ties back to the parent's own account. Like I mentioned before, involving my parents just isn't an option for me.

It’s essentially the same situation as when Visa offers its customers the chance to open a Visa card, but without having a primary credit card in hand, you're effectively stuck...

Can someone who actually knows their stuff tell me if I can use my Bank of America Visa debit card in New York City at ATMs and shops?

To be clear, it's just a debit card and I haven't set up any overdraft protection or anything like that.

Also, does anyone know what kind of fees those foreign ATMs slap on you? And do they hit you with extra fees when you're just buying stuff in stores too?

Thanks. 😁

Sure thing. I’ve got an Intel account over at JPMorgan Chase—just a basic checking one—and I had zero issues pulling cash out while I was over in England.😉

Ronald Allen said:That Intel card you’re holding—I'm guessing it's for a US dollar account?
If so, you can pretty much use it anywhere as long as you actually have the funds. Though, I guess it’s hard to know how you'd even end up overdrawn on a foreign currency account...
If you're hitting an ATM in another country, you'll just get whatever local currency they use there. As for fees, yeah, you're gonna pay them. It follows whatever the rules are in that specific country. Like, if you've got dollars in your account but you're pulling out, say, British pounds, there's going to be an exchange rate difference, and you'll get hit with a transaction fee. Same goes for when you're buying stuff at shops.

Hmm...

I really can't get behind that logic at all.

The fees for hitting an ATM abroad don't depend on the local laws of the country you're visiting; they depend entirely on the fee schedule set by your own card issuer.

If what you're saying were actually true, bank fee schedules would be millions of pages long, listing every single tiny regulation for every different country, instead of just having one universal fee for international withdrawals.

I can't speak for every bank out there since I personally use Intel, but honestly, the smartest move is to just keep everything in dollars because that's how all the transactions are processed...
Look, if you're withdrawing pounds, common sense might suggest you should have pounds in your account, but that's actually a mistake because you'll end up losing way more on those exchange rate spreads.
The bank takes the pounds, converts them back to dollars, and then converts those dollars into pounds again.
If you already have the base currency ready to go, you avoid that ridiculous double conversion mess.

Kimberly Nguyen said:Hmm...

I really can't get behind that logic at all.

The fees for hitting an ATM abroad don't depend on the local laws of the country you're visiting; they depend entirely on the fee schedule set by your own card issuer.

If what you're saying were actually true, bank fee schedules would be millions of pages long, listing every single tiny regulation for every different country, instead of just having one universal fee for international withdrawals.

I can't speak for every bank out there since I personally use Intel, but honestly, the smartest move is to just keep everything in dollars because that's how all the transactions are processed...
Look, if you're withdrawing pounds, common sense might suggest you should have pounds in your account, but that's actually a mistake because you'll end up losing way more on those exchange rate spreads.
The bank takes the pounds, converts them back to dollars, and then converts those dollars into pounds again.
If you already have the base currency ready to go, you avoid that ridiculous double conversion mess.

That’s a fundamental misunderstanding right there. The Intel cards issued here for foreign currency accounts are hardcoded to a specific currency based on what you choose when you open the account. As far as I know, most American banks only give you the option of USD, EUR, or CHF. Once that card is printed and tied to a specific currency, an ATM, a card reader, or any electronic transfer system will only recognize that one specific currency. To put it bluntly, if you have pounds sitting in your account but your card is designated as a dollar card, you won't be able to withdraw a single cent in London, New York, or anywhere else—unless you go talk to a teller at a branch. So, if you plan on using the card abroad, make sure the money in your account matches the currency on the card; otherwise, you're going to get hit with massive exchange rate differences and fees, which are set by your issuing bank regardless of where you happen to be standing.

EDIT: Alright, I just did some digging into Chase's fine print, and it looks like they really do tie almost all card usage to the dollar, which is a pretty inconvenient setup, especially for anyone doing business in other currencies.