First time in US

[rodolfof1]

Hello all,

I have just arrived in US and I'm looking for an advice to start my relationship with banks and so, start building my score. I was thinking about opening an Advantage Plus BoA checking account and then applying for the BoA travel rewards credit card at first. Is this the first step I should do? For information I don't have SSN yet.

Best regards. 

[rodolfof1]

Just complementing, I have no interest in loans or something like this, my personal and only goal is to get nice cards in the future.

[unsungivy]

---

@rodolfof1 wrote:

Just complementing, I have no interest in loans or something like this, my personal and only goal is to get nice cards in the future.

---

Well, you posted on the Credit Cards section, so you're in the right place.

BofA is a solid bank. I don't think you're going to go wrong there. Their travel rewards card is a 1.5% card, and should be affected by gaining the higher statuses (up to 75% extra rewards bonus, which makes it a 2.625% on everything card, although you are limited where you can redeem the points by nature of it being a travel points card).

Welcome to the US! We have, uh, the Grand Canyon and Philly cheesesteaks 👍

[tiniwings]

US Banking offers are new experience compared to other countries, We get paid for opening new accounts/credit cards!! 

Look for account opening Bonus offers , you can get Bonus amount $$ for opening Checking account with direct deposit.

Samebthing for credit card opening, but may need to complete some purchase ammount. 

Please consider Discover Card, they are best for approving new customers without/less credit history. Also offers good credit card offer cashback. 

Welcome. 

[jostermacedo]

Hi Rodolfof1,

what country did you immigrate from? I ask because when I moved to the US I was able to leverage the relationship with the bank I had an account from my home country (HSBC). They opened a bank account in the US and issued me an US CC even before I moved.

Outside that, I suggest both Amex and Discover CC for people with limited credit history. They will probably give low start limits, but they will grow.

Joster

[rodolfof1]

---

@tiniwings wrote:

US Banking offers are new experience compared to other countries, We get paid for opening new accounts/credit cards!! 

Look for account opening Bonus offers , you can get Bonus amount $$ for opening Checking account with direct deposit.

Samebthing for credit card opening, but may need to complete some purchase ammount. 

Please consider Discover Card, they are best for approving new customers without/less credit history. Also offers good credit card offer cashback. 

Welcome. 

---

Thanks a lot for the advices. After opening the checking accout (probably BofA, but I'll look for bonus offers), I'll try amex or discover card. 

[rodolfof1]

---

@jostermacedo wrote:

Hi Rodolfof1,

what country did you immigrate from? I ask because when I moved to the US I was able to leverage the relationship with the bank I had an account from my home country (HSBC). They opened a bank account in the US and issued me an US CC even before I moved.

Outside that, I suggest both Amex and Discover CC for people with limited credit history. They will probably give low start limits, but they will grow.

Joster

---

Thanks Joster, I am from Brazil, but I don't have any account from a brazilian bank that is also present in US. I do have amex cards (TPC for example), not sure if it benefits me.

[Anonymous]

---

@rodolfof1 wrote:

---

@jostermacedo wrote:

Hi Rodolfof1,

what country did you immigrate from? I ask because when I moved to the US I was able to leverage the relationship with the bank I had an account from my home country (HSBC). They opened a bank account in the US and issued me an US CC even before I moved.

Outside that, I suggest both Amex and Discover CC for people with limited credit history. They will probably give low start limits, but they will grow.

Joster

---

Thanks Joster, I am from Brazil, but I don't have any account from a brazilian bank that is also present in US. I do have amex cards (TPC for example), not sure if it benefits me.

---

American Express has Global Transfer which is great for this, but unfortunately Brazil is not included in the eligible countries.

International Contact Page - Global Card Transfer | American Express US

[jostermacedo]

I'm from Brazil too. When I moved to the US, Bradesco had not bought HSBC Brasil yet.

HSBC has a page for those moving to the US. It might be helpful if you qualify for an account with HSBC Premier:

https://www.us.hsbc.com/financial-wellness/coming-to-america/

Joster

[Anonymalous]

---

@rodolfof1 wrote:

Hello all,

I have just arrived in US and I'm looking for an advice to start my relationship with banks and so, start building my score. I was thinking about opening an Advantage Plus BoA checking account and then applying for the BoA travel rewards credit card at first. Is this the first step I should do? For information I don't have SSN yet.

Best regards. 

---

Any particular reason you're looking at BoA? Just the credit cards?

BoA is one of the big old traditional banks. The big banks can be good if you need to deposit cash frequently, but they tend to have very low rates on savings and charge a lot of fees to subsidize all their physical branches. They typically have the most popular credit cards, and while it can help, it's usually not necessary to have a deposit account with them to get a credit card. Another alternative is online banks, which don't have physical branches, but often have very good interest rates on deposit accounts, and tend to have lower fees and minimums. They're good if you're comfortable moving your money around electronically. A third option that's worth keeping in mind are credit unions, which provide all the basic banking services, but are non-profit collectives instead of for-profit organizations. They have a customer focus, and often have good rates for loans, but are often small and regional. It's not uncommon to use several different financial institutions, serving different purposes like an account for most transactions (checking) and a separate high yield savings account.

You've gotten some good advice on CCs already, so I'll only emphasize one thing: If you can't leverage a pre-existing relationship, you're effectively starting from scratch, and it'll take a couple years to build a solid profile.