First time in US

[rodolfof1]

---

@Anonymalous wrote:

---

@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.

---

Can you recommend any online bank that I can get a CC and it will report to credit buereau?

[Anonymous]

---

@rodolfof1 wrote:

---

---

Can you recommend any online bank that I can get a CC and it will report to credit buereau?

---

I think part of @Anonymalous point was that you don't need to get them at the same institution.   Get a great savings/checking account at an online bank(see High Yield Savings Accounts – Daily Rates | DepositAccounts for examples) and a credit card that interests you at another bank.

This doesn't apply if you want Bank of America for Platinum Honors type stuff (where rewards increase with increasing levels of deposit).   But even then, make sure it makes sense (It's fine to stick flat rate stuff like an ETF to reach the required amount, but if you are using liquid cash, make sure the extra credit card rewards exceed the losses caused by a less than stellar savings rate)

[Anonymalous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@rodolfof1 wrote:

---

---

Can you recommend any online bank that I can get a CC and it will report to credit buereau?

---

I think part of @Anonymalous point was that you don't need to get them at the same institution.   Get a great savings/checking account at an online bank(see High Yield Savings Accounts – Daily Rates | DepositAccounts for examples) and a credit card that interests you at another bank.

This doesn't apply if you want Bank of America for Platinum Honors type stuff (where rewards increase with increasing levels of deposit).   But even then, make sure it makes sense (It's fine to stick flat rate stuff like an ETF to reach the required amount, but if you are using liquid cash, make sure the extra credit card rewards exceed the losses caused by a less than stellar savings rate)

---

Yep. Nearly all banks will give you a credit card without a deposit account. While there are "relationship" perks -- which exist because banks want to encourage people to do all their banking with them -- they're typically aimed at investments accounts held by people with fairly high net worths, and usually involve things like free checks, higher transfer limits, or waived wire fees. BoA is unusual in that it affects CC rewards, involves relatively low dollar amounts, and doesn't require the assets to be under active management. That makes it a more achieveable option, but even in that case, I wouldn't move assets around just to get more credit card rewards. Investments are a lot more important than cash back. Most of the time, the benefits of having a CC account and a deposit account at the same institution are convenience (one app, easier reward redemptions, etc.) and a chance they'll give you the card anyway if you're a bit shy of their normal underwriting criteria (the latter does matter, but it's hit or miss).