Want a Charles Schwab checking, but don’t want to be denied again

[Anonymous]

I travel a lot and the ATM fee reimbursement and they also don't charge foreign transaction fees (which would save me quite a bit of money while traveling overseas) is my reasoning for wanting a Charles Schwab account. 

I had nothing negative on my Chex system when I applied. Chex stuff falls off after 7 years, right? I had some stuff on Chex but this was about 10 years before I tried to get a Charles Schwab account. But I don't recall if maybe I had opened up another bank account around that time. I believe I did open my navy federal and PenFed accounts that year. Probably within months of applying for Charles Schwab. Didn't known opening new bank accounts had an effect. But I haven't opened one in years. And all inquiries have fallen off now. So no inquiries on my credit report as of current. 

also, no one really responded to the margin thing. I guess all checking accounts came with brokerage accounts(did you add money?) but you can also add a margin account, is it best to stay away from that sense thats them lending money pretty much? Then you have a better chance of being approved for the checking account?

Edit I just checked and I do indeed have one inquiry. Its from charles schwab lol. It was on Jun 18th 2018 so 2 more weeks and I will be inquiry free :-) As far as college loans. Do they approve or deny based on someone having college loans?

[snickerpedia]

You say you were initially denied for inquiries?? How many did you have??

i have a feeling there is some other factor for denial you need to figure out...

I would not opt for the margin option brokerage .....  - I actually think I opened a brokerage first with no pulls then got lucky a month later getting the checking with no pulls either.

[Anonymous]

You could also just open a brokerage account and then request banking features be activated (check-writing and debit card). The banking portion is facilitated by BNY Mellon rather than Charles Schwab Bank but you get all the same service and benefits. That's what I do.

[Anonymous]

Capital One 360 doesn't charge a fee for use of a non-US ATM and they convert to USD at very close to market rates. They don't reimburse the ATM owner's fee.

The ATM fee itself is much less important than making sure that you don't let the ATM do the currency conversion for you. Giant scam

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous the huge atm conversion fee can be eliminated mostly by not pressing the convert button on the atm. People usually press that button thinking that if they don't, they will get USD instead of local currency. This adds a huge markup to your atm charge. I also do have capital one 360 checking. Great suggestion, but as stated, it also doesn't remove the atm fees. Which to be honest, if I want cash, I want to not pay atm fees. If I'm going to a store that accepts card I probably would just use a card with no transaction fee and a good exchange rate anyway. So the capital one card pretty much is just as back up debit card that doesn't charge foreign fees. I believe that all of my other cards that don't charge foreign fees are credit cards. 

[Anonymous]

When I travel outside the US, I like to grab a moderate amount local currency as soon as possible. It helps reduce stupid scams like "Oh, we don't take credit cards."

Even with an ATM fee, I've never found a cheaper way to get local currency. BOA will happily mail it to me in advance at an exorbitant exchange rate.

is the Schwab account free?

[Anonymous]

Schwab account is free. They do deny people often. But they not only reimburse the atm fees but I believe there are no foreign transaction fees either. Best card to use when traveling. 

[creditfan]

have you tried this https://www.fidelity.com/

it has similar feature with schwab. However, I have seen mix report regarding 1% FTF

schwab used to have checking alone product, required apply via phone and it has disappeared long time ago

online you can either apply only brokerage or a package of two, but not checking alone

mine got a HP when I opened both

[soxfaininfl]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I applied for Charles Schwab checking account a while ago and my credit wasn’t bad but wasn’t perfect. I did have some inquiries though that they used as an excuse in denying me. My question is, I believe they have two options when applying. They ask if you want to open a brokerage account (or maybe margin) with the checking account, or if you just want the checking account. Is it possible that accepting or denying the brokerage account or margin (since that’s where the bulk of their money comes from) has any influence on them denying you?

I have a few year of credit with high utilization but never late on any payments. I’ve recently paid off all of those cards and don’t believe that I currently have any inquiries. I would like to apply for increases on my credit score but want to try an apply for a Charles Schwab checking account before I get any of those inquiries. Is it best to apply and accept the brokerage account as well in your opinion?

I’d also like to add that I was initially approved, but could never log in and when calling in why I was told I was denied and believe I later received a letter telling me why.

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OP, did you ever get a letter explaining why you were declined?