German residence, US credit card and mail-forwarding

[alison]

Hey folks,

As my move to DE grows nearer, I'm wondering what to do about my US credit cards. Perhaps I will want to get new ones in DE, but it would be nice not to have to do so immediately, when I must attend to other pressing matters.

As I understand it, Bank of America allows specification of both a residence address and a mailing address. I'll put my new German address as the residence obviously, but am hesitating over the mailing address. I visited the bank yesterday in person and was told that I can't have an overseas mailing address. My BofA account is paperless, so all the mail I receive from them is new credit and ATM cards once a year or so. I've signed up for a mail-forwarding service (postscanmail), but don't like the idea of their opening and forwarding this mail. My other option is to ask my brother to receive any new mail from BofA. How have others solved this problem?

Thanks,
Alison

[Franklan]

As my move to DE grows nearer, I'm wondering what to do about my US credit cards. Perhaps I will want to get new ones in DE, but it would be nice not to have to do so immediately, when I must attend to other pressing matters.

The employer wants to see a German bank account (or at least a European one) to transfer your hard earned money to.
So you will have to mess around with German banks very early anyway, probably in the first two weeks.

Keep in mind that you will earn Euros, and you will buy food&stuff paying in Euros. Going the detour over your American bank (and the US Dollar) will just add obscene exchange costs.

[bethannbitt]

FYI: I am a retiree and live from assets in $ rather than € I am earning.

I have two Capital One Mastercards (with different expiration dates) that come with no foreign transaction fees. All my friends and family have a Visa or Mastercard sans FT fees. I always pay in the local currency if I am asked to choose between that or $, in order to avoid a transaction fee. Be sure to pay attention to that. My exchange rates are always fair and I acculmulate credit cards points this way. I have a German credit card for backup which I rarely need/want to use, but it gives me peace of mind.

I would suggest using your brother's address. I know folks who use a scanning service and are happy with it, but I haven't yet gone that route. Capital One is now offering me the option to get a virtual credit card, but I haven't yet tried that. I'm fine with my current system. I use my US card daily.

Good Luck! You're well on your way to getting it all figured out.

[alison]

The employer wants to see a German bank account (or at least a European one) to transfer your hard earned money to.
So you will have to mess around with German banks very early anyway, probably in the first two weeks.

Agreed. I already have a plan to open a Volksbank account and have my pay deposited there. Nonetheless I want to keep the Bank of America account, as I will still need to pay US taxes, and their credit card has no international fees.

Thanks Franklan for steady stream of good advice,
Alison

[alison]

I would suggest using your brother's address. I know folks who use a scanning service and are happy with it, but I haven't yet gone that route. Capital One is now offering me the option to get a virtual credit card, but I haven't yet tried that. I'm fine with my current system. I use my US card daily.

Good Luck! You're well on your way to getting it all figured out.

Thanks for the encouragement. I too signed up for the mail-scaning service, but the idea of their receiving any new credit card makes me nervous. While my brother is not the world's most reliable person, forwarding me a card every 18 months or so shouldn't overtax him.

-- Alison

[bethannbitt]

Thanks for the encouragement. I too signed up for the mail-scaning service, but the idea of their receiving any new credit card makes me nervous. While my brother is not the world's most reliable person, forwarding me a card every 18 months or so shouldn't overtax him.

FYI: Capital One allows one person to have more than one card (each card has different benefits, points, ...). Seemed strange at first, but I now view it as practical. I decided to get a second card recently cuz my first card expires this February and I didn't want a gap without a US card while waiting for my friend to mail me the new card. It's also backup in case I lose a card. That happened once since moving to DE and I had to be w/o a card until the friend received and mailed me the replacement card! I've since urged my other half to go this route for similar reasons. Just a thought.

[alison]

FYI: Capital One allows one person to have more than one card (each card has different benefits, points, ...). Seemed strange at first, but I now view it as practical. I decided to get a second card recently cuz my first card expires this February and I didn't want a gap without a US card while waiting for my friend to mail me the new card. It's also backup in case I lose a card. That happened once since moving to DE and I had to be w/o a card until the friend received and mailed me the replacement card! I've since urged my other half to go this route for similar reasons. Just a thought.

Is a Girokarte not suitable as a backup card? I was thinking of keeping only one US credit card and getting a Girokarte from my soon-to-be new bank.

Thanks,
Alison

[bethannbitt]

Is a Girokarte not suitable as a backup card? I was thinking of keeping only one US credit card and getting a Girokarte from my soon-to-be new bank.

IMO a Girokarte, which I also have, isn't a backup for a US credit card that one needs/wants for certain financial transactions, like an IRS payment. But only you can decide how to tailor your global financial security program. I'm an Oma. So I feel calmer when I have a backup for my backup. Call me neurotic if you like.