Why are some planning to keep cash in the mySmart Cash account? Does the self funded overdraft protection only apply to checks and cash has to be available in the mySmart Cash account for ATM withdrawls?

Why bother setting up BillPay and checking again on the new account? You could just use the BillPay and checks that are tied to your brokerage account. Still seems like a ridiculous amount of complication instead of just offering some ATM rebates.

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It looks like a catch. I called and there is no fee for overdraft protection and they accept direct deposit. Now anyone confirm if i can use FSLXX as my core account. I can even get the $100 bonus plus the visa card. Sweet deal

pyro123 said:Now anyone confirm if i can use FSLXX as my core account.It can't be your core account, but you can leave most of your money sitting in it.

The core account for a mySmart account is always the FDIC-insured bank account. You can set up the overdraft protection feature to automatically draw from another account if necessary to cover any debit to your account (including at an ATM). If you hold FSLXX in the mySmart account itself, they will probably let you spend the money in FSLXX, but that's not an official guaranteed feature. But if you have a second brokerage account, and THAT account is invested in FSLXX, and the mySmart account is set to use that account for overdraft, then you can have your cash sitting where you want and get ATM rebates.

LH2004 said:pyro123 said:Now anyone confirm if i can use FSLXX as my core account.It can't be your core account, but you can leave most of your money sitting in it.

The core account for a mySmart account is always the FDIC-insured bank account. You can set up the overdraft protection feature to automatically draw from another account if necessary to cover any debit to your account (including at an ATM). If you hold FSLXX in the mySmart account itself, they will probably let you spend the money in FSLXX, but that's not an official guaranteed feature. But if you have a second brokerage account, and THAT account is invested in FSLXX, and the mySmart account is set to use that account for overdraft, then you can have your cash sitting where you want and get ATM rebates.

Major drawback is that you need to maintain a $2000 balance in the FSLXX. The core account like FCASH,FTEXX,FMOXX and tax-free municipal funds have lower yield around 3%apy and no minimum. Since i am in the high tax bracket 28%fed and 6.37%state, still beats charles schwab 4.25% checking yield or Salem5Direct 5.0% yield. But by how much?

pyro123 said:LH2004 said:pyro123 said:Now anyone confirm if i can use FSLXX as my core account.It can't be your core account, but you can leave most of your money sitting in it.

The core account for a mySmart account is always the FDIC-insured bank account. You can set up the overdraft protection feature to automatically draw from another account if necessary to cover any debit to your account (including at an ATM). If you hold FSLXX in the mySmart account itself, they will probably let you spend the money in FSLXX, but that's not an official guaranteed feature. But if you have a second brokerage account, and THAT account is invested in FSLXX, and the mySmart account is set to use that account for overdraft, then you can have your cash sitting where you want and get ATM rebates.

Major drawback is that you need to maintain a $2000 balance in the FSLXX. The core account like FCASH,FTEXX,FMOXX and tax-free municipal funds have lower yield around 3%apy and no minimum. Since i am in the high tax bracket 28%fed and 6.37%state, still beats charles schwab 4.25% checking yield or Salem5Direct 5.0% yield. But by how much?

Tax free municipal funds DO have minimums and they are higher than FSLXX. I'm in California and that one has a $5000 minimum with minimum deposits of $250. I'm not sure if the minimums are waived if you use it as a core account though. The New Jersey Municipal fund (FNJXX) has a 7 day yield of 3.17%. Based on your tax bracket the muni would yield 4.7%.

You can check using Morningstar's Calculator

LH2004 said:You can deposit them at a Fidelity branch, if you have one nearby. You can do it by mail, though accepting third-party checks may be an unofficial feature.

Sounds like a plan. Not too many branches around me but good enough for those odd checks I receive once in awhile.

Tax-exempt muni MMFs are the core of choice at Fidelity. When they're used as core, there is no minimum. Fidelity's "after-tax" numbers on those funds says they assume maximum federal and state tax rates.

scanchain said:1. Use the mySmartCash just for ATM. The balance in mySmartCash can be kept to $0. Continue using my existing brokerage account for billpay and direct debits and credits.

This way would seem to offer the least transactional complexity. I would only recommend running ALL withdrawals through smartcash if you really wanted to do the complicated lh2004 method of smartcash + cash account + margin account. Even then, you could still direct all your deposits towards the cash account.

lzman said:How is FSLXX compared to a Money Market account? The APY of GMAC Bank's Money Market Savings is 5.3% and it is FDIC issured.

I'm not sure why you can't do the math yourself. FSLXX's numbers are available on the website and every major finance webpage. It varies but currently it is about 5.17% APY.

I don't need ATM rebates so I'm not signing up for this. I discovered how great Fidelity was after I already had GMAC so I keep just enough for the rent (check) and ATM witihdraws and I've never come close to going over the $6/month.

---separate topic
As far as being all fussy about FSLXX and core accounts...I've earned under $5 this year from my core account (i.e. it is almost always zero). Yet I've paid over $250,000 in "bills" this year using bill-pay. Official or not, I have several CSRs (their names and references number) stating that this is the "proper" operation for non-margin accounts.

Clearly I've "swept" or "autosold" $250,000+ so far this year and never had a single problem. I think all the worry is over-hyped. All this while keeping my core at $10 or less.

GMAC is great for *certain things* and Fidelity core+FSLXX is great for *certain things*. I could never have paid all my bills in such an efficient (interest and fees) and non-time intensive manner with GMAC.

joe20001 said:I've tried researching the differences between FSLXX and FDRXX but for the life of me, I can't tell what the difference is, other than FSLXX pays .05% more interest than FDRXX. Is that the only difference, and should I sell all my FDRXX and buy FSLXX or is it not worth it ?

Also, do both FSLXX and FDRXX qualify as MMF for the funding accounts.

Also, has anyone else noticed that in the portfolio section, on the dropdown for the MySmart Cash Account, it has the options for buying stocks and mutual funds? Does the MySmart Cash account allow for those purchases ?

Thanks in advance...

Unless things have changed (or I am mistaken), it is my understanding that FDRXX can only be held in retirement accts. In that case, then no real difference. Otherwise, you can't buy FDRXX so you should stay in FSLXX.