2% credit card- Charles Schwab Visa ** Card is dead**

I hate talking to people but can see that it could be useful to get the card. I don't REALLY want to open a schawb brokerage account as it will only encourage me to buy mutual funds which I always always regret doing.

right hand side of the application page has a link for checking status of application.

Schwab ONE says
"open the account that lets you:
- Invest easily in stocks, bonds, CDs, options and thousands of no-load, no-transaction-fee mutual funds— or select a single portfolio solution.
- Get stock trade commissions as low as $8.95....
"
so it seems I can invest my Cash Back into bonds for free? and there are fees only for trading stocks?

I don't see the $25 transfer of all assets out fee. can someone confirm?

"Once my cash rewards are deposited into my Schwab One account, can I access the cash?
Yes. You may withdraw the cash at any time or invest it."

Thanks guys instant approval 16K

Ahhhh sweet timing for this since I just launched my wife's AOR today. I want to apply for a card for her. But quick question.

If she gets approved, can I then add myself as an AU and get my own card? I have 80k in personal debt from AOR, but wife currently has zero.

Chances of my wife being approved for this card can't be any higher. But I want a card for myself. Should I just do a joint application? Or should I get her card first then add me later?

Thanks gotsmack,

I already have a Schwab brokerage account, but I wasn't aware of this card for some reason. It's far better than the Schwab card I already have and don't use.

A few clicks and they pre-filled the form, gave me an instant approval for 13k and as soon as the card arrives I'm all set to go.

It couldn't have been any easier.

Since the money is going into a brokerage account, how is it counted for tax purposes?

Wheeee instant approval for 16k CL, painless brokerage account opening - thanks FW! this is my new favorite, for sure.

Any promotion for signing up a Schwab One account?

I guess it's better to apply the card and the brokerage account at the same time since they will pull the credit in both cases.

just FYI: the original Fidelity college savings FIA card is 2%

(with the market the way it has been --- my 2% is now 1% lol!)

Ask for more when you activate. Nah. Don't ask. DEMAND.

bandyopa said: I see one big difference with Fidelity account(s). Their ATM Debit card reimburse all ATM fees (unlimited worldwide) and charge no foreign transaction fee when used as a signature based transaction (like a credit card) overseas (except the 1% charged by Visa, which will be charged in Schwab's card as well). So, if you link your "real" checking account with Fidelity and frequenly use nearest ATMs (as needed for small withdrawals) and use the debit card as a credit card in overseas, then, you will easily beat the extra 0.5% CashBack of Schwab (as we know Fidelity Visa Card is 1.5% CashBack).

Obviously, I assume that Schwab's ATM card does not offer the same perks as Fidelity's ATM card.

Any thought?

The big question is: Is Fidelity going to match it? I guess, it will go other way round. Schwab will drop the CashBack to a lower level in near future. They are probably trying to raise quick capital in the current credit crunched economy (don't forget $1000 to open the brokarage account).

Anyone called Fidelity?

TintinSchwab rebates ATM fees as well, only they do it as a lump sum at the end of each month rather than at the time of each transaction.

AmericaRocks said:
Schwab also has a pretty good ATM card with refunded ATM fees world-wide, but I'm not sure if it is a good as Fidelity. I've never used my card outside the U.S. From the Schwab.com website "2. Unlimited ATM fee rebates apply to cash withdrawals using the Schwab Bank Visa® Platinum Check Card wherever it is accepted. ATM fee rebates do not include currency exchange fees; fees imposed by merchants for POS transactions; or fees for stamp purchases, balance inquiries, or any transactions other than for an ATM cash withdrawal from your Schwab Bank account."

I am always wondering if there is any "fees imposed by merchants for POS transactions". In other words, this is the fee charged by using the ATM machine. If that's the case, it is not really free, isn't it? The simple question is, if I simply withdraw cash from another bank's ATM, will I need to pay a fee?

fatweah said: I am always wondering if there is any "fees imposed by merchants for POS transactions". In other words, this is the fee charged by using the ATM machine. If that's the case, it is not really free, isn't it? The simple question is, if I simply withdraw cash from another bank's ATM, will I need to pay a fee?

No. You will be charged the fee, but Schwab will refund the fees monthly. I used my Schwab ATM card all over the place and all my fees have been refunded.

bandyopa said: I see one big difference with Fidelity account(s). Their ATM Debit card reimburse all ATM fees (unlimited worldwide) and charge no foreign transaction fee when used as a signature based transaction (like a credit card) overseas (except the 1% charged by Visa, which will be charged in Schwab's card as well). So, if you link your "real" checking account with Fidelity and frequenly use nearest ATMs (as needed for small withdrawals) and use the debit card as a credit card in overseas, then, you will easily beat the extra 0.5% CashBack of Schwab (as we know Fidelity Visa Card is 1.5% CashBack).

Obviously, I assume that Schwab's ATM card does not offer the same perks as Fidelity's ATM card.

Any thought?

The big question is: Is Fidelity going to match it? I guess, it will go other way round. Schwab will drop the CashBack to a lower level in near future. They are probably trying to raise quick capital in the current credit crunched economy (don't forget $1000 to open the brokarage account).

Anyone called Fidelity?

Tintin

You don't need $1,000 to open a brokerage account if you open it with the investor checking account: Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking

I think this really is a move to just make them more competitive with Fidelity and other companies. If they had a higher yielding MM I could use for the brokerage sweep and less hassles setting up ACH links, I might consider moving over from Fidelity completely.

beethovengirl said: WSJ has an article on this CC:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122834640257277379.html

The article claims that the card has no forex fees.

If I didn't have to suffer 2 hard pulls for this card, I might consider it but my husband and I already have the 2% Cash Back Orchard CC.

That is a nice card but the maximum you can earn is $400 or $20,000 in charges.

beethovengirl said: I use my Orchard card at a small number of places like Target, Amazon, etc, so the $20,000 limit is enough for me.
The point is...it's not about the credit limit on the card. It's about 2% Cash Back with no limits and no restrictions.

If you want to juggle 35 credit cards, knock yourself out But alot of us see merit in a Cash Back card with no restrictions whatsoever that pays to a decent interest yielding brokerage sweep account.

i3ighead said: beethovengirl said: WSJ has an article on this CC:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122834640257277379.html

The article claims that the card has no forex fees.

If I didn't have to suffer 2 hard pulls for this card, I might consider it but my husband and I already have the 2% Cash Back Orchard CC.

That is a nice card but the maximum you can earn is $400 or $20,000 in charges.

Where did that max $400 earnings or $20,000 in charges come from? I assume it's one individual's max earnings based on
their credit card limit? (I thought there was no limit if your credit limit was unlimited). And, if so, aren't the credit limits a monthly limit? If so, that 's plenty enough for me.

bandyopa said: So, if you link your "real" checking account with Fidelity and frequenly use nearest ATMs (as needed for small withdrawals) and use the debit card as a credit card in overseas, then, you will easily beat the extra 0.5% CashBack of Schwab (as we know Fidelity Visa Card is 1.5% CashBack).

I am not sure I understand what you mean. I've never known the Fidelity VISA debit card to give cashbcak of any percentage. What did I miss?

The only time I've ever used the Fidelity debit card as a cc overseas was when the place would take VISA (the Fidelity ATM card) but not MasterCard (my Fidelity cc). I would always much rather use cc rather than debit card, everywhere.

The big limitation of the Fidelity debit card is the max withdrawal limit: $500 per account per day. I've begged and pleaded, but they will not change that, even temporarily. There have been times when I needed a big chunk of euros or whatever (to rent an apartment for example) and I've had to set up mulitiple debit cards (all with higher fees/costs). I am hoping that the Schwab debit does not have this limitation.

Another big advantage for me is that Schwab has an office about 3 blocks away. Sometimes I get tired of spending hours researching financial products online, it's nice to go in and just ask somebody.

It says the APR is like 15.99, but doesn't give any tiers like "premium apr," "super awesome credit APR," etc. Do you think this means you can't get any lower than the 15.99. The APR is the only thing that is making me not want to get this card, since I have a Chase Freedom right now and average below 2% Cash Back.