I just opened a joint amex high yield savings account with my husband. Same thing happened to us. They sent us a letter saying we needed a letter from the social security office verifying my husband’s ssn. We are both citizens here. I think sometimes they just need extra verification. My husband went to the social security office, got the letter he needed, we mailed it to American Express, and our account was opened. It did take a little extra effort but we got the account. Just go into the nearest ss office and show them what you need. You shouldn’t have a problem if you have a social security number.

Good Luck!

Banks are entitled to be cautious.

Build your credit history, I am sure everything will work out in due time.

I understand that they would want to check our SSN’s against consumer reports and such, but I also explained to Ally (during the chat) that I never borrowed while here in the US, and that I use my husband’s credit card as secondary cc holder as we pool our earnings into our joint checking account. So it seems they can’t do a search on me by the usual methods they use, and are too lazy or can’t search through gov.agencies. AmEx asked me to ask SocSec for a letter proving I own the SSN they gave me. SocSec told me they don’t issue letters, that the SocSec card I have IS all the proof I should need. Ally didn’t ask for that, but I offered to send them a photocopy of my green card and SSN card and the person said it shouldn’t be necessary. Still, no response after we sent them the photocopy of my enlarged driver’s. Logically, and we even told both AmEx and Ally, that the IRS would be the perfect source to check as we file jointly and, tah-rah! there’s my SSN on the front page, common address etc. Frankly, I’m beginning to feel discriminated against, in a loop. Has anyone gone through this? Thanks for reading

Thanks you

In this type of sale, will the customers have a chance before the sale happens and the new rates go into affect to know what the new rates will be and all the other changes before we commit to going along to CapitalOne?

As far as “all the high-yield banks out there” there might be small differences between them, but even a difference of .15% is better then nothing. We are in a bad period in this area, but, I would much rather transfer my ING holdings to a 1.15% APY rather then an APY that is around .75%. Every little bit helps.

Hopefully CapitalOne will increase ING’s rate now that they’ve purchased them.

That is all good in good economic times but in these times you are only talking about one or two fractions of a percent from one good bank to another. I also see some are worried about minimum requirements to avoid fees.

Let’s start with the minimum to avoid fees. If you are in this category the money you earn on your account will be so insignificant that it really does not matter if you get 1.0% or 1.5%. Example if you need to keep even $5000 minimum you are only looking at between estimated $50 and $75 interest per year. Is the $25 difference worth the hours of research, you would do much better just finding the best rated bank that has the features you need and not stressing yourself out over $25.00. Even if you have $25,000 in your account you are only talking and estimated $125.00 a year difference. You can make more than this working a few extra hours on the side and not stress out about every penny.

That said, if you do have a big name brick and mortar bank paying say 0.1% or less yes it is worth going to an online bank that pays generally between 5 and 10 times more it may be worth it. But when talking .90%, 1.0%,1.1% etc unless you are loaded it is not worth your time to keep chasing the best rate.

If you are loaded your money is probably in other investments anyway any you only keep what you need for current times in your checking/savings accounts.

Chasing the best rate when banks are competing hard for customers may be a good thing. You could see big differences in rates but in these times you are just putting your self through stress you don’t need.

Let’s look one more thing. A while back I purchased some us savings bonds. I got a good rate on them. They were good to cash in when interest at banks were about 1% higher than the bonds pay. I could have cashed them in and gotten a 1% better rate chasing rates. I choose not to. Well guess what. My bonds still pay 4.5%. This is more than 3 times what I get over the other accounts and the tax is deferred until cashed in like stocks unlike paying tax on interest every year on your bank accounts. Everything pans out in the end.

Actually, the money the Fed “prints” is composed of computer entries of phantom money conjured out of thin air with nothing to back it up but ever increasing debt and inflation. If banks pay you less than one percent interest on your savings and inflation is running two percent, you still lose in purchasing power. You are, in essence, paying them a fee for holding your money as its value drops. For every 100 dollars you keep on deposit, the bank can loan out 1000 dollars (at rates much higher than they pay depositors.) This is called fractional reserve banking. Some refer to it as a massive Ponzi scheme. At some point, it’s going to come crashing down and the unprepared will be at the mercy of the fates.

I no longer trust the government or banking institutions to do what’s right for you, me or the country. They do what’s best for themselves and those who are like-minded and care nothing for the Constitution.

If you do nothing and remain asleep, you are in for a rude surprise….sooner than you may think. If you are like many in the herd who don’t like to ponder unpleasant eventualities or who take comfort in the phrase “I didn’t know,” then by all means go on back to American Idol, football, and other mindless diversions and don’t worry about a thing. The powers that be depend on your lack of attention and thank you for your passivity. It makes their job of robbing you much easier.

Google the term “Weimar Republic” and get a glimpse of where we’re headed if drastic change is not instituted soon.

Also, google “The Creature From Jekyll Island” and you’ll understand how we came to be in our present predicament. All fiat money goes to zero value…every time. A cursory study of history will support this fact. Most fiat currencies don’t last more than 100 years before they are worthless and a huge reset is necessary. When that time comes, you may find you have a wheelbarrow full of money that won’t buy a loaf of bread. Those who converted to assets with lasting, intrinsic value will be much better prepared to deal with the crash that’s coming.

look folks, don’t run out and buy up coins and stockpile toilet paper. you should evaluate your own financial situation and decide what is the best course of action for you. pops may be the master coin dealer and knows where to buy precious metal, but if you don’t know what you are doing, you could lose a lot more than what inflation would cost you in the long run.

I would love to close my local Chase account (after I learned how they treated the servicemen and women while overseas. I saw them or a “rep” of Chase Bank (they couldn’t even send an executive employee) when they pulled this female in from of some of Congress to find out why they foreclosed and charged some service men and women some outrageous fees while stationed overseas. It was just the most disgusting story I have recently read. I wish I would have heard what their penalty was, if any.

so I want to close my local Chase account and deposit it into an online checking account. I guess it could be a savings account but how do I send in a check for my mortgage, cell bill, power bill, etc.? I do not like it when the financial institution is set up to draw the money they need. I had that once with Chase, (the worst), was using my debit card for purchases from this local store only to find out what transaction paper I was signing was NOT what the local merchant actually put through to be drawn out of my account. Yes, it was much higher than I signed for when I made the purchase. I went around and around with Chase employees, some told nen”everyone thinks just cause our debut cards have a Visa or MC logo it means we back up their purchases, when the merchant actually puts through a different total then what I signed for. I could not believe my ears. so I worked through what this person said to only find out a supervisor told me to go in and talk to the merchant. No, they had the original transaction paper I signed for the purchase with the total I signed and agreed to. For the merchant to raise that when he submitted his papers to the bank and Chase expects me to pay because the merchant raised the transaction total. I was also told, well we can’t keep trake of what you purchase so we have to go by what the merchant send in. I asked her, so why do they do an approval of the amount using the debit card from Chase if that means nothing? Also, the transaction receipt I sign is the total I agree to. what a disaster. I thought why even have this debit card if this is what it all can mount to. I know this is the exception, but it is when you run into an exception and find out how the bank really handles it and treats you that you get to see the “real bank” in action.
So I would like to deposit my balance from Chase into a good account with a decent rate (and no ING is not it, they have seen their day).

Finally, does anybody know what degree of purity most gold is being sold these days?
Thanks for any advice.

On the other hand Redneck bank, AmericaNet Bank and Evantage Bank do allow links to be set up to Savings & Checking accounts. (Just As I am on WestCoast Time, I found their sites are on Central Time and it is better to get some things done there in My Morning..)

tbrady