US Bank Account for UK DVC'ers

[Lisa1976]

I wonder if anyone can help.

Hubby and I have been thinking about perhaps opening a US bank account so that we can pay our annual dues monthly and also when we went in January we added on an extra 110 points, now this was financed with Disney direct rather than the UK finance people so we have to pay direct from a credit card to Disney.

We were thinking it would be a lot easier if we could have a US bank account, now the problem is I haven't a clue about this.

Do any of you UK DVC owners have US bank accounts, if so can I ask a couple of questions?

Was it easy to open (i.e. paperwork, credit checks etc)
How do you finance the bank account (i.e. putting money from UK to US for DVC payments)?

Anything else we might need to know would be really helpful.

Thanks
Lisa

 

[jharrowell]

This as come up a few times on the boards as like minded people had the same idea.

It might be worth seeing of your UK bank has a US affiliate, but if not I can reccomend SunTrust at DTD in Orlando.

Take some utility bills, your passports and a copy of your DVC docs wouldn't hurt then pop over, Lynda or one of the other people there will be glad to help.

The process is quick and they'll give you the info you need for Disney when you fill in the forms.

A couple of weeks later you'll get a card in the post and you can manage the account online.

I would advice setting up a paypal account and registering your uk and us accounts on it as an easy way to move money between the two without taking ages or paying the exorbitant international transfer fees.

 

[Claire L]

I know Citi Bank do a US account, can't remember if you can pay in £'s though.

Just checked looks like you pay in £'s and any debit is in US$ so variable depending upon exchange rate.

US$ account.

Claire

 

[Lisa1976]

This as come up a few times on the boards as like minded people had the same idea.

It might be worth seeing of your UK bank has a US affiliate, but if not I can reccomend SunTrust at DTD in Orlando.

Take some utility bills, your passports and a copy of your DVC docs wouldn't hurt then pop over, Lynda or one of the other people there will be glad to help.

The process is quick and they'll give you the info you need for Disney when you fill in the forms.

A couple of weeks later you'll get a card in the post and you can manage the account online.

I would advice setting up a paypal account and registering your uk and us accounts on it as an easy way to move money between the two without taking ages or paying the exorbitant international transfer fees.

Thanks for that, is it easy to manage the US account and transferring money from UK to US paypal?? I've only transferred from UK paypal to UK bank account.

 

[mikki.young]

I've used citibank for the last few years and it's good. You get a debit card that you can point at whichever account you want (mine is always pointed at the US$ account!) and then just use that in the states. I always take some TC and cash (which you get from the account at no charge) as a back up. Transferring money between the sterling and dollar accounts couldn't be simpler and you can see what the exchange rate is before you commit. It's been pretty good on the rates and I top up when the rate is good.

 

[jharrowell]

Thanks for that, is it easy to manage the US account and transferring money from UK to US paypal?? I've only transferred from UK paypal to UK bank account.

The Paypal part is easy, I just use my normal Paypal account, register both bank accounts to it (it doesn't differentiate between UK and US) then do an "Add funds" from one and a "withdraw funds" into the other.

The added bonus is anything you do sell on eBay can be sent straight to the US account if you want.

Managing the account is easy via the online service, just remember to turn off paper billing straight away as they charge around $5 to send a statement internationally.

I really like it, and it's a good way to save to the next vacation too. Just wait for a good interest rate and transfer the money in.

 

[waltfan1957]

This as come up a few times on the boards as like minded people had the same idea.

It might be worth seeing of your UK bank has a US affiliate, but if not I can reccomend SunTrust at DTD in Orlando.

Take some utility bills, your passports and a copy of your DVC docs wouldn't hurt then pop over, Lynda or one of the other people there will be glad to help.

The process is quick and they'll give you the info you need for Disney when you fill in the forms.

A couple of weeks later you'll get a card in the post and you can manage the account online.

I would advice setting up a paypal account and registering your uk and us accounts on it as an easy way to move money between the two without taking ages or paying the exorbitant international transfer fees.

where in DTD is this please

 

[jharrowell]

Cross the road at the market place end of DTD (the part nearest the back entrance to SSR), turn left and walk for a few yards. It's got a huge Suntrust logo on the side of the building so you can't miss it.

You do have to walk around the building when you get there though as the front is a "drive thru" (yes, drive thru ATMs, how cool is that? ).

Here's the location on Google Maps:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=downtown+disney+orlando&ie=UTF8&ll=28.371724,-81.513137&spn=0.002799,0.003691&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=28.370333,-81.511257&panoid=8dnf-mVRYy0UQShz_bZ1eg

As you can see Ghirardelli's is to the left center and the SunTrust is to the lower right, across the street.

 

[gobofraggle]

We have Citibank accounts in different currencies too.

We pay our dues with our credit card, though - although I wouldn't if I needed 'credit', we pay the bill in full - the 1.5% cashback on Amex purchases is worth having on large amounts.

Also, it's worth looking into the fees associated with US bank accounts - they tend to have annual charges and not be 'free' as UK current accounts are.

 

[Everything Eeyore]

I was also keen to set up a US account to pay my annual dues so I rang Citibank today for some further information.

Unfortunately the US dollar current account with Citibank UK doesn't offer a direct debit facility (which is what you would need to pay your annual dues). They gave me the number for Citibank US to see whether they could help me further. The US branch told me that I would have to open the account in person in the US.

Since we won't be in the states anytime soon, it's back to the drawing board on that one

If anyone knows of a US dollar account that you can open and control from the UK which provides a direct debit facility and has no account fees, please let me know

 

[cathydisneynut]

I was also keen to set up a US account to pay my annual dues so I rang Citibank today for some further information.

Unfortunately the US dollar current account with Citibank UK doesn't offer a direct debit facility (which is what you would need to pay your annual dues). They gave me the number for Citibank US to see whether they could help me further. The US branch told me that I would have to open the account in person in the US.

Since we won't be in the states anytime soon, it's back to the drawing board on that one

If anyone knows of a US dollar account that you can open and control from the UK which provides a direct debit facility and has no account fees, please let me know

Never heard of such a thing, sorry! Wish I had found it!

We opened a Bank of America account when we bought DVC over there 3 years ago, no fees if you keep $750 in it. We transfer money to it using XE Trade from our UK bank account, their rate is usually 3/4 cents below the exchange rate, and it only takes 3 working days. On one very memorable occasion it only took 2! Comes in handy when you are sending a payment over in a hurry, much better than 7 working days Paypal need.

 

[gobofraggle]

I was also keen to set up a US account to pay my annual dues so I rang Citibank today for some further information.

Unfortunately the US dollar current account with Citibank UK doesn't offer a direct debit facility (which is what you would need to pay your annual dues). They gave me the number for Citibank US to see whether they could help me further. The US branch told me that I would have to open the account in person in the US.

Since we won't be in the states anytime soon, it's back to the drawing board on that one

If anyone knows of a US dollar account that you can open and control from the UK which provides a direct debit facility and has no account fees, please let me know

I still don't understand the importance of being able to pay monthly by direct debit? In your OP you say you think it would be easier. Why is it easier than to pay by credit card - especially if you have decent cashback (Amex Platinum gives 1.5% back to you)?

 

[Everything Eeyore]

I still don't understand the importance of being able to pay monthly by direct debit? In your OP you say you think it would be easier. Why is it easier than to pay by credit card - especially if you have decent cashback (Amex Platinum gives 1.5% back to you)?

The point is personal preference. I don't own a cashback credit card so, no benefit there. It would be nice to have a US account that we could keep spending money in for our trips and use to pay our DVC dues - very handy.

With regards to your reference on my original post, I think you'll find that it wasn't me that said it'd be easier, it was Lisa1976. Although at the moment yes, I would find it easier from our financial point of view to pay monthly!

 

[Everything Eeyore]

Never heard of such a thing, sorry! Wish I had found it!

We opened a Bank of America account when we bought DVC over there 3 years ago, no fees if you keep $750 in it. We transfer money to it using XE Trade from our UK bank account, their rate is usually 3/4 cents below the exchange rate, and it only takes 3 working days. On one very memorable occasion it only took 2! Comes in handy when you are sending a payment over in a hurry, much better than 7 working days Paypal need.

Thanks for the info

 

[gobofraggle]

The point is personal preference. I don't own a cashback credit card so, no benefit there. It would be nice to have a US account that we could keep spending money in for our trips and use to pay our DVC dues - very handy.

Yes, sorry I got your post content mixed up with that of OP.

Good luck with your quest. Seriously, though, I don't get why it is more handy - I know it's your 'personal preference' and you're free to go whichever way you want with this - than to open a cashback credit card for free (in fact, for profit) and to open a citibank dollar account (for spending money) for free?

I don't mean this question in an antagonistic way - I'm genuinely curious. My family is part based in UK, part in US, I have family members and friends who work in banking in both countries. I've considered most options at one time or another and this is the setup we use. Since I mentioned it above and you then said your personal preference is something else, I wondered what I might be missing out on.

 

[Everything Eeyore]

Yes, sorry I got your post content mixed up with that of OP.

Good luck with your quest. Seriously, though, I don't get why it is more handy - I know it's your 'personal preference' and you're free to go whichever way you want with this - than to open a cashback credit card for free (in fact, for profit) and to open a citibank dollar account (for spending money) for free?

I don't mean this question in an antagonistic way - I'm genuinely curious. My family is part based in UK, part in US, I have family members and friends who work in banking in both countries. I've considered most options at one time or another and this is the setup we use. Since I mentioned it above and you then said your personal preference is something else, I wondered what I might be missing out on.

Ideally I wanted one account that would serve both DVC payments and hold dollars. I know I can open up a Citibank dollar account for free but for now would rather have just the one account to manage. Right now for us, the direct debit facility is more important than having an account to hold our spending money as we won't be going to the states for a while.

I'm already paying off my dues using a credit card. Yes, I don't get cashback (my card has other incentives) but the point for us is that even if I did use a cashback card, it would still mean paying off the card before any interest is accrued (the important part for us) and this is why I would prefer to pay my dues monthly. If DVC took payments by credit card monthly then it wouldn't be so much of a problem.

Don't think you're missing out on anything lol, it would just be easier for us this way financially

 

[gobofraggle]

I'm already paying off my dues using a credit card. Yes, I don't get cashback (my card has other incentives) but the point for us is that even if I did use a cashback card, it would still mean paying off the card before any interest is accrued (the important part for us) and this is why I would prefer to pay my dues monthly. If DVC took payments by credit card monthly then it wouldn't be so much of a problem...

Ok, I see... that makes sense. I guess that the problem would be solved if you could have a cushion of 1 years dues - so that it would be like paying annually in arrears rather than in advance... and then rebuilding cushion for end of the next year.
Maybe easier said than done.
Anyway, good luck with it!

 

[jdvm]

I live in Celebration and use the Bank of America branch here. (I'm American but was based in London for 15 years). The bank manager there, Jason Carpenter, is great to work with and works with tons of Brits. I'd suggest stopping by Celebration and checking them out.

John

 

[Everything Eeyore]

I live in Celebration and use the Bank of America branch here. (I'm American but was based in London for 15 years). The bank manager there, Jason Carpenter, is great to work with and works with tons of Brits. I'd suggest stopping by Celebration and checking them out.

John

Thanks for the info