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Old 04-23-2008, 12:57 PM   #1
ALAN
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BANKING ON THE ROAD

Any one have a good source for information on banking while on the road? We have an account with Wells Fargo Bank, but they do not cover the East, SouthEast and portions of the Midwest.
Thanks for your help.
 
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Old 04-23-2008, 01:15 PM   #2
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Auto deposit on retirement funds, etc.

If we get a check, we mail it to the bank, they deposit.

Pay bills online, we hardly write checks any more, maybe 10 or 15 a year??? no kidding.

Need cash, check with your credit cards, some of them will let you take cash at places like WalleyWorld, and NO it is not considered a cash advance. Have not visited a cash machine in well over a year. You don't have to spend a lot of $$ at Walleyworld to get your cash, if you don't shop there, just buy about $10.00 worth of pop or water or something, and get your cash. We can get $60.00 at a time, since we charge most everything, that sum is sufficient for us for cash.

We are NOT fulltimers, but, long timers, 3 to 4 months at a time on the road. Since the cash at Walleyworld thingy, we have not had a bit of trouble, other than the price of fuel to get us from here to there! Oooops, that is another thread! Sorry.
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Old 04-23-2008, 01:40 PM   #3
Rondo
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You might want to check with some of the Credit Unions in your area and join one of them! There are quite a few now that are "Shared Services". This means that if a Credit Union you belong to is a Shared Service member you can go to a list of Credit Union they will provide you and to any and all transactions you would do at your "home" C/U. Ask if they are a "Shared Services" member and if they are jump on it since they are a member of a nationwide group that really do care for you and your banking.
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Old 04-23-2008, 03:11 PM   #4
richfaa
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Online bill paying..retirement checks and any other income direct deposited in our home base bank. As for cash you can get that at any store, Wall mart, Grocery, etc..When the little machine says "cash back yes or no' punch yes and get what you need.As above we belong to a credit union with "Shared services" should we need to use it. Carol..We just wrote our first actual check for 2008 yesterday. It turned out that banking on the road (6 to 7 Months a year) is the least of our worries.
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Old 04-23-2008, 03:14 PM   #5
Imp
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We learned the hard way about cash advances. You pay steep fees over a 2 month period, even though you pay the bill in full at the billing time. We now have a debit card from the home bank and there is no fee from any ATM. Otherwise it is the same as others talked about, paying bills on line. We have the cell service and dishnetwork charged to a credit card, which we pay in full (on line). No late fees (which have become higher all the time). We have written a check at some RV parks who won't take a credit card.
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Old 04-23-2008, 03:57 PM   #6
ols1932
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Same as Rich and Mrs. Country Guy. No problems. Our Credit Union is in Cedar Rapids, IA and we have our address in Livingston, TX.

Orv
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Old 04-23-2008, 04:21 PM   #7
sreigle
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Most of this has been covered, so just to reinforce.. For cash we use a debit card at Walmart and get up to $100 cash back. If we need more we split our purchases and go through separate lines. $100 each. If we need more, we make two trips into Walmart. The only limit I've seen so far is the one the bank puts on how much cash we can withdraw in a day. I've been known to buy a pack of gum and get $100 cash back. You cannot do this with a credit card, just a debit card.

We pay for nearly everything with a credit card. You can pay online or write a check or have the credit card company draft your bank account for the minimum, the entire balance, or a set amount each month. In our case, the card is a rewards card and when we have accumulated enough points we can either "buy" something with the points or get cash back. We elect cash back. I'm close to getting a second $100 check for this year alone.

We use another card for all fuel purchases and get cash back from this one, too. This card used to give me 5% back but has dropped that now to 2%. Still, that's 8 cents back on a 4 dollar gallon of diesel.

If you have truck or other payments, you can usually arrange with them to draft the payment automatically from your account. Or, some banks, like ours, will allow you to set up automatic payments on a periodic basis. Our bank does that. They also have an online site where I can setup payees and schedule payments on either a recurring or one-time basis. I haven't done that in awhile.

Retirement income is automatically deposited as was our income tax refund and our upcoming economic rebate.

When I receive these rebate checks or other checks, I have a deposit slip and postage prepaid envelope from our bank. I mail in the deposit. The bank returns a receipt to me along with another deposit slip and postage prepaid envelope.
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Old 04-24-2008, 12:46 AM   #8
foggyb
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Hi We use Bank of America as they are in almost every area in this country. Use their on line free bill pay and their atms for cash. 5yrs and still happy. Dan
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Old 04-24-2008, 01:43 AM   #9
sgtpp214
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We bank with Associated Bank here in Washburn, WI. All retirement income is directly deposited and all bills except hlth ins are direct debit. The hlth ins I pay through banks no cost online payment. 90% of spending is with CC from Associated that gives me 5% rebate on fuel, groceries, and prescriptions and 1% on everything else. We have three cards as the max rebates is $300 per card and that occurs about every 4-5 months. For any cash we need I just estimate what we may need and take it out of savings acct when we leave. Don't ask where I hide it in the Monty. Will be getting home in two weeks and will have cash left over.
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Old 04-24-2008, 02:00 AM   #10
richfaa
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IMP brought up the issue of cash advances on a CREDIT CARD..He is correct you DO NOT want to do that.. You must have a bank DEBIT CARD,,It is the same as writting a check..the amount is deducted from your checking account instantly for accurate accounting and there are NO FEES involved.. Do not be overly concerned about using the cards,as a one time Crypto(security) guy 128 bit encription is pretty secure..Of course there is no way one can keep a experienced hacker away no more than one can keep a experienced thief out of your camper..All of the above post are accurate and work well. Steve's post is in depth and accurate..We use a Discover card for fuel purchases at 5% cash back, Also by paying on line you can pay any credit card charge when it shows up as "recent activity" and well before the statement is posted thereby insuring that you avoid credit card charges. Paying on the "due date" of the credit card does not insure that you will not be charged a credit charge..
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Old 04-24-2008, 02:29 AM   #11
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Check your fine print on your credit card and Cash from Walley world.

We have ONE card that allows us a cash withdrawal from Walleyworld, only Walleyworld, and only that card, and only $60.00 at a time and it is NOT, repeat, NOT a cash advance. Many cards, if you do this, it is considered a CASH ADVANCE and you are charged interest from the moment you use it. Read the fine print!

And, keep checking the offers from your credit cards, offers change, you might have 5% back on fuel now, and in 6 months, that offer may be null and void.
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Old 04-24-2008, 02:43 AM   #12
Delaine and Lindy
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As the others have said, we also use a Debit card from our small home town bank. We are charged no fee for using other ATM's, however we use Wally World for cash. All our bills are paid on-line and or automatic withdrawl for the utilities for the stick house. We also have a Bank of America account. They are in most every place we have traveled.

Just for your info make sure you go on-line and check your account status very often. Our account has been hacked twice in the last year. If you buy on line you have a great chance of being hacked. Also don't use a Debit card to pay when eating out, always use a Credit card they are safer. Scams are being run everyday, about a year ago at this time, someone in New Jersey had actually set up a acount for the New Jersey turnpike to have it paid monthly out of our account? They also bought $800.00 worth of Tennis shoes, and other things. However each time our Credit Card company has taken care of it all. Just have the hassle of canceling the card and getting another one. These low life's who want something for nothing are hard at work everyday trying to get your money, Oh well kinda like the Government, take from the hard working people and give it to lazy people. I haven't written a check in several years. GBY...
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Old 04-24-2008, 03:20 AM   #13
stiles watson
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Others have covered all the details. We also use Wells Fargo Bank. We traveled all over the east last year without problems. We use online services of Wells Fargo I only make one payment by check (long story). When we want more than the alloted amount at WalMart, we divide the items to be purchased and go through separate lines and both get the cash back. It is not deemed a cash advance by any of our credit cards to do so.
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Old 04-24-2008, 03:41 AM   #14
Waynem
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I like it when they ask to see my ID. It keeps the thief honest at that establishment.

I use the bank card (cr/db) AmEx with rewards back, and a Visa for those places that AmEx is not recognized. Wally-World fuel stopped honoring AmEx but they still use it in the store. AmEx Blue has a robust rewards program. Example, 10,000 points earns you a $100 gift certificate at Home Depot. Or you can give your self a $100 gift card to be used anywhere. I have friends that will use the AmEx to buy a pack of gum. I'm not at that stage yet.

I also do all the banking on-line with automatic bill payer, or pay/transfer as necessary. Haven't written but maybe 5 checks in a year.
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Old 04-24-2008, 06:37 AM   #15
sreigle
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My Chase Rewards card lets me get either merchandise or a $100 check back for each 10,000 points. In the next month I'll get my second $100 check for 2008. We charge everything except fuel on that card. For fuel we use a card that gives us cash back at the rate of 2% for fuel. It used to be 5% but I guess fuel prices drove that up too high and they dropped back to 2%. And for cash we use our bank's debit card at Walmart for cash back.
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Old 04-24-2008, 06:49 AM   #16
ALAN
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Thanks to all of you for your great advice. You would think by this time in my life I would realize that my debit card can be used to obtain cash, not just pay the bill in question. We pay all of our bills that we can with either our AE blue cards or Visa/MC. I will investigate the possibility of getting cash back with my credit cards. I always thought these were considered cash advances. Fortunately for our finances, my wife prefers to pay for everything in cash unless it is over $100. As a result we never have large credit card bills, nor carry any balances. She would not allow me to do that. I tried to pay part of our truck purchase with a credit card, ($10,000 max allowed by the dealer), but my wife would not let me do that unless I could show her we had the funds to pay the bill when it came due. I am trying to re-educate her that on the road, that would mean we would have to carry a lot of green. I have also requested from Bank of America a list of the states they have offices. Their web site was not of much assistance in this regard.

Once again thanks for your advice.

Alan & Kathy
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Old 04-24-2008, 07:12 AM   #17
sreigle
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Alan, one small thing that might work in your favor in your discussion with Kathy. First, our credit cards are paid in full each month. In our case, I have it set up with the credit card companies to automatically draft the entire balance from our checking account on the payment due date. I was able to set that up online.

Second, our checking account pays interest. Very small percentage, but a few dollars nonetheless. By using the credit cards and paying in full each month, we do not pay interest on the credit card balances and that money sat in the checking account the entire month, drawing interest.

If your bank has an option to sweep funds into and out of money market, that might make you some more interest. I'm going to check into that on our account.
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Old 04-24-2008, 08:12 AM   #18
richfaa
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"Question....."Also don't use a Debit card to pay when eating out, always use a Credit card they are safer."Why is that??????

Comment.. We never have more the 50.00 in real money on us at any time. Paying for everything in cash means that you would have to have a lot of $ on you at all times....not a good thing. Like Steve and others pay all CC balances at or before the end of the month. We pay via our debit card which is linked to our checking account so it is the same as writing a check and both accounts are linked to our Banks Point system. Every dollar we pay bills with earns points..you got to pay the bills..might as well earn points.. we have enough points now for 1 round trip airfare to Europe..took us about 2 1/2 years to earn that. Unless you can pay the balance off at the end of every month stay away from credit cards..You can do the same things with a debit card and you are spending money you have..not money you do not have.
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Old 04-24-2008, 09:26 AM   #19
MacDR50
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I only use my debit card to obtain cash from ATM's or occasionally cash back where this is offered. I and the DW have a number of credit cards but we only use two most of the time. Our reason for doing this is to protect us from one or the other card becoming unusable due to network problems, loss, damage to the magnetic strip or theft etc. I try to keep at least $100 of cash on hand. Winter storms, blackouts, fires at key network points etc. have caused electronic banking transactions including credit cards to be unavailable for varying periods. Not all merchants will take a credit card for payment when the "system" is down. On a recent business trip my AMEX corporate card could not be read at a car rental agency in Boston. They refused to accept the card. Luckily I had my second card and it was OK. The other option which is opening up in many places is the pre-loaded card. They work something like a pre-paid phone card.
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Old 04-24-2008, 01:11 PM   #20
JimF
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We use USAA Banking, and use a debit card for everything. If we use it as a credit card the amount is debited as usual but we get cash rewards back, like another 2% discount. We have all bills debited or use web bill pay, which is free thru our bank. If we receive a check we do an on line e-deposit (scan the check and e-mail it) get same day deposit. For cash we use what ever ATM we want, the ATM charges are refunded by our bank. All our bank statements, insurance, portfolio, etc., is on line, no paper transactions. Has worked well for us for the past 4 years.
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