Ive been home about 2 months from the CRP programme, and ive realised my suntrust account is still open-how do i close a Suntrust bank account from here in the UK-did anyone else have this problem?
Yes! My Partners account is still open - I did it intentionally because I'm going back but i'm a bit worried about it because I think I'm supposed to be paying into it regularly... and I never changed the address from my Vista one. So... eek! I don't want bad credit rating in the states!
Partners charge you $3 a month as well..Not sure what its for..But my flatmate asked us to open his mail, coz he'd been termed and it showed he was in the negative, coz although he took all the money out of his account, they were still charging him the $3 a month!
I was thinking of opening a suntrust account if I get back but where is the closest branch to Disney?
I have a suntrust account - doesn't charge while I'm away and found it useful and the staff helpfull (card lasts till 2011 before a replacement will be sent). You can set one up at the branch at the Wal Mart the busses go to - bring along your passport and Disney ID and fill in a special non resident form saying you work for Disney. There's also a branch in the Suntrust building (where Disney also have some offices) opposite the Marketplace at Downtown Disney (I presume you could also open your account here). For ATM's (given you're charged for using a non Sun Trust ATM as most accounts do in the US) there's obviously the two branches, but other ones I found useful was one near House of Blues in DTD and in cast services backstage at Epcot - but given you can use your card nearly everywhere it was usually just the for the odd $20 used occasionally. The one at Epcot also lets you deposit paychecks (though you can set up direct deposit quickly after arriving on the Hub) I tried requesting to change my address to my UK one online a month ago, but they said as I wasn't a citizen I'd have to contact my branch (which obviously I can't do - no biggie, as nothing needs sending to me it was just for peace of mind). Haven't got to a situation where I'd want to close the account so don't know whether I'd be able to do that online and get any remaining moneys transfered to me.
What about the ATM's in MK, are they partners only? I was gonna get partners but from what I have read I think suntrust might be the best bet if I get back.
As far as I know there are no Sun Trust ATM's at MK. As well as the ATM's mentioned above don't forget that you could also get cashback during a purchase at a supermarket or a place like Wallgreens so there should be plenty of oppourtunities to take money out. With a debit card though other than taxis there isn't much that you need cash for - even vending machines sometimes have card readers on them in Orlando. If you really needed the cash you could take cash out of another ATM and take the $2 hit. I found it useful having the account, used it for an online purchase from the US recently, and plan to use it when I go to California on holiday in June. They have a freephone banking number (only free within the US obviously) and no $5 monthly fee for not putting in your wages like Partners classic account so can keep it open while you're away guilt free. Partners do offer a fee free basic account though. One of the only downsides I see of having it over Partners is a non disney card design. Hopefully you can put this all into practice when you're accepted for your program.
Yes, I am definetly going to get a bank account this time round. It wasn't a problem not having one but carrying around so much money made me really on edge so a debit card would be nice. As I have already worked and have a SSN can I just go and do it straight away the way you mentioned Andrew?
All this bank account stuff is confusing me, haha. so we will get charged for having a partners account, but wont for a suntrust. I was thinking of opening a suntrust account cause i can then use it elsewhere in america. But partners is really appealing cause its disney! What to do? open two accounts?
Suntrust required a Disney ID and passport, they refused to add my social security number because I'm not a permanent resident (they could tell by the number it started with). Since 9/11 rules on foreign people getting bank accounts got more strict, so I don't think you'd be able to walk into any bank and get an account (others can correct me if I'm wrong) so Suntrust is doing it because of working with Disney, hence the need for Dsney ID which they photocopy along with your passport, so you may have to wait till you get your new ID, but if you happen to be in Wal Mart or near a branch you could try beforehand and see what they say as its good to get the process going early, as the card takes a few days to come. Some other things to note, if given the option at a till choose credit instead of debit. If you press debit you put in your pin instead of signing but get charged $1 for some reason. Also to change from your inital pin, you have to go to a branch and use a special machine, you can't just do it at an ATM like you do in the UK.
Suntrust is a bank based mainly in the South East of the USA and have quite a few branches in the Orlando area. One of their accounts is called a free checking account (like a normal free current account in the UK) which offers a debit card(check card), cheque book (check book) and online banking. You could use your card across the USA, but only find free ATM's in the South East, so pay $2 for ATM withdrawals if you happened to be on holiday in San Francisco. You could still get cashback without a fee across the US with a purchase at a supermarket or convenience store however, and obviously spend on the card for free across the US (its a Visa Debit). Partners is a federal credit union (a bit like a building society) which similarly offers a free account is only open to CM's and has disney artwork on their cards and checks. Their ATM's are only located backstage at WDW, housing complexes, and one at their Burbank studios in California plus CO-OP branded ATM's, and similarly you could get cashback at a supermarket. Their classic account stipulates that its only free if you put your wages into the account each month however, so would charge a $5 fee each month you don't, so to avoid this you'd have to make sure you closed the account before you left. They also offer a basic account without overdraft facilities with no monthly fees - don't know what else the classic offers that the basic does not. With both these accounts you could set up your details on the CM Hub so your wages are paid directly into the account without having to pick up the payckeck slip and go to a branch to deposit it each week. Alternatively you could refrain from having any bank account, pick up your payckeck in person each week and take it to any bank or some supermarkets and have them cash it for you, giving you its value in cash minus a fee which varies by where you cash it - some charge a flat fee, some a percentage of the check value. With this method you'll have to remember to pick it up each week and take it to cashed, be carrying around larger amounts of cash , paying in cash and have a portion of your wages taken in fees.
So I will be negative when I get back... but i think as long as I put money back in i should be okay right? I wonder if I can get my taxback cheque put into Partners.. I used my partners card all over the place not just Orlando. Just make sure its a free atm and you won't be any worse off except if you need to get to an actual branch.
Its worth checking the terms of the account about a negative balance - if it were the UK and you were to effectively go into an unauthorised overdraft you'd get charged penalty fees - depending on the bank these might be daily, weekly or monthly and could escalate over time, definitely worth checking the fees associated with Partners and negative balances. On the ATM's very few banks allow free withdrawals from another bank's ATM in the US and charge a small fee (Sun Trust charge $2). This charge may come from your own bank and be shown on your statement rather than from the ATM itself. Just looked at the partners website and it shows that Partners has a deal allowing you to also have access to CO-OP ATM's, which on a quick Orlando search seem to be based mainly at 7-Eleven, Publix and other credit unions. Any fees from using ATM's not from your bank could be compounded from an extra fee from the ATM itself from those found in non bank locations like clubs or bars (similar to fee charging ATM's in pubs in the UK). Don't know what type of account you have but Partners have three types, their basic account, classic or premier. Their basic account doesn't have any monthly fees associated with it, so if you have this you may be in the clear anyway. Their classic one does have a $5 fee if you don't do a direct deposit of wages or have $1000 in the account, so if you have this you may be attracting fees. The only difference I can spot between them is that the basic account won't allow you to have an overdraft, and if this is the case that makes the option of Partners more appealing if you went for a basic account - makes you wonder what else you aren't getting with a basic account though. Unlike the UK there's a culture of paying for a current account in the US - the UK's relatively unique in its near universal free bank account provision. If you currently have a classic account it looks like you'd definitely benefit from switching to a basic account to save $5 a month.
Well, heres advice. 1-Dont be an idiot like me and leave your account open when your in america. And 2-NEVER BANK WITH SUNTRUST. Ive been home since december and so its taken Suntrust nearly 6 months to close my account and send me a check for the remaining money i had in my account. Because they require $20 to close the account, and id emptied it before leaving, i had to go through the long winded procedure of sending suntrust money, having them deposit it, in the form of a foreign draft into my suntrust account, then sending a written letter asking to close the account (from abroad Suntrust WILL NOT accept anything less than a written request to close the account), then i waited months for them to reply to the letter and send me a cheque for the remaining money in my account
Sounds like you had a difficult time. Personally I'm very happy with the service I got with Sun Trust and kept the account open, certainly after your experience I wouldn't attempt to close it from abroad (or leave at least $20 rather than taking it to $0). Given the account is free I'm happy to leave it open and plan to use it when I next go to the US in June. For other posters I wouldn't let the above post put you off, they usually provide great friendly service. Obviously if you want to close the account from the incident above close it before you leave, or have at least $20 in it if you plan to close it abroad, other than that you shouldn't have too many problems with the account, they have a free phone number (in the US) for telephone banking and customer services and the debit card is useful.
