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Ask HN: What US bank should I choose?

4 points by koenbok ↗ HN
I'm about to move from Europe to the US (Bay Area) to work for a big tech company and need a US bank account (checking, saving and credit card). They all look the same to me, and maybe they are but I'd love to hear some experiences. The banks I'm currently looking at are: BoA, HSBC, Chase, Citi, Schwab.

Stuff I'm comparing on:

- Ability to get an account before I move there (1st August, will only have social security number after that) - Online interface - iPad/iPhone app - Online bill pay (eBill) support - Service

Of course I subscribed to BankSimple, but I doubt I can get an account before the 1st of August :-)

5 comments

[ 7.6 ms ] story [ 27.7 ms ] thread
balducci
You won't be able to get a bank account without your social security number. Don't use BoA, they suck bad. I use Chase and have never had any issues with them.
koenbok
Our relocation consultant can set us up with Citi and HSBC without a number. But from what I understand they should all be able to do so, although it's a bit more hassle.
gcb
hsbc.no branch anywhere, but still able to serve you better than any other us bank I've dealt with.

pro tip: open an account on your country. when you have basic no-fee accounts on 2 countries both get upgraded to premium.

steventruong
Here is True Ventures recommendation list (note: I'm not associated with True Ventures in any way at all). I do bank with one of their recommendations, Wells Fargo, which is HQ in SF and have been a customer there for years. Would highly recommend them.

http://www.trueventures.com/2009/03/06/banks/

andrewjshults
I'm a happy Schwab customer and an out of necessity BoA one.

I keep the BoA account around because they're pretty much the only bank that actually has branches in all the cities I visit and sometimes need a physical branch (deposits and large withdraws mostly).

Happy Schwab customer because they refund ATM fees (even international) with no minimum account balance and when I created my account they had a 2% cash back card (which unfortunately is no longer available). Their online interface is super dated, but it's functional and has everything I need. Customer support has been top notch (I haven't had to use it much, but hey were able to help me figure out how to do a wire transfer to Tibet while I was in Thailand).