SGD to USD help

[hiippy]

Hi Guys,

I will be heading over to the states for a period of 6 months and am going to create a Bank of America account there. I have planned 3 ways to transfer my money over but I am not sure which is the best, please advise. I am planning to transfer about 10k sgd.

1. Since now exchange rate is pretty good, I was thinking of exchanging all my sgd to usd then bring over (not very safe)

2. Bank transfer it over from DBS account to BOA account (but exchange rate then might be worse for me or it might be very troublesome to do this m method

3. Create a citibank USD account and withdraw money and deposit in the BOA account when I am there

Regards.

 

[Shiny Things]

1. Since now exchange rate is pretty good, I was thinking of exchanging all my sgd to usd then bring over (not very safe)

2. Bank transfer it over from DBS account to BOA account (but exchange rate then might be worse for me or it might be very troublesome to do this m method

3. Create a citibank USD account and withdraw money and deposit in the BOA account when I am there

Option 1 is a terrible idea, you're basically asking to get mugged (also you have to declare it if you're bringing that much cash into the USA, and that might raise some eyebrows).

Option 2 is fine. The rate might go against you, but it might go in your favour as well; at worst it'll cost you a couple hundred bucks between now and when you go, because the USDSGD rate is usually pretty stable.

Option 3 is a bit clunky.

I can think of a couple of other options, though:

4) Go to Citibank Singapore; tell them what you're doing, and ask if they can help you open an account with Citibank USA. The answer will probably be "yes". (This means you end up with an account at Citi USA instead of BoA USA, but that's fine because BofA's retail banking is famously awful.)

5) Start up a USD account at DBS and convert the money now, then wire it across once you've opened the BoA account. I think they have a fee if you close this within six months of opening it, but you just need to stick a note in your calendar to close it in 7 months' time.

Of all of those, I'd go with option 5. I did this, and it worked fine for me.

Edited to add: also, it's worth emphasising that BofA is really genuinely awful. If there's no particular reason for you to go with them, I'd really strongly recommend going with Chase instead. (If you're going to the Bay Area, First Republic Bank is an even better bet, because they give you an ATM card that has no fees at any ATM, anywhere in the world. And also they give you chocolate chip cookies.)

 

[IronMac]

Why do you need a BOA account for six months in the first place?

 

[hiippy]

Why do you need a BOA account for six months in the first place?

My friends recommended me to create an account as they said it will be more convenient, they said that they can hardly find any citibank atms in Los Angeles.

Thanks Shiny Things for the advice =)

 

[bazingaman]

One *weird* idea I heard from a friend. Not quite sure if this worked or not as I haven't seen. Worth if the amount is huge. The conversion rate can save few hundreds. So basically opened a Saxo markets account and converted to EURO. Then once he shifted to EU, withdraw the EURO to the local account.

 

[Shiny Things]

One *weird* idea I heard from a friend. Not quite sure if this worked or not as I haven't seen. Worth if the amount is huge. The conversion rate can save few hundreds. So basically opened a Saxo markets account and converted to EURO. Then once he shifted to EU, withdraw the EURO to the local account.

I don't know about Saxo Markets, but this does work with Interactive Brokers - the catch being that you need $10k to open an IBKR account. For something like this I wouldn't bother, it's only going to save you about $50-$60.

 

[stiwipl]

If it is temporary I would stick to Citibank. I would open USD account, link the debit card to USD account and withdraw for free in US from ATM. It won't work for POS transactions though, only for ATM withdrawals.

 

[GenerationX]

what u reconmand if is for pos n for internet online transaction in usd?

 

[Shiny Things]

what u reconmand if is for pos n for internet online transaction in usd?

What?

(Sadly the 10-character minimum won't let me just post "What?". Just imagine that's what I posted.)

 

[achtung7]

Option 3. Did it that way...

 

[lingua101]

Hi Guys,

I will be heading over to the states for a period of 6 months and am going to create a Bank of America account there. I have planned 3 ways to transfer my money over but I am not sure which is the best, please advise. I am planning to transfer about 10k sgd.

1. Since now exchange rate is pretty good, I was thinking of exchanging all my sgd to usd then bring over (not very safe)

2. Bank transfer it over from DBS account to BOA account (but exchange rate then might be worse for me or it might be very troublesome to do this m method

3. Create a citibank USD account and withdraw money and deposit in the BOA account when I am there

Regards.

If it is only 6 months and only to withdraw cash, why not just withdraw from citibank sg account? Citibank is not charging any fee of withdrawal.

And yes boa and wells fargo are the biggest network in west coast and citibank presence is rather rare in west. But u can always use cirrus network atm.

 

[Timthyo]

Open a/c then T/T via moneychanger - Raffles1.net