The Charlottesville Guide from an International Student Perspective
Finance
When you first come here, you will be required to open a checking account. Most students open an account with
Wachovia (these days I hear UVA is recommending Bank of America and have opened
a new branch in University at Newcomb Hall) since they have an ATM at virtually every corner and after their merger with
First Union, in a whole bunch of other east coast states too. However if either of those are not important criteria for you,
I would recommend using the UVA Community Credit Union.
They offer better interest rates (I should say they offer interest) and charge less fees for
certain things like cashing international checks (5$ vs. 75$ for Wachovia). Also you can earn more interest from online banks accounts like
VirtualBank eMoney Market
or INGDirect Orange (email me and I can get you 25$ for opening an account).
Many people live without credit cards (use only the debit card from their bank account or checks and cash), so I can't really
say they are necessary but I recommend you get one each of - Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. To start with
apply for student cards such as Amex Blue for Students or Sony Citibank for College.
I recommend having credit cards and spending on them because - it shows on your credit history that you have credit
and use it wisely. Every card that you have will offer some sort of points, miles or cashback. If you spend everything
on credit cards, you will accrue significant amount of those. I know a friend who is on his way to a free India ticket
thanks to miles from credit card spending.
You can also pay all your bills online (save paper, stamps, time and money + be sure that your payment actually
reached on time) for free using online banking from most big banks.
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