These tips and tricks are entirely based on the advice of a VERY wise senior. When you first come to the States for residency, you will need a couple of things to setup.
SIM CARD
Firstly a mobile number. Given that a good number of residents come from outside the States, having a network which gives you free calling to your home country is a BONUS. That's where UltraMobile comes into place. I know in my previous post I said H2O is good, but trust me when I say that UltraMobile is the real deal. For 30$ per month, you get unlimited calls to India with 1GB of 4G data, which is PRETTY IMPRESSIVE! It also has an option of getting nano sim, so in case you decide to upgrade your phone, which many of you will do, it has got your back covered! :) You can get the initial sim on Ebay for 10 bucks which gives you the first month for FREE!
It is totally up to you on how risky you want to be. If you want to buy it directly from UltraMobile, here is your link
BANK ACCOUNT
Next is for earning cash back when you open a bank account. Generally find the bank which your institute has a tie up with. Go to their site and check for any promos that they are running. They might have an offer that should you open an account with their bank you will get a bonus of $ XYZ for signing up!!! which is PRETTY AWESOME!
P.S.- I used Keybank and got 1/3 of a $1000 :P
CREDIT CARD
The last trick that again, my senior taught me, was regarding getting a credit card. Most of the USA banks DO NOT give you a credit card UNLESS you have a credit history. However, Discover does give you one with no credit history with a credit line of $1500 which is PRETTY COOL! So in case you are still hunting around for a credit card do head out to Discover and check it out. You can shoot me an email @ neilnf@gmail.com if you want a referral, following which you and I get a referral bonus for $50 each.
That's it, folks!
UPDATE: Just FYI for the bank you need a direct deposit to get the bonus. For both SSN is needed. For the credit card you need address proof as well.
If you do have any other tricks, please do let me know. After all we are here to help each other! :)
SIM CARD
Firstly a mobile number. Given that a good number of residents come from outside the States, having a network which gives you free calling to your home country is a BONUS. That's where UltraMobile comes into place. I know in my previous post I said H2O is good, but trust me when I say that UltraMobile is the real deal. For 30$ per month, you get unlimited calls to India with 1GB of 4G data, which is PRETTY IMPRESSIVE! It also has an option of getting nano sim, so in case you decide to upgrade your phone, which many of you will do, it has got your back covered! :) You can get the initial sim on Ebay for 10 bucks which gives you the first month for FREE!
It is totally up to you on how risky you want to be. If you want to buy it directly from UltraMobile, here is your link
BANK ACCOUNT
Next is for earning cash back when you open a bank account. Generally find the bank which your institute has a tie up with. Go to their site and check for any promos that they are running. They might have an offer that should you open an account with their bank you will get a bonus of $ XYZ for signing up!!! which is PRETTY AWESOME!
P.S.- I used Keybank and got 1/3 of a $1000 :P
CREDIT CARD
The last trick that again, my senior taught me, was regarding getting a credit card. Most of the USA banks DO NOT give you a credit card UNLESS you have a credit history. However, Discover does give you one with no credit history with a credit line of $1500 which is PRETTY COOL! So in case you are still hunting around for a credit card do head out to Discover and check it out. You can shoot me an email @ neilnf@gmail.com if you want a referral, following which you and I get a referral bonus for $50 each.
That's it, folks!
UPDATE: Just FYI for the bank you need a direct deposit to get the bonus. For both SSN is needed. For the credit card you need address proof as well.
If you do have any other tricks, please do let me know. After all we are here to help each other! :)
Hey,
ReplyDeletethe posts are very informative.. here are some things i thought might also help..
I found Lycamobile which has the same $29 plan unlimited calls to india and 1 gb data for 4g n later chanhes to 3g...
for bank account..u can just walk inti any bank of ameroca and set up an account for even lik 20$...U dont need SSN..u just tel them ur an international student and they help you out...
also if you are visiting different states you need to call them and let them know so that they dont block your card for security reasons...the inly thing needed is an address and make sure your staying at it for atleast a month as they give a temporary atm card which us valid for 30 days while the permanent one comes in 10 working days after signing up
Hi Zarine, thanks for the post. Regarding the bank account had posted in the previous post http://neilnf.blogspot.com/2015/02/finances-in-states.html :) The current post is only for building credit history :)
DeleteGood to know regarding LycaMobile! very informative.
oh i am so sorry Neil. I didn't know this post was for credit history. Thankyou for always guiding us
ReplyDeleteHey Zarine, No issues :) It is good to know that there are ppl like you who like to share their experiences as well :)
Delete