I recently applied for and received a Schwab Invest First Visa card for both myself and my wife. I applied for these cards because Schwab charges no foreign exchange fee. Here is what I had to go through to receive the cards.
- Late January – Call to signup. Explain that I will be traveling for an extended period of time. Signup materials sent.
- Early February – Fill out paperwork when it arrives. Field calls from Schwab and explain my travelling situation again. Decide with agent to just send everything to my future permanent address in Florida as I will be moving away from DC in a few weeks. Confirm sending of all cards for both myself and my wife.
- Monday, 9 March – I arrive in Fl and find only ATM cards, the credit cards were not present. Call and find out they were sent two days prior (late) to my former DC address. New cards arranged to be sent out that day via overnight express. I speak with the fraud dept to prevent further problems.
- Tuesday, 10 march – wait all day for FedEx to arrive with the cards. They never arrive. Call back that evening and am told that they should have been sent but can’t figure out why they weren’t. Prepares to resend tomorrow, Wednesday, but we will be boarding an airplane for California that day so she needs to have them sent to a CA address.
- Wednesday, 11 march – I get off the airplane in California and receive a voicemail from my mother alerting me that Schwab had called and that I need to call back immediately. I call back, and answer several questions they have for me because I’ve switched the delivery address and they are concerned. I am assured however that the cards were in fact sent out that day and I would have them in California tomorrow. I should call back in the morning to receive the tracking numbers.
- Thursday, 12 march – Just kidding! I cannot get the tracking numbers because the cards were never sent, naturally I’m a bit angry as I leave the country tomorrow. I speak to supervisor Jesse in the fraud department who says tough luck. He sends me to speak with someone in acceptance who first says they were sent yesterday, then that they couldn’t be sent till tomorrow because it would take a day for them to be made, then that they will be sent today. Naturally this lack of knowledge has me concerned and I ask for and get supervisor Ashley. Ashley tells me they were sent yesterday, oh wait..the fraud dept has questions for me (the ones I answered last night) and she needs to transfer me. I tell Ashley of all the people I’ve spoken to she is the worst and I hang up.
- Thursday, 12 March – I call back and tell them to send them to a FedEx location in San Diego near the highway that we can get to on the way to the border. This works and…
- Friday, 13 March – I pick up a pair of cards, 20 minutes before I crossed the border.
Since then 5 credit cards have arrived at my home in Florida all via regular mail. From what I can determine, one card was sent to me in DC at the wrong address and somehow forwarded to Florida. Another pair of cards was also sent to this errant DC address, I imagine these were sent when I confirmed that cards for both me and my wife were being sent. Lastly, a pair was sent directly to Florida at what looks to be step 3 above, I believe the woman who handled things there forgot to put them in for express service.
Now that I am traveling and have my cards I am quite happy with them…but what a pain in the ass.
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