u/CuriousMind911

I’m currently trying to open an E*Trade account to park a chunk of cash, grab the $5k signup bonus, and establish the Morgan Stanley relationship for the MS Amex Platinum. I knew "self-directed" meant I'd be on my own for investing, but I didn't realize it meant zero basic administrative customer service.

The timeline of this joke of an onboarding process:
- July 3: Submitted my application.
- July 10: After a week of radio silence, I called in. Turns out my application was frozen because they needed a "selfie holding my driver's license." Uploaded it immediately.
- July 17: Another week goes by. Still no updates, so I call again. This time, they tell me the original driver’s license scan from July 3 was "poor quality" and needed to be resubmitted. (Funny, because this exact high-res scan was accepted by two other banks last month for address updates).

The complete lack of proactivity is what kills me. If a document fails back-end review, they just let the application sit in limbo forever until the customer manually calls to investigate.

I finally got fed up and asked for a supervisor, hoping someone could just look at the newly uploaded docs and confirm they were clear so it wouldn't get stuck for a third week.

Instead, I got connected with a supervisor named Klaudia S who started the call with a combative tone. Zero empathy, zero customer service, and completely unwilling to take charge of the situation or personally look into the case, and placing responsibility back on the client citing that this is a “self directed” account so I’m on my own.

Does E*trade take customer complaints seriously? Should I fund my account to a “higher tier” before submitting complaints so they will take this more seriously?

If you’re a Citigold customer traveling internationally, you’ve probably heard that ATM withdrawal fees are waived. That’s true — but it doesn’t mean you’re getting a free transaction.

Citi applies their own exchange rate, which can be significantly worse than the mid-market rate.

Here’s a real example from Thailand today:
• Google / mid-market rate: THB 32.75 / USD
• Citigold rate: THB 30.1205 / USD
• Effective markup: ~8.03%

That means on a $500 USD withdrawal, you’re losing the equivalent of ~$40 USD purely to the exchange rate spread — before any other fees.

Bottom line: “No ATM fees” ≠ “no cost.” Always check the exchange rate your bank is applying, not just whether the flat fee is waived. An 8% FX spread will cost you far more than a $5 ATM fee ever would.

Hope this saves someone some money.

Now I’m curious about the current rates offered by Charles Schwab.

I need to alter my suit. Any suggestions for tailors near Renton area? Willing to drive to nearby areas too like Bellevue or Kent if the price is reasonable.