u/Saiko_Systems

Greetings! I'm looking into changing a checking account to one that will be less useless when money sits in it.... for context of what i am looking for... i have all of my recurring bills such as phone, insurance, car payment, credit cards, etc, all on autopay out of a checking account... and i direct deposit enough from my paychecks to cover them.... however, since some of those bills are yearly or 6-monthly, some amount of money stays stagnant in the account.... and i would also like to have extra sitting in it, for unexpected loss of income or raising of costs... so i started looking for a checking account that pays interest, so at least it does something... this search for checking with interest, from multiple sources, led me to fidelity CMA... and further research into it seems to suggest i can do the same thing with a brokerage? so, before i decide to open an account and switch everything over, i'd like to ask some questions. my lack of knowledge of terms ensures the research i have thus far done doesnt quite answer as simply or directly as i would like.

so, question 1: many of my bills autopay, i put in routing and account numbers, and it just works. will it work the same with CMA and/or brokerage, even though not technically checking?... i have searched it myself, but not knowing what its called (direct debit, echeck, something else?) i dont know what my search results refer to... similarly, while research said i can pay bills from fidelity via billpay, it sounds like something i set up via fidelity, not from the origin of the bill..... im sorry i am so confused, but i just want a simpler "does it work or not?"

question 2: does the debit card work for depositing? withdrawing from cashapp or a lottery app, withdraws to bank account via debit card. again, because not technically checking, i dont know if this works.

question 3: this one is very likely an obvious yes, but just to double check: i can auto-reload cashapp via the debit card, right?

question 4: everything i've searched seems to suggest the brokerage and CMA have the same abilities and features.... what is the actual difference?

and final question: i assume a brokerage will allow me to autobuy stocks, and can probably set up drips, and i assume can buy fractional shares.... is all this right? and if so, is there an option to keep a certain amount "uninvested" (or rather, in spaxx), and auto invest everything above that number, into stocks i choose, with percentages i choose? like, every month, take everything above $10k and invest it, 20% into x, 20% into y, etc..... i like to set up my finances as "set and forget", letting it work automatically..... this one doesnt make or break my decision, since i dont think anything will have such a specific system, but im hopeful and asking questions anyways.

Sorry for long post, sorry for being an idiot, etc. thanks for any replies.

so, i just got off the phone with credit one, wherein i closed both accounts. it was way easier than expected, considering some horror stories i read here.... literally a short phone call where they tried to offer me annual fee refund and half interest for six months on one, half annual fee refund on the other.... which i declined, it was closed and i got email confirmation.

my score might take a hit due to a drop in average age (that 10 year thing confuses me, i dont know what it applies to)

or maybe a hit via a higher utilization due to a drop in total available credit (cut in half or so. 4000 to 2300) .... but my utilization is so low i doubt it will matter.

having "good" cards now (i think), i decided it was time to consolidate for easier management.

Edit to remove picture. it was oddly huge. it just showed credit age... my cards were aged: 46, 40, 10, 8, 8, 5, 4 months (and one i just opened, should show up in a month).... closed 40 and 10, so still have my longest one, but average might take a hit, depending on whatever the 10 year thing effects.

Some magical entity, just because they want to see what happens, teleports every person on the planet into their own private room and informs them: they are going to grow a tail, but they get to choose properties of the tail, as long as reasonable, realistic, and plausible. No giant trex tail bigger than them, no robot tail with guns, etc... they can pick every property and ability, and if the entity deems it within parameters, you grow that tail overnight... If not, you get to try again... You have two hours to think, decide, and describe the tail. If you refuse to choose or fail to choose something reasonable enough in the two hours, he picks for you and magically knows it will be something you will hate. After choosing or after two hours have passed, you teleport back to where you were and get your last tailless day.

What you picking?