Hi everybody and Happy New Year!
I recall people discussing the need to have an address in the US so that their bank continues to keep accounts open. Various people have mentioned they use a mail forwarding company that provide a ‘real’ address and also will scan, open if needed, forward etc. that fulfills this function. I also think one of the members mentioned theirs also forward packages.
I thought I made a note for the various solutions referenced on the forum but cannot locate, and spent a couple of frustrating hours looking through using the search function to no avail. Would anyone have a US service recommendation?
Many thanks!

Hello,
We have been using US Global Mail in Houston. We moved to France last September and, so far, we have not had any issues with this company. Once every three months, they bundle up our mail and send it to us. There are a lot of mail forwarding services with a variety of different options, but this one suited our needs.

 

Thanks! I saw their website but there are so many! I live in California so also important to get a real address which this one does.
Thanks again!

 

We're happy with Physical Address (dot com) for a monthly fee of $10. You can choose a California address for $11 per month.

 

If you haven't already, you might want to check with your financial institutions to see if they will accept a foreign mailing address. That can certainly save some time and frustration if they do. We're lucky as the two institutions that we use for banking and insurance (MSU Federal Credit Union and USAA) are used to having their members move globally, so were fine with us using our French address. You'll probably not want to say who you are as you find out though, as there are some institutions (like brokerages and financial asset management companies .... Fidelity and Goldman Sachs come to mind ... that don't just want a US mailing address, they want you to be RESIDENT in the US.

 

In my opinion you should not raise the issue with your banks since that could well trigger a negative response and even a positive response won't be binding on the bank's future actions, so it's not worth the risk. Better just to change your address of record to your new Commercial Mail Receiving Agent. Most banks will take no action when an existing customer does that.

I have been using sbimailservice.com and have been happy with their service. They ship packages. The "street" address you get from them will be in Florida, a state with no income tax. If you were to change your address to a state with an income tax and were to notify your banks and brokers of that fact, you would eventually get a letter from that state's tax authority wondering where your tax returns are.

Interactive Brokers, a US brokerage firm, is willing to open accounts for US citizen expats in some countries. Also, State Department Federal Credit Union will open a checking account for citizen expats.

 

nteractive Brokers, a US brokerage firm, is willing to open accounts for US citizen expats in some countries. Also, State Department Federal Credit Union will open a checking account for citizen expats.

Another option for a financial advisor/manager that will work with Americans living abroad is who we use: Atlantic Private Wealth. Our mission is to help you accomplish your vision.

 

One of our US banks flagged our US address as a forwarding service address, and said it cannot be used for the residential address. They do allow it be used as the mailing address, though. They had no problem with the residential address being outside the US. None at all. So, we have been using our Japan residential address and California mail service for a mailing address for a few years now. (We use Physical Address dot com, FYI.)

 

I use Wanderers Mail service in Seattle WA. They are part of AnytimeMailbox network with outlets all over the US. I picked Wanders because it is near my friend who has been my ground support in the US.
AnytimeMailbox is now iPostal1.com

 

Good to find this thread. I've been using the Physical Address mail drop in Las Vegas and I'm keen to hear of others' experiences with them - and of alternatives.

I've had some mail appear in my Physical Address online mailbox 3-4 weeks after the postmark date. A few items have never shown up at all - including bills that have to be paid.

Physical Address blames the post office, but this often? Really?

I've read recently that some services with "virtual addresses" in multiple cities actually just forward mail from some (all?) addresses to a central location for processing, so maybe that's what's going on here.

In any case, Physical Address in Las Vegas isn't working very well for me, and they've given me no indication that they can or will fix the problem.

It would be helpful to hear from others what "virtual mailbox" services in no-income-tax US states - and in what specific locations - give them good and prompt service.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Good to find this thread. I've been using the Physical Address mail drop in Las Vegas and I'm keen to hear of others' experiences with them - and of alternatives.

I've had some mail appear in my Physical Address online mailbox 3-4 weeks after the postmark date. A few items have never shown up at all - including bills that have to be paid.

Physical Address blames the post office, but this often? Really?

We only have a few items that must be sent through the mail and they are handled quite quickly by Physical Address, Orlando. Nothing is shipped to any other location, if you read their website information. The issue truely is the USPS that has cut their service to illegal levels by not sorting and delivering the first class mail as required. The state of Florida shipped two envelopes to us that were not received until four weeks later per the postmarks. We had them resend the items and they were recieved within the week of being postmarked.
This was a problem even before we started using Physical Address. The USPS was marking our mail as undeliverable to the address of our family member who had the same last name and this was our legal address and they did the same to her.

William Richardson
Carcassonne, France

 

My experience has been excellent, no lag in delivery times, no problem with any carriers (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc). I use Wanderers Mail Service, Seattle WA. Wanderers' Mail Service. Phone ‭+1 (206) 441-5678‬. They use the Anytimemailbox service (anytimemailbox.com) to deliver notices and track action on your mail.

 

@drexfrance -- Unfortunately, your experiences are not out of the ordinary. Likewise, I had contracted with a mail forwarding service in Las Vegas that was sub-par -- I no longer utilize them. I'm currently on my third mail forwarding service in the last year in Florida and I'm on the search for a new one. I had great service for quite a few years, but unfortunately, my original firm went out of business and the USPS will not forward mail from a mail forwarding service (PMB account.)

I had also utilized a service in WY, but they changed their business model, so I left them and have another service in WY (for businesses.)

I second @LeeSEA 's recommendation with Wanderers' -- I've maintained an account with them for nearly 30 years (with 3 different owners.) Unfortunately, they have also converted to the PMB model and WA recognizes them as such. Wanderers' forwards my mail the same day I make an e-mail request. They'll also send an alert e-mail if they recognize something in my box that needs attention. The Anytime Mailbox Service must be relatively new -- I hadn't heard of it until I read @LeeSEA 's post. The Pike Place address is also pretty cool!

I know a lot of folks really like Mail Forwarding Services at St Brendan's Isle in Florida -- but they can't handle vehicle registration, drivers licensing or voting. If those services aren't needed, they might be worth a look. Cheers, 255

 

Hi Everyone, I'm moving to Australia next month and would like to keep a few of my credit cards/bank accounts open.

Can anyone confirm what billing address they used after moving? I'm thinking of using physicaladdress.com but not sure if that will work for the banks.

Thanks!

 

Can anyone confirm what billing address they used after moving? I'm thinking of using physicaladdress.com but not sure if that will work for the banks.

We're into our second year of successfully using a Florida billing address via Physical Address for any US mail, including banks. Prior to this we had been using a family member's address, so we made this change after we moved and luckily it's been a smooth transition.

 

@ustosyd -- I don't have a specific recommendation, but I'd suggest you change your address before your move; just to make sure everything goes smoothly.

I've never used physicaladdress.com, but I've used many mail forwarding services in WA, NV, WY & FL without issue. Of course other than my recent FL experiences (where I have had zero issues with my credit union,) nothing has been under the current KYC rules that a lot of banks have put into place. Good luck! Cheers, 255

 

Credit cards work fine with a mailing service address. They seem to get more upset if they get a bounce from your email. So, as 255 suggests, change your address BEFORE MOVING so you have a test run period. I had 4 banks set up, terrified that one or several would close my account once I was outside the US too long. But once I got accounts with State Department Federal Credit Union, that worry was fixed, and I gradually closed all the other bank accounts. To qualify, I joined American Citizens Abroad, and then opened my account at State Department Federal Credit Union, where they serve folks who are outside the US as State Department employees.

 

If the OP is moving to Australia, however, I would perhaps suggest that they post this query in the Australian forum here. There might be some alternatives that are specific to Australia that would be useful to know about.