US Private Student Loan Repayment from the UK - Options?

Hello, all! Hoping for some advice from those with similar situations. I'll be settling in the UK soon, and was originally planning on closing my US checking account (I use Bank of America) once I have new accounts set up in the UK. Of course this decision has been put on hold after speaking to a Sallie Mae rep. My private student loans with them are already in repayment. The rep informed me that they only accept payments from bank accounts in US dollars - NO foreign currency accounts. As an alternative, she told me I could make payments using a credit card (either US or UK), but it would have to be made by phone each month. No online payments and no auto-recurring payments. Balls.

So, as I see it I have two options:

A) Keep my US checking account open, and I can keep the luxuries of online payments and monthly recurring auto-debits (which come with a bonus of a slightly reduced interest rate). The downside here would be having to transfer money from UK to US checking every month. Would this be worth the fees/conversion charges?

B) Close my US accounts. Obtain a UK credit card (ideally with no foreign transaction fees), and make one phone call a month to Sallie Mae to make a payment using said credit card. Would I be saving any money this way? Worth the inconvenience/charges associated with one international call per month?

For those of you already in the UK who have dealt with this conundrum, how did you go about it? Any and all insight welcome! Thanks in advance!

No advice on the student loan front (paid off!  That was a fabulous day!)

I would recommend keeping a US account active.  You'll be surprised that you'll find it useful a couple of times a year.  Find an account with no monthly fees though.

Same exact situation!  I have an account (actually two bank accounts) open with my local credit union (can HIGHLY recommend) and have spoken with them about what I can do.  I opened the second savings account (the other is savings, checking, and visa card) for the sole purpose of transferring money and paying my loans.  Because the account are with the same bank, I can always transfer money between them online for no fees.  I know there is a $5 minimum balance at all times in the accounts but it is never figured into what I can take out.  My husband uses PayPal to transfer money into my account in order to pay off my loans.  The plus is that it takes fewer pounds to pay it.  I think the last time he transferred £900 to me (for vacation, amongst other things) and the transfer and conversion fees were only about £5.  I have never applied for a credit card in the UK but no one in my husband's family has one.  I think keeping an American account is the easiest option, at least for now.  Plus it gives me a way to get money when we'll be in the US on visits rather than carrying gobs of cash with us.

Hi,

As per above!

Keep the USA account open and have it 'ticking over' as it were. Look for the best account in terms of fees etc. I have a BoA account myself I opened up on my last US visit and I think it's the 'online' account which if free if I do some transactions per month on it.

For your second question, then as above a very easy way to transfer funds is by using Paypal. This is how I operate my account for instance.

Here, your Paypal account is of course linked to your UK bank account. You can 'link' your BoA account in the US to your UK paypal account. Every month, log into your UK bank account and transfer the amount you want to send to your Paypal account. Then in Paypal, once it shows up, you can send the amount of Dollars you'd like to send to your BoA account. For me, there's no fees - it's free to transfer from your UK account to paypal, and it's free for me to send funds in USD to my BoA account. Check to see if your Paypal account allows it and if not, speak to a rep to perhaps convert the account and link your BoA US account for you. The only 'slight' drawback is of course Paypal will use their own conversion rate for GBP to USD and it's generally not 'quite' as competitive as the live currency market values, but it's something I personally don't fret about.

Let us know if it works for you !

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I will have the same issue next year when we move back.  Last time, when I was living there, I kept a credit union bank account open.  They accepted my UK cheques and had little to no fee (my memory lacks the exact detail, sorry) - but I know it was little or no fee as I was a poor grad student!  Credit Unions are really a good option if possible - they hardly have any fees and are so friendly! 

Anyway, every month I had to write a cheque from my NatWest account, then wait until it deposited and then pay my student loan via US check.  I am hoping for something more straightfoward this next time!

I've kept my US checking account open, that's free, and the company who owns my loans is awesome! They have a 1-800 number and they're open 24-7 so I can call whenever and on Skype a 1-800 number is free to call.
   

It looks like I'll be keeping my US account open. Seems there are far more pros than cons! Thanks for your input, everyone!!

No advice on the student loan front (paid off!  That was a fabulous day!)

I would recommend keeping a US account active.  You'll be surprised that you'll find it useful a couple of times a year.  Find an account with no monthly fees though.

Jealous! I have quite a ways to go. Didn't figure in the usefulness for trips back home! Good point. My checking account already has no monthly fees with a deposit every month, so all set there!

I opened the second savings account (the other is savings, checking, and visa card) for the sole purpose of transferring money and paying my loans.  Because the account are with the same bank, I can always transfer money between them online for no fees.

I'm not sure I understand why you'd need a second savings account just for transferring money? Is there some benefit to doing it that way rather than straight into a checking account?

Here, your Paypal account is of course linked to your UK bank account. You can 'link' your BoA account in the US to your UK paypal account. Every month, log into your UK bank account and transfer the amount you want to send to your Paypal account. Then in Paypal, once it shows up, you can send the amount of Dollars you'd like to send to your BoA account. For me, there's no fees - it's free to transfer from your UK account to paypal, and it's free for me to send funds in USD to my BoA account. Check to see if your Paypal account allows it and if not, speak to a rep to perhaps convert the account and link your BoA US account for you. The only 'slight' drawback is of course Paypal will use their own conversion rate for GBP to USD and it's generally not 'quite' as competitive as the live currency market values, but it's something I personally don't fret about.

This sounds brilliant! I've already got a PayPal account which is linked to my BoA checking. Will Definitely try this method first!

Anyway, every month I had to write a cheque from my NatWest account, then wait until it deposited and then pay my student loan via US check.  I am hoping for something more straightfoward this next time!

My husband tells me cheques are a very outdated form of payment in the UK. They sometimes take weeks to clear, and so hardly anyone bothers with them anymore... I think I'll stick with electronic transfers!

I've kept my US checking account open, that's free, and the company who owns my loans is awesome! They have a 1-800 number and they're open 24-7 so I can call whenever and on Skype a 1-800 number is free to call.

May I ask what company you have your loans with? I've been shopping around to reconsolidate and see if I can get a better interest rate!

I'm not sure I understand why you'd need a second savings account just for transferring money? Is there some benefit to doing it that way rather than straight into a checking account?

I set it up because the other is a shared account and, as this is connected to a website, it seemed a safer option.  Perhaps I am a bit paranoid.  Probably extraneous information.  It could have been either a savings or checking account so I went with savings because any money I leave sitting in there accrues interest.  Might as well make a dollar off of it if I can.

I set it up because the other is a shared account and, as this is connected to a website, it seemed a safer option.  Perhaps I am a bit paranoid.  Probably extraneous information.  It could have been either a savings or checking account so I went with savings because any money I leave sitting in there accrues interest.  Might as well make a dollar off of it if I can.

Ahah, thanks for clarifying. My accounts are all in my name only, both checking and savings, so I'm good to go!

May I ask what company you have your loans with? I've been shopping around to reconsolidate and see if I can get a better interest rate!

My loans are held by NelNet. They're an awesome company! They just want you to make your payments, and if you can't make the full payment they work with you to make it affordable. They really helped me utilize Income Based Repayments for my move. I'm not paying anything for this year since I'm unemployed. They would rather you call them if you can't make a payment for some reason and they will cancel it for that month. I can't say anything negative about them, theit staff is friendly and personable. I did have one person who wasn't fabulous to work with once, but that's out of like 15-20 calls. And their website is great.

Ahah, thanks for clarifying. My accounts are all in my name only, both checking and savings, so I'm good to go!

I added my mom onto my account before I moved.  This has saved my tail more than once.  If you have someone you trust to be authorized on your account, it may benefit you in the future.

I added my mom onto my account before I moved.  This has saved my tail more than once.  If you have someone you trust to be authorized on your account, it may benefit you in the future.

I would second this. I've got my mom on my account, just in case there's some items I want to have shipped to me or if there's something I need done but am unable to do over the phone or on the internet. She can deposit checks for me that have been given as gifts as well. *grins*

I added my mom onto my account before I moved.  This has saved my tail more than once.  If you have someone you trust to be authorized on your account, it may benefit you in the future.

This!  Thirded!  Or, at the very least, an account where someone can deposit money in the chance that you can't make the full payment.

I added my mom onto my account before I moved.  This has saved my tail more than once.  If you have someone you trust to be authorized on your account, it may benefit you in the future.

I would second this. I've got my mom on my account, just in case there's some items I want to have shipped to me or if there's something I need done but am unable to do over the phone or on the internet. She can deposit checks for me that have been given as gifts as well. *grins*

This!  Thirded!  Or, at the very least, an account where someone can deposit money in the chance that you can't make the full payment.

Good points all around! My mom already has the ability to deposit cash into my account (just a simple funds transfer on BoA), but perhaps I can add her as an authorized person on my account as well. Never know what I might need!

Thanks, everyone!