Banking - Can I use my Chase Account for banking

Hello all,

I've gotten a wealth of help in other locations on this site, and I am now down to the final logistics for my move next week.  I have a Chase bank account.  My banker here says I can direct deposit my paycheck into my Chase account, and have automatic deductions from that same account for rent.  However, she is a little dodgy when it comes to international transaction fees, and if I will be at the mercy of the exchange rates.  Given the volatility of exchange rates, especially during Brexit and the general... weirdness... going on in the U.S., I don't want to get screwed.  Does anyone have any experience with this, and whether this is even advisable?

Thanks in advance

Keep your Chase account but far better to have a UK account for your UK income/expenses. It shouldn't be hard to open once you have proof of address in your name.

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.  Do you want to set up direct deposit to a US-based Chase account from the US, or from the UK?  And you'd like to pay rent in the US, or in the UK, by automatic deductions from that US-based account?

If it helps, this is my set-up:  I have a US bank account where I receive a US-based pension by direct deposit.  I also have Netflix billed to that account and I make a monthly donation to my old local NPR station (even though I will probably never listen to it again... ).  I also have a UK current account and savings account.  I move money from my US account to my UK account using Transferwise as needed.

I use the debit card from my UK account for POS transactions here because it has chip & PIN, and US ones still don't (  ).  I don't have any UK credit established so if I need to make a credit purchase, I use a US-based credit card.  My credit card banks have stopped charging minimum foreign transaction fees and they use the XE rate + 1% (so slightly more expensive than Transferwise, but nothing like it used to be).

I feel like I haven't answered your situation, though.

You sort of did... that is probably the set-up I'm going to need to use, as I don't want to be hit with fees.  USAA will let me transfer money between a UK account and a US account without transaction fees, which is nice, and I have a credit card that also has no fees, but I was hoping to be able to streamline my life with just one account. 

Using a bank for international transactions is probably the most expensive way to do it. Much better to set up a UK account and use a service like Transferwise.