$50 Bonus For Constancy Teen Account For My 15 12 months Previous – Was It Price The Trouble?
11 min read
A number of weeks in the past, I bought a promotional advert from Fidelity touting a “youth account” and promising $150 in bonuses ought to I determine to open it. Fifty {dollars} for my teen and 100 {dollars} for me. As I learn extra in regards to the account, my cash nerd intuition kicked in. It sounded good for my center son, Nathan, now 15 and heading into his sophomore yr of highschool.
- No account charges or minimums?
- Saving and investing choices?
- Parental oversight and monetary schooling?
- It permits for saving and making investments?
- Free debit card for my teenager?
- Accessible for youngsters age 13-17?
- Fifty {dollars} for him and 100 for me?
Sounds good. Nearly too good to be true. The place will we enroll?
Not so quick. We began this course of about two weeks in the past. I’ve needed to name Constancy quite a lot of instances with questions and confusion – particularly round their consumer interface. So at this time I’m going to share my expertise, some recommendations on how one can keep away from getting caught in the identical points (my trouble is your profit!), and whether or not the account is well worth the bonus.
Necessary notes – this isn’t sponsored and Constancy has no affiliate packages, so my solely profit in writing about that is to save lots of you trouble and cash. So please like, remark, subscribe, and so forth. Additionally I feel it’s possible you’ll solely get the additional $100 bonus should you’re a present Constancy buyer, as a result of all of the promotional materials says your teen will get a fifty greenback bonus. And please go this alongside to folks of youngsters who could be on this account and the free cash that comes with it!
Nathan’s Cash So Far
Nathan is of the age now the place he’s very a lot trying ahead to having an element time job, the place he’s paid greater than his allowance. Actually this summer season he’s been “working” as a CIT (counselor in coaching) at our native YMCA camp to organize to get a job as a counselor subsequent summer season. At the moment his solely supply of earnings is $12 per week in allowance mechanically deposited right into a Capitol One 360 account and birthday/Christmas cash.
All non-savings accounts in Nathan’s identify, and an I bond (inflation listed financial savings bond) bought by his great-grandparents when he was a child, are at present reserved for school. Most of these financial savings are in two 529 plans – one with Vanguard and one CHET 529 for the state of Connecticut. The CHET 529 is definitely with Constancy, so he’s technically already a buyer.
His present account earns 1.7% curiosity as of this writing (August twenty third 2022) and there’s no ATM card or debit cardt. So at any time when he needs to spend cash on one thing, we or his older brother (who has a job and a debit card) purchase it for him. Then we switch the cash from his account to the account of the one that bought the merchandise.
Once I first instructed Nathan about this account and the chance to get $50 without cost he was… lower than excited. Sadly my cash nerd tendencies didn’t but go right down to him. After some motherly cajoling and reminder that fifty {dollars} was a months price of allowance for him, he lastly agreed to enroll.
Hooray! Convincing a teen to do one thing must be the toughest a part of this course of. Proper?
RIGHT?
Struggling To Open The Constancy Teen Account
The advert makes the method sound simple. Open the account, have your teen obtain and log into the app, and BOOM right here’s your bonus!
Not so quick.
So on the morning of August eleventh I went to open his account. I believed it must be comparatively simple. In any case, I have already got an account with Constancy. He already has an account with Constancy. Needs to be a couple of minutes of requesting the account, placing in his data, linking my account to his, after which it must be set.
Opening the account is the place I run into the primary downside. I can’t simply present his data or say he’s an current buyer. I must show that he’s who I say he’s. And which means offering not simply his identify, date of start and social safety quantity. But in addition two types of ID.
- His social safety card OR the primary web page of my 1040 displaying he’s my dependent AND
- Doc together with his identify – drivers license, passport, start certificates or scholar ID
Sadly for me I don’t maintain most of these paperwork in the home. I do have the 1040 right here saved on my laptop. He doesn’t have a drivers license (he’s solely 15) or a scholar ID (his college doesn’t challenge them). Necessary paperwork like these we maintain in a secure deposit field down on the financial institution.
Fortunately for me, I had already taken a half break day work to go to a health care provider appointment with my mother. So I used to be capable of head right down to the financial institution and take photographs of his social safety card and passport. After the appointment I went residence, uploaded these two paperwork, and completed the account opening course of. Then it says I ought to “textual content the hyperlink” to obtain the app to my teen.
However the web page the “Textual content Hyperlink” button brings me to doesn’t even have any textual content choices.
I work round it by going to the App Retailer and texting the hyperlink from there. Truthfully I feel they meant that button to carry you to this different web page, which I discovered elsewhere when trying round their Youth Account product data.
I get a message that claims I ought to hear again in 1-3 enterprise days. Appears lengthy, however OK! I assume they need to evaluation my paperwork.
Lastly The Constancy Teen Account Is Open! Or Is It?
Once I get up within the morning I’ve an e-mail from Constancy at 12:30 AM saying I’ve lacking data for the brand new account I’m opening. I simply did it yesterday and offered what they requested for. What may very well be lacking?
So after I get some espresso, I log into the Constancy web site and examine my messages. The e-mail says that the lacking data shall be in a message, so logically that’s the place I am going. Proper?
No messages.
Huh.
So I poke across the web site, going to the youth account web page, since I do know that’s the place the difficulty must be. The “Standing Tracker” now says I have to present his social safety card and start certificates. Apparently the social safety card and passport weren’t sufficient?
And naturally I additionally maintain the start certificates within the secure deposit field. I hadn’t photographed it as a result of I used to be utilizing his passport. I name Constancy at 5:19 AM (they are surely open 24/7!) and ask what’s happening. The good gentleman on the opposite finish of the cellphone says it’s “based mostly off evaluation crew”, one thing in regards to the Patriot Act, and he theorizes it’s in all probability as a result of we now have completely different final names.
It’s 2022 Constancy. Individuals have completely different final names than their youngsters generally. If that’s an issue and also you’ll want a start certificates in that state of affairs, please say so up entrance.
So my husband goes to the financial institution earlier than heading into work, grabs a photograph of Nathan’s start certificates, and sends it to me. I add the social safety card (once more) and the start certificates. It says I ought to count on to listen to again in 3-5 days. Then at 5:30 within the night I get one other e-mail that I’ve a brand new message!
I go online and there may be after all no message.
So I name once more. The good particular person on the cellphone – all of the Constancy reps had been very good and well mannered on this complete factor, by the way in which – says they don’t see a message both so that they don’t know why I bought the e-mail. I clarify what’s happening they usually provide to name the evaluation division to expedite the method. That might be good! However after all that division is closed now.
Ready, Ready, Ready…
I log in once more on Thursday August 18th and the doc evaluation isn’t a “to do” anymore. Hooray! Though it could have been good to get an e-mail…
So I attempt once more to textual content the hyperlink to my teenager and undergo my texting workaround I talked about earlier. When he will get residence from his CIT work and I’m performed with my workday, we sit collectively to determine how one can register within the app. Due to course, there’s no choice to register on the app.
I name, for the third time, and speak to a different good particular person. They are saying we have to click on on “forgot username and password” to register. Probably not an intuitive app design there.
We do that with the great gentleman nonetheless on the cellphone in case we run into bother. And it’s factor, too, as a result of after offering his particulars (identify, date of start, final 4 of social) the app needs to textual content him a hyperlink. I do know that is for MFA, or multi-factor authentication, which principally is utilizing a number of strategies to ensure you are who you say you might be.
Downside is the quantity they need to textual content is my residence cellphone. Which is an Ooma. And may’t get textual content messages. Someway that’s the quantity that defaulted into the account.
I am going to my major account and it’s listed as my main quantity, and likewise says it’s a cellular quantity. I repair that whereas the Constancy rep goes by means of a bunch of hoops to vary the quantity to my teen’s cellular phone quantity. He talks to my teen, hangs up and calls again (as a result of we’re speaking on the house cellphone), verifies Nathan, will get permission to speak to me in regards to the account, and fixes the quantity.
However will probably be 72 hours earlier than the quantity could be texted to permit him to register. It’s a safety characteristic. Sigh.
Lastly Registering For The App
He begins getting textual content messages on his cell from Constancy straight away, so we all know the change labored. Then on Saturday he will get a textual content encouraging him to register for the app. We predict that maybe the change went by means of, so give it a attempt. He will get a message on the display that there’s “no cellphone quantity on file”.
So I name once more simply to see what’s happening. They clearly have his cellphone quantity – they’ve been texting him! Actually they only texted him to obtain the app!
The rep says it’s that very same 72 hour downside and that we should always have the ability to register Sunday night. We’re busy then, however get to it on Monday after work.
Lastly, success! We are able to register him for the app. Linked his Capital One account to his new youth account and transferred $200. Very first thing he requested when he logged in was “the place’s my fifty {dollars}?”
Per the data on the Constancy web site we should always see that in 10 calendar days. If you happen to’re curious how this goes, I’ll maintain you all posted on that course of by means of my social media. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Insta, TikTok, Pinterest, and if in case you have questions drop me an e-mail at [email protected].
What Can You Be taught? And Was It Price The Trouble?
4 cellphone calls, two journeys to the financial institution, a number of failed app registrations – was it well worth the $50 bonus? Positive! Everybody on the cellphone calls was good, the financial institution journeys had been a bit annoying however that’s what I get for not conserving the paperwork in the home. And the cellphone quantity factor is a fluke that received’t apply to most individuals. It additionally alerted me to the truth that they’d my residence cellphone as a cellular quantity.
To keep away from operating into these points:
- Be sure you have the paperwork with you earlier than you attempt to open the account. The Constancy promotional web site mentions you’ll want the paperwork, however provided that you scroll waaaaay down on the web page. I didn’t scroll, I simply examine it and clicked the choice to open the account. Don’t be me.
- When you have a distinct final identify than your little one, attempt doing the social safety card and start certificates up entrance. I can’t assure that was my challenge, but it surely wouldn’t harm to attempt.
- Emails are inconsistent. You get emails you’ve gotten messages after which there’s no message, otherwise you get no emails when vital issues are full. Finest to examine the location continuously and name with questions. The persons are very good!
- Pay attention to the complicated consumer interface. Sure the “textual content hyperlink” choice isn’t working correctly, however you’ll be able to work round that by texting the hyperlink from the App or Play Retailer. Or simply have your teen go to the shop instantly. Sure there’s no choice to “register” on the app however you should utilize the “forgot username and password” choice to register.
- Watch the cellphone quantity. I do know most individuals received’t have the entire “residence cellphone” downside. In our case, cell service in our home is spotty. So we maintain the Ooma for $6 a month. However should you do have a house cellphone that isn’t a cell and may’t get texts, ensure that it’s not in your Constancy account as a main cellular quantity.
All in all, I’m fairly enthusiastic about this account choice. No charges, no minimums, debit card, and app. Now to make use of the account to show him extra about investing and sensible spending!
P.S. Once I requested if he was now going partake of all of the “instructional content material” Constancy provides, he stated “I’ve you as a mom. If I ever need to find out about investing, I’ll ask you and also you’ll sit me down for a two day, 4 hour lengthy lesson about how one can make investments”. Ah, our youngsters know us properly. Then I instructed him all about index funds, thus proving me proper.
Let Me Know…
What do you consider this account choice? Are you going to open one in your teen? Or are you going to go this alongside to a mum or dad of teenagers? Here’s the link again for more about the account in case you need it. Let me know within the feedback. And share with mother and father of teenagers please! They may all use an additional fifty bucks.
