sfnerd wrote: Sat Dec 28, 2024 2:53 am
I've received free TurboTax for like 8+ years at Fidelity. This year they decided for some reason my $6m account with them isn't worth a TurboTax license.
I'm not one to churn accounts, but I called my Schwab person and he offered to transfer the fidelity account to them for a bonus (6k or more he said). Goodbye, Fidelity. Your opaque TT process gave me a reason to switch.
I have a friend who was a Red Cross "Donut Dolly" in Vietnam.That's what they were called and there is actually a movie about them and their exploits providing donuts, comfort, crafts and activities to service members sometimes only reachable by helicopter.
Yeah, I mean it literally is an insignificant amount of money, for me and for them. If they just advertised it as "make X trades per year", or "have Y million in assets", I wouldn't even pay attention. But since I have to check, it gets me thinking about how good/bad the brokerage is vs others. In an industry where they sell a commodity, it's a dumb move.
I agree with you 100% that it's a shame Fidelity hides the criteria and leaves people feeling so frustrated. I use both brokerages, and I'm curious about what you've been unhappy about at Fidelity, and how you think Schwab will do a better job.
I have an account with Schwab as well, and despite having less in it, I get better service. Fidelity won't even assign me a rep at $6m in assets. I don't need a lot... I'm 100% boglehead especially in these accounts.
Not only does Schwab have better customer service, at 10m in assets their Amex platinum card pays you to have it (they give you a $1000 yearly bonus and the fee is $695). Plus their banking product is far superior (ATM fees reimbursed globally). Also with Fidelity you really have to hide the fact that you live abroad (I live in Asia), whereas with Schwab it's not a big deal.
Add on to this that Fidelity has been going hard into crypto, and it just makes me even more sure it's time to move.
I agree with you 100% that it's a shame Fidelity hides the criteria and leaves people feeling so frustrated. I use both brokerages, and I'm curious about what you've been unhappy about at Fidelity, and how you think Schwab will do a better job.
I have an account with Schwab as well, and despite having less in it, I get better service. Fidelity won't even assign me a rep at $6m in assets. I don't need a lot... I'm 100% boglehead especially in these accounts.
Not only does Schwab have better customer service, at 10m in assets their Amex platinum card pays you to have it (they give you a $1000 yearly bonus and the fee is $695). Plus their banking product is far superior (ATM fees reimbursed globally). Also with Fidelity you really have to hide the fact that you live abroad (I live in Asia), whereas with Schwab it's not a big deal.
Add on to this that Fidelity has been going hard into crypto, and it just makes me even more sure it's time to move.
Lots of good reasons there. I can't believe Fidelity wouldn't assign you a rep, that's incredible. Well, whether they know it yet or not, I bet they're going to miss you!
I have an account with Schwab as well, and despite having less in it, I get better service. Fidelity won't even assign me a rep at $6m in assets. I don't need a lot... I'm 100% boglehead especially in these accounts.
Not only does Schwab have better customer service, at 10m in assets their Amex platinum card pays you to have it (they give you a $1000 yearly bonus and the fee is $695). Plus their banking product is far superior (ATM fees reimbursed globally). Also with Fidelity you really have to hide the fact that you live abroad (I live in Asia), whereas with Schwab it's not a big deal.
Add on to this that Fidelity has been going hard into crypto, and it just makes me even more sure it's time to move.
Lots of good reasons there. I can't believe Fidelity wouldn't assign you a rep, that's incredible. Well, whether they know it yet or not, I bet they're going to miss you!
I originally had one when I moved many years ago, but he left Fidelity, and I never had any questions other than this TurboTax thing. Many others appear to be in this situation... if someone isn't an active trader they appear to not really value you.
Lots of good reasons there. I can't believe Fidelity wouldn't assign you a rep, that's incredible. Well, whether they know it yet or not, I bet they're going to miss you!
I originally had one when I moved many years ago, but he left Fidelity, and I never had any questions other than this TurboTax thing. Many others appear to be in this situation... if someone isn't an active trader they appear to not really value you.
I have no personal knowledge/insight... But my working theory is they have some sort of "metrics" by which they are measured. As a DIY BH investor, I'm not going to be helping those metrics... As such, I don't even bother asking for a rep - as it's a bad use of their time and mine.
I agree completely with your comments about TurboTax. And perhaps more important, about getting personal service when needed (Fidelity is worse than Schwab or Interactive or even Vanguard which has improved significantly over the last few years). I have accounts at all of these brokers for various reasons.
But before you jump ship, consider other things at Fidelity that could be far more valuable than $80 or $100 or whatever for TurboTax.
Fidelity (and Vanguard) will automatically sweep any excess cash into your choice of several good interest-earning money market funds every day. At Schwab (and Interactive), there are no good sweep alternatives and so excess cash goes into a very low interest-earning bank account. I don't check my balance every day so this is worth far more than $100 to me every year, and easily offsets the loss of free TurboTax.
If you use the bill-pay service, Fidelity (and Vanguard) won't debit your account until the checks actually clear, so the funds earn money market rates until that happens. Schwab (and Interactive) effectively keeps the interest on the float.
Fidelity has better commission pricing on closing option trades than Vanguard or Schwab (Interactive is usually better for my trades than any of the others). Schwab has better intuitive capability if you do complex trades and this is the main reason I keep my Schwab account.
I believe Interactive has better execution prices for both stock and options trades than any of the others. Fidelity comes next. Schwab and Vanguard are not as good as the others (though I must add that my experience is based on a relatively small number of trades, less than 1000, so my conclusion is really a gut feel and not necessarily accurate).
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one feeling this way, and thinking about moving... I reached out to my rep, and after quite a bit of back and forth, I was told to check back in January, as this should be when I can get my free TT license. Honestly, they probably think I'm being a bit demanding or entitled, but fingers crossed!
That said, I really shouldn’t have to beg people. As many have pointed out, the criteria for eligibility should be clear and straightforward.
Clearly they are handling things differently this year. I'm not gonna jump to any conclusions about whether I'll be getting it.
If still waiting based on January statement, fyi that the following now appears for me - I can't say it wasn't there a few days ago but I probably would have noticed...
You're eligible for an exclusive TurboTax® offer!
You qualify for this year's free TurboTax program offered to select Fidelity customers. You'll see the link here by mid-January.
TtheTA wrote: Sun Dec 29, 2024 11:56 am
I agree completely with your comments about TurboTax. And perhaps more important, about getting personal service when needed (Fidelity is worse than Schwab or Interactive or even Vanguard which has improved significantly over the last few years). I have accounts at all of these brokers for various reasons.
But before you jump ship, consider other things at Fidelity that could be far more valuable than $80 or $100 or whatever for TurboTax.
Fidelity (and Vanguard) will automatically sweep any excess cash into your choice of several good interest-earning money market funds every day. At Schwab (and Interactive), there are no good sweep alternatives and so excess cash goes into a very low interest-earning bank account. I don't check my balance every day so this is worth far more than $100 to me every year, and easily offsets the loss of free TurboTax.
If you use the bill-pay service, Fidelity (and Vanguard) won't debit your account until the checks actually clear, so the funds earn money market rates until that happens. Schwab (and Interactive) effectively keeps the interest on the float.
Fidelity has better commission pricing on closing option trades than Vanguard or Schwab (Interactive is usually better for my trades than any of the others). Schwab has better intuitive capability if you do complex trades and this is the main reason I keep my Schwab account.
I believe Interactive has better execution prices for both stock and options trades than any of the others. Fidelity comes next. Schwab and Vanguard are not as good as the others (though I must add that my experience is based on a relatively small number of trades, less than 1000, so my conclusion is really a gut feel and not necessarily accurate).
The sweep is nice, but IB pays a pretty high rate on free cash... it was similar to Fidelity last time I checked.
At Schwab I just manually buy their mutual fund. They also have an API, so I will probably write a "sweep bot" that will just do it automatically for me.
This afternoon the notice I would get it free showed up on the Summary page. It was not there this morning. DW also got the notice. Last year she did not get the offer, which was interesting since she has more accounts and a higher total balance than me. We file MFJ, so it doesn't really matter, but I thought it was interesting that she didn't get it before, and I did.
I have had it for quite a few years and still only show the 25% off link as of this morning. The only thing that changed from previous years is I quit reinvesting my dividends. I suspect this puts me below some transaction # to get 'Active Trader'. My "Private Client Group Advisor" was absolutely useless. I'm not sure he knows his own name.
This year my account only has the 30% offer (which is better than 25% most other accounts get). However my wife got the free offer this morning.
Until yesterday my account had 30% offer and wife's had 25% offer only. We file MFJ, so it does not matter as long as one of us get it. Oddly, individually I own much more assets between my Roth IRA and HSA than her (Roth IRA only). We both have shared accounts though with >$2M in brokerage account assets. It's not at all clear to me why she would qualify but I would not.
Wife's account:
My account:
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
It looks like you don't have to have to login to Fidelity or even have a Fidelity account to get the discount. Of course, if you do have a Fidelity account and login, you might find a better offer.
Quote from the other TT discussion. Lots of discussion for credit card $20 back offers which it looks like a lot of us will be able to use. DW has Private Client and no offer except 25%. I have less than her, Premium Services and the next I have a promise of a 30% discount. We both have an adviser that we talk to once or twice a year. I like him and appreciate the service. But this offer is $3.50 more than anyone with a computer. I think I'll send him a thank you card.
Edit: I'm still betting that DW gets the full free offer. I sure don't get the slow roll and lack of transparency. It just seems like bad marketing.
Dufus wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2025 6:37 pm
This afternoon the notice I would get it free showed up on the Summary page. It was not there this morning. DW also got the notice. Last year she did not get the offer, which was interesting since she has more accounts and a higher total balance than me. We file MFJ, so it doesn't really matter, but I thought it was interesting that she didn't get it before, and I did.
My notice actually was showing the "30% off, check back in the new year" one all through last week, and suddenly today it shows "you qualify to file for free..." So it changed.
It's for "TurboTax Online Premium (* This qualifies you for one free federal and one free state tax return using TurboTax Online Premium.)", so I guess no desktop version and no five filings this time around?
Today for the first time, I see the same thing that you did about a free offer in mid-January. But I don't see an asterisk or any further information like you said about it only being the online version. Can you tell me where you saw that?
sga999 wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 4:14 pm
Today for the first time, I see the same thing that you did about a free offer in mid-January. But I don't see an asterisk or any further information like you said about it only being the online version. Can you tell me where you saw that?
You have to search "Turbotax" on the search bar in top-right corner and click the link with the discount offer. That will land you at https://www.fidelity.com/accounts-trade ... x-discount with the text regarding TT Online.
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
I am only interested in the downloadable version that has been offered to me in prior years for $5. The post before mine seemed to say they had more information with the "check back soon" offer that indicated that will be for the Online version. But it doesn't seem like Fidelity would be offering the same thing in mid-January that they are offering today, i.e. free Online. Maybe I misunderstood what that post meant. I will wait a week or two more and see if the offer is for a "free" downloadable version.
sga999 wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 5:55 pm
I am only interested in the downloadable version that has been offered to me in prior years for $5. The post before mine seemed to say they had more information with the "check back soon" offer that indicated that will be for the Online version. But it doesn't seem like Fidelity would be offering the same thing in mid-January that they are offering today, i.e. free Online. Maybe I misunderstood what that post meant. I will wait a week or two more and see if the offer is for a "free" downloadable version.
We will see what happens, but there is nothing available for free as I write this. It seems like the mid-January offering will, unfortunately, be for the online version. I am not interested in that, and I have already purchased the Deluxe desktop version.
CardinalRule wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 6:42 pm
We will see what happens, but there is nothing available for free as I write this. It seems like the mid-January offering will, unfortunately, be for the online version. I am not interested in that, and I have already purchased the Deluxe desktop version.
Somehow I missed the "online" aspect in all the previous posts.
Is this what everybody is seeing? No download this year? If so, I can stop waiting...
I was able to get it in my cart for $49 (30% off TURBOTAX DESKTOP DELUXE 2024) (‘Do it yourself’ / ‘Doing Taxes with Desktop Software’), BUT … it will not let me checkout at that price … it goes back up to $70 when checking out I tried different browsers (Safari/Chrome/Firefox). I don’t know what is going on but am beyond frustrated. May have to buy from Amazon or something if this doesn’t get fixed on the Intuit site with their ordering and payment system.
feh wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 7:08 pm
Somehow I missed the "online" aspect in all the previous posts.
Is this what everybody is seeing? No download this year? If so, I can stop waiting...
Nobody here has seen the actual full offer afaik. The teaser doesn't say anything about the download version either way, but the free online version is always what they have led with.
My guess is that the $5 deal will continue as always. If not, I'll probably use their discount plus the $20 cash back that seemingly half the credit cards in the US are offering, both of which should apply right through April.
sga999 wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 5:55 pm
I am only interested in the downloadable version that has been offered to me in prior years for $5. The post before mine seemed to say they had more information with the "check back soon" offer that indicated that will be for the Online version. But it doesn't seem like Fidelity would be offering the same thing in mid-January that they are offering today, i.e. free Online. Maybe I misunderstood what that post meant. I will wait a week or two more and see if the offer is for a "free" downloadable version.
We will see what happens, but there is nothing available for free as I write this. It seems like the mid-January offering will, unfortunately, be for the online version. I am not interested in that, and I have already purchased the Deluxe desktop version.
Very interesting. My Turbotax offer on Fidelity does NOT have the line after "Check back soon" like yours did. There is nothing indicating it will only be for the online version. It is strange that the first part looks exactly like yours, but I don't have your line with the asterisk.
timmo wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 9:29 pm
I was able to get it in my cart for $49 (30% off TURBOTAX DESKTOP DELUXE 2024) (‘Do it yourself’ / ‘Doing Taxes with Desktop Software’), BUT … it will not let me checkout at that price … it goes back up to $70 when checking out I tried different browsers (Safari/Chrome/Firefox). I don’t know what is going on but am beyond frustrated. May have to buy from Amazon or something if this doesn’t get fixed on the Intuit site with their ordering and payment system.
Same here. The link was added in the last day (was previously saying to check back in mid-Jan), so I think it may not be fully ready yet. Going to check back tomorrow.
I got the free turbotax for many years, but they cut me off for the last 3 or 4. I was a little surprised when I saw the offer today again. It's a mystery.
I checked the timestamp on my previous year TT downloads via Fido, and the timestamp has always been in Dec the previous year
I'm not sure why Fido/TT is still not allowing those who have a free offer to check to see what exactly is included in the free offer (download or not) and to actually do the download. It's a little annoying since I was hoping to use it to calculate 4th quarter payments, but one shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose.
Long time FIDO customer who has received both Free TurboTax as well as the $5 last year.
I spent 10 min on the phone with someone at FIDO who told me you need $500K in self directed assets and 72 trades (annually) in order to qualify for the $5 TT.
While I qualify with the account balance I certainly don't have 72 trades in any 10 year period much less 72 in a single year.
Oh well. I told the FIDO rep FIDO would be much better off not offering this benefit to anyone rather than to piss off people who have considerable balances at FIDO but don't trade but a few times a year.
worktilIdie wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2025 3:37 pm
I spent 10 min on the phone with someone at FIDO who told me you need $500K in self directed assets and 72 trades (annually) in order to qualify for the $5 TT.
Another red herring. I've received TT for many years without this metric.
worktilIdie wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2025 3:37 pm
I spent 10 min on the phone with someone at FIDO who told me you need $500K in self directed assets and 72 trades (annually) in order to qualify for the $5 TT.
Another red herring. I've received TT for many years without this metric.
I'm not entirely clear what constitutes a "trade."
One year I was flagged as an "active trader" (and received free TT that year). I think I made a handful of TLH trades that year, 1x Backdoor Roth, regular payroll contributions to 401k (including MBR) [< 24 as I maxed out before EOY]. Otherwise, it was buying money market funds with paychecks and/or any extra money. We crossed whatever "trade threshold" for that year as a result.
Just saw we'll get free TT again this year - with probably less transactions (no TLH I can recall in 2024).
IIRC didn't get free TT last year - with probably more transactions.
We will see what happens, but there is nothing available for free as I write this. It seems like the mid-January offering will, unfortunately, be for the online version. I am not interested in that, and I have already purchased the Deluxe desktop version.
Very interesting. My Turbotax offer on Fidelity does NOT have the line after "Check back soon" like yours did. There is nothing indicating it will only be for the online version. It is strange that the first part looks exactly like yours, but I don't have your line with the asterisk.
The mystery deepens. Today when I go search for the "Turbotax" keyword and bring up the "TurboTax Discount" link through the search results, I get the default "Save 25% on TurboTax®" page, but when I go to the page directly through the URL (https://www.fidelity.com/accounts-trade ... x-discount), it brings up the "As a select Fidelity customer, you qualify to file for free with TurboTax Online Premium.* " page.
But both pages have the exact same URL. Just how you get to the page changes the content of the page. However, yesterday, the link through the search was also showing the free online premium page; not today. Seems like a buggy, unstable page.
timmo wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2025 9:29 pm
I was able to get it in my cart for $49 (30% off TURBOTAX DESKTOP DELUXE 2024) (‘Do it yourself’ / ‘Doing Taxes with Desktop Software’), BUT … it will not let me checkout at that price … it goes back up to $70 when checking out I tried different browsers (Safari/Chrome/Firefox). I don’t know what is going on but am beyond frustrated. May have to buy from Amazon or something if this doesn’t get fixed on the Intuit site with their ordering and payment system.
Same here. The link was added in the last day (was previously saying to check back in mid-Jan), so I think it may not be fully ready yet. Going to check back tomorrow.
Same here. The link was added in the last day (was previously saying to check back in mid-Jan), so I think it may not be fully ready yet. Going to check back tomorrow.
worktilIdie wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2025 3:37 pm
Long time FIDO customer who has received both Free TurboTax as well as the $5 last year.
I spent 10 min on the phone with someone at FIDO who told me you need $500K in self directed assets and 72 trades (annually) in order to qualify for the $5 TT.
While I qualify with the account balance I certainly don't have 72 trades in any 10 year period much less 72 in a single year.
Just called Fidelity about their TurboTax offer. I got the same version. Apparently my high 7-figure account means nothing unless I make 72+ trades/year to get (not clear what trade means)... Zero flexibility or care about long-term customers. Purely transactional relationship now.
I don't know if 72+ trades a year matters, but I'm wondering if 72 trades between MMFs would qualify. If I don't get the free 2024 TT offer, I may do a bunch of trades between 2 MMFs to see if I get the 2025 TT for free. Financially, it doesn't matter if I have to pay for TT. This would be more of an experiment. I have $0.01 left in my Roth core account. I could move that penny around.
worktilIdie wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2025 3:37 pm
Long time FIDO customer who has received both Free TurboTax as well as the $5 last year.
I spent 10 min on the phone with someone at FIDO who told me you need $500K in self directed assets and 72 trades (annually) in order to qualify for the $5 TT.
While I qualify with the account balance I certainly don't have 72 trades in any 10 year period much less 72 in a single year.
Just called Fidelity about their TurboTax offer. I got the same version. Apparently my high 7-figure account means nothing unless I make 72+ trades/year to get (not clear what trade means)... Zero flexibility or care about long-term customers. Purely transactional relationship now.
When did loyalty become measured in trades?
mhc wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2025 11:38 am
I don't know if 72+ trades a year matters, but I'm wondering if 72 trades between MMFs would qualify. If I don't get the free 2024 TT offer, I may do a bunch of trades between 2 MMFs to see if I get the 2025 TT for free. Financially, it doesn't matter if I have to pay for TT. This would be more of an experiment. I have $0.01 left in my Roth core account. I could move that penny around.
FWIW, I am 100% sure my wife made less than 72 trades yet and yet she qualified. She has less assets with Fidelity than me, yet I did not.
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
Just to reiterate a point I made early in this thread...my offer just flipped today from 30% to "free online", weeks after the initial message from Fidelity was posted online, and days or weeks later than others receiving the free offer.
For me, I will likely buy the download version, but for folks that are interested in the free online option, don't assume that just because you didn't see the offer yesterday, you won't get it tomorrow.
Darth Xanadu wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:03 pm
Just to reiterate a point I made early in this thread...my offer just flipped today from 30% to "free online", weeks after the initial message from Fidelity was posted online, and days or weeks later than others receiving the free offer.
For me, I will likely buy the download version, but for folks that are interested in the free online option, don't assume that just because you didn't see the offer yesterday, you won't get it tomorrow.
Is your link there yet? Does "free online" give you a download discount at all?
Darth Xanadu wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:03 pm
Just to reiterate a point I made early in this thread...my offer just flipped today from 30% to "free online", weeks after the initial message from Fidelity was posted online, and days or weeks later than others receiving the free offer.
For me, I will likely buy the download version, but for folks that are interested in the free online option, don't assume that just because you didn't see the offer yesterday, you won't get it tomorrow.
Is your link there yet? Does "free online" give you a download discount at all?
Still says to come back mid-Jan.
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
Amazon has 30% off today tempting...I guess Deluxe Fed+State requires purchase of state efile, can't recall if Fido Premier also requires purchase of state eFile.
Darth Xanadu wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:03 pm
Just to reiterate a point I made early in this thread...my offer just flipped today from 30% to "free online", weeks after the initial message from Fidelity was posted online, and days or weeks later than others receiving the free offer.
For me, I will likely buy the download version, but for folks that are interested in the free online option, don't assume that just because you didn't see the offer yesterday, you won't get it tomorrow.
Is your link there yet? Does "free online" give you a download discount at all?
I apologize if my post was misleading; Fetch5482 is correct, the verbiage is still that of a "teaser" offer with the mid-January note.
TBillT wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:24 pm
Amazon has 30% off today tempting...I guess Deluxe Fed+State requires purchase of state efile, can't recall if Fido Premier also requires purchase of state eFile.
Desktop versions require extra payment for state e-file. Online versions include one free state e-file.
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
Darth Xanadu wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2025 3:40 pm
I apologize if my post was misleading; Fetch5482 is correct, the verbiage is still that of a "teaser" offer with the mid-January note.
I wouldn't call it a "teaser" . Based on the wording, imho, you're pretty much guaranteed to get it. You're waiting on the TT / IT folk to get their act together to put a hack-proof link, which they hope to by mid-month, so that the "lucky" ones can access it.
I've received the free/$5 TT offer every year since 2019. No sign of anything this year. I had an unrelated reason to speak with my PCG advisor, and asked if he knew why the change. His response was that the giveaway became too expensive, and has been discontinued. That obviously clashes with reports here that people have received (a promise of) the offer. I may be looking for a new advisor soon.
boglenoggin wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2025 7:42 pm
I've received the free/$5 TT offer every year since 2019. No sign of anything this year. I had an unrelated reason to speak with my PCG advisor, and asked if he knew why the change. His response was that the giveaway became too expensive, and has been discontinued. That obviously clashes with reports here that people have received (a promise of) the offer. I may be looking for a new advisor soon.
I wouldn't blame your advisor, the method Fidelity uses for assigning free TT is clearly opaque and the Fidelity front line people seem to know about as much as anyone. I can only assume they themselves stand around the virtual water-cooler talking about
- Customer Support #1 - "Do you guys know how customers actually get the free TT offer?"
- Customer Support #2 - "Yeah, I think it's XXXX"
- Customer Support #3 - "No, I think it's YYYY"
- Customer Support #4 - "Are you sure because I thought it was ZZZZ"
boglenoggin wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2025 7:42 pm
I've received the free/$5 TT offer every year since 2019. No sign of anything this year. I had an unrelated reason to speak with my PCG advisor, and asked if he knew why the change. His response was that the giveaway became too expensive, and has been discontinued. That obviously clashes with reports here that people have received (a promise of) the offer. I may be looking for a new advisor soon.
I wouldn't blame your advisor, the method Fidelity uses for assigning free TT is clearly opaque and the Fidelity front line people seem to know about as much as anyone. I can only assume they themselves stand around the virtual water-cooler talking about
- Customer Support #1 - "Do you guys know how customers actually get the free TT offer?"
- Customer Support #2 - "Yeah, I think it's XXXX"
- Customer Support #3 - "No, I think it's YYYY"
- Customer Support #4 - "Are you sure because I thought it was ZZZZ"
If the method is opaque and only available around the water-cooler, shouldn't the advisor come out and say that? Be honest. Admit that, at your level, the process of criteria for selection is not known. I, for one, appreciate honesty.
AlbertG wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2025 8:01 am
If the method is opaque and only available around the water-cooler, shouldn't the advisor come out and say that? Be honest. Admit that, at your level, the process of criteria for selection is not known. I, for one, appreciate honesty.
Perhaps.
I've worked in IT my entire career, working at commercial, academic and government positions over my now 35 year career. The number of times I've seen people make things up on the spot because they didn't know the answer to a question, as opposed to just saying "I don't know, let me find out", is amazing. I can only assume it's worst in the financial industry, where money is directly involved and you're selling confidence more than anything else (in both the advisor and the institution), to provide confidence to your customer. Especially given the black eye Fidelity has had of late.
Not saying it's right, just saying the advisor, like the rest of us, is human. No one likes to say I don't know when part of their job is to know.
AlbertG wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2025 8:01 am
If the method is opaque and only available around the water-cooler, shouldn't the advisor come out and say that? Be honest. Admit that, at your level, the process of criteria for selection is not known. I, for one, appreciate honesty.
Perhaps.
I've worked in IT my entire career, working at commercial, academic and government positions over my now 35 year career. The number of times I've seen people make things up on the spot because they didn't know the answer to a question, as opposed to just saying "I don't know, let me find out", is amazing. I can only assume it's worst in the financial industry, where money is directly involved and you're selling confidence more than anything else (in both the advisor and the institution), to provide confidence to your customer. Especially given the black eye Fidelity has had of late.
Sorry, what does that refer to? Not being argumentative, I just want to know if there's been any particular scandal related to Fidelity.
I would guess Fido's senior managers figure that people with large balances (especially $1M+) wouldn't be bothered by the potential loss of a beneffit of $70 or so. Clearly, they don't understand bogleheads
volstagg wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2025 8:42 amEspecially given the black eye Fidelity has had of late.
Sorry, what does that refer to? Not being argumentative, I just want to know if there's been any particular scandal related to Fidelity.
I guess it's referring to the fact that fidelity has put long inconvenient hold times on money ACH's into their accounts starting from a few months ago. Sometimes these wait times are as high as 7 business days or longer.
I've not been affected by this since I always push money into Fidelity and rarely pull from other banks, but understandably some customers have not been happy with this change.
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
SlowMovingInvestor wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2025 11:37 am
Sorry, what does that refer to? Not being argumentative, I just want to know if there's been any particular scandal related to Fidelity.
I'm referring to a few things.
The recent (September/October) change for many Fidelity customers changing ACH pull hold times to 16 business / 21 calendar days, with no notification to customers before the change.
There is also the issues with the Debit card switch to Lender's bank from PNC and customers not being able to get their Debit cards in a reasonable amount of time (in some case taking 6-8 weeks to get a replacement card for long established accounts, even longer for new customers), plus there have been sporadic reports that customers who have gotten the new Debit cards from Lender's bank not having them work overseas like the PNC issued card did because the Lender's cards were not registered in the STAR or some other ATM networks correctly.
I myself have run into an issue with Fidelity's bill pay system in the last month. They switched a Citi Credit Card payment that had been going out electronic (and still said it would go out electronic) for as long as I've been sending payments through my CMA switch from electronic to a paper check mailed USPS for no reason and no notification that it would be done, until the check had been mailed and was too late to do anything about.
I tried different browsers (Safari/Chrome/Firefox). I don’t know what is going on but am beyond frustrated. May have to buy from Amazon or something if this doesn’t get fixed on the Intuit site with their ordering and payment system.
. Based on the wording, imho, you're pretty much guaranteed to get it. You're waiting on the TT / IT folk to get their act together to put a hack-proof link, which they hope to by mid-month, so that the "lucky" ones can access it.