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Ruth Mincer Callaway wrote:

Hello,
What is a re-mailer?

Seeing no replies to your question, I'll answer using my own experience.

I see you are already in the PH, so it will not be the same for you as if you were still in the
states. When I was living in the states I knew I was moving to the PH long term, so things had
to be done.

A re-mailer in the states forwards the mail and any purchases you may make. Since I was
moving  to the PH, I needed a permanent address in the states. You will use the address of
the  re-mailer as your own. They will assign a box to you. So if their  address is 1234 Any Street
they will assign  a box to you. Your address will be 1234 Any Street #6721 or you can say
1234 Any Street, Apt. 6721,  or 1234 Any Street, Suite 6721. The re-mailer is not the same
as a UPS Box.

So  notify your banks, charge card companies, IRS, SS, Insurance Companies or places that will send mail that you do not want to miss. Also notify the USPO with a change of address so other
mail will be forwarded and they notify them your change for one year to them.

The re-mailer will charge you a monthly fee for the service of having an address. When mail arrives they will email you letting you know and a scan of the outside of the envelope. You can let the mail accumulate to save overall shipping fees. If you want for a small fee, they will open the mail and send you a scan of the contents.

Also you can make purchase from your favorite store in the states, maybe several stores at a time and the re-mailer will repackage them all into one shipment for a small fee.

Shipping costs, they give you many options with various companies, FedEx, DHL, UPS or the USPO and you can choose the level of service from the company you choose. I use FedEx and the mail or package is delivered to my door in the PH in several days. (Intact)

Mail that fits into their flats runs in the mid $40 range. I've had larger stuff with more
weight that had  to be fit into a box for around $100. Again you can pick the level of service
to fit your budget or time frame. Now your price may vary, my re-mailer says with the volume of mail and packages they ship, they get a special discount. (Who Knows)

I used US Global Mail in Houston to do my mail when I was full-time in the Philippines. Same as above, where you have a new address for the incoming mail, but I never actually had to have any physical mail forwarded,. They scanned every mail piece (the outside only) and you got a daily report. If you wanted a piece of mail opened they would do it for a slight fee and send you a PDF of the inner document. With that, I never needed the actual hardcopy.

Of course everything of a personal financial nature was already set up for electronic delivery - utilities, bank statements, brokerage statements, insurance policies, etc. already came to me via email notification and direct bank sign-in. So I was not concerned about what the re-mailer might see. It was a rare mail piece that even needed to be opened.

No we are Not in PH yet... just checking how to do things.. it’s all so confusing to me... and it’s not real blonde hair LOL Thank you both for your responses I hope I can figure this out I certainly do appreciate everything you were doing for me and my husband

pnwcyclist wrote:

I used US Global Mail in Houston to do my mail when I was full-time in the Philippines. Same as above, where you have a new address for the incoming mail, but I never actually had to have any physical mail forwarded,. They scanned every mail piece (the outside only) and you got a daily report. If you wanted a piece of mail opened they would do it for a slight fee and send you a PDF of the inner document. With that, I never needed the actual hardcopy.

Of course everything of a personal financial nature was already set up for electronic delivery - utilities, bank statements, brokerage statements, insurance policies, etc. already came to me via email notification and direct bank sign-in. So I was not concerned about what the re-mailer might see. It was a rare mail piece that even needed to be opened.

I also use US Global Mail in Houston, so I also mirror pnwcyclist post.

Now on my financial and important stuff I use one email account exclusively for that purpose.

I use another email account for my everyday stuff. My everyday account receives a fair amount of emails phishing saying this account or that account needs my immediate attention.

One mistake I made was letting my mail accumulate, I should have mail from the banks scanned like pnwcyclist. I have an average amount of credit cards, some with low usage or no usage. Unbeknown to me with the inactivity (no usage for over a year) on two cards they were cancelled by the two banks. They had notified me by mail, but it was accumulating so I did not know until trying to use them.

So if you have seldom or haven't use your cards, put some charges on them to keep them active.

Now I'm in a dilemma, I've received an email and mail from one of my credit card companies. The email said they are switching my American Express card to a Visa card. Originally it was Discover, then they switched to American Express and now its going to be Visa.

The dilemma do I have them open the mail from the bank and it might be my new card? Or do I them  FedEx to me for $45?

I guess the best solution is to call them.

I have also been using US Global Mail in Houston for just about a year. Fantastic service at a very reasonable price. It's a must-have not only for important mail but also for things you can't find in the Philippines - although shipping directly to the Philippines via Amazon.com is a lot cheaper than through the re-mailer.

The one thing that I didn't notice Bob and pwncyclist mention is that when you receive mail, you also have the option to have them throw it away. So you don't end up paying to ship junk mail or items that you can take care of simply by reading the scanned contents.

Also, I believe that the USPS will allow you to extend their mail forwarding service (from your home in the US to your remailer) for more than 1 year for a fee, but by the end of that 1st year, you shouldn't be receiving any new mail through your old address.

Good luck with the move. I concur that there are a lot of things to organize, but mail forwarding can be one of the easier things on the list. -- Rich