529 plans (when living in CA) that allow electronic sign up?

[aigel]

Fidelity which now manages the CA 529 plan does not allow electronic sign up for new plans. Its pissing me off. In addition, I remember that folks here (Wayne?) did some shopping around the country with other states plans and found better ones (lower fees) elsewhere. What state's plan(s) did you sign up with and why? Do the states you are with allow online sign up?

Thanks!

George

[Noah930]

What's wrong with requesting an enrollment package, filling out the forms with a pen, and mailing it all back in?

I can't recall how I did it, but I signed up for the Fidelity-run California 529 plan a couple years ago. I prefer doing it by pen and paper (so that I can photocopy whatever information I send in), so I probably wound up doing it that way. Part of my reason for picking the Fidelity plan was because I have a no-fee American Express card that gets reward points towards the 529 plan. I don't think it's a lot (just 1.5% of purchases, IIRC). But if I'm going to buy something, anyway, might as well get a little extra credit for it.

Someone else (Wayne?) mentioned they're using the Vanguard-sponsored plan.

[aigel]

I hate forms. At home and work I am trying to go 100% digital and it has made my life a lot easier. It shouldn't hold me back from signing up with Fidelity if it's the best plan, but this hurdle has made me think if other states don't have better plans. I had signed up with Scholarshare when it was still managed by TIAA-CREF and it was possible to do online. From what I gather online, Fidelity is cheaper than TIAA-CREF in their fees, so it may be worth just staying with Fidelity and bite the bullet and fill out some forms ...

More input very welcome! Where do you all have your plans?

George

[aigel]

The fact that there is no electronic sign up any more in CA is just what triggered me looking elsewhere. I will give Utah a shot - they seem to have a good reputation and I see that they have E signup to boot!

George

[Noah930]

Thanks for the advice, Wayne. Right now, based upon how much we're using our credit card and how relatively little we have in the 529, I think the Fidelity plan is working OK for us. But as we put more into savings, we'll probably look into switching over to something like the Utah plan.

[carnutzzz]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Thanks for the advice, Wayne. Right now, based upon how much we're using our credit card and how relatively little we have in the 529, I think the Fidelity plan is working OK for us. But as we put more into savings, we'll probably look into switching over to something like the Utah plan.

I thought 529 plans were a no-no? You can make the same or better return in a plan with no restrictions and all that.