Treasury Direct Conversion Account

[joesxm3]

I have some paper Series I Savings Bonds that I am considering converting to electronic bonds in a Treasury Direct account.

Any reason why this would not be a good idea?

Have any of you gone through the process? I am a bit worried about sending the paper bonds and having them get lost. I imagine I would send them USPS Certified Mail play it safe.

I had hoped to be able to look up my paper bonds on Treasury Direct to make sure that things were in order since they are pretty old. They have not matured yet. I tried the Treasury Hunt feature, but it found nothing. I think that Treasury Hunt only shows matured bonds.

Also, how long does it take to buy a Series I Bond on the Treasury Direct? Do I still have time to buy some for 2021?

Thanks.

[edit]

One other worry is that the Treasury Direct account does not seem to have any sort of multi-factor authentication. Am I missing something where I can turn it on for the account?

[edit 2]

Maybe I answered my own question. It wanted to send me a one time code via email and then there was a checkbox to register my computer using a cookie. I guess that was the two-factor authentication and I turned if off by checking the register computer box.

 

[LarryMelman]

Any reason why this would not be a good idea? No
Have any of you gone through the process? Yes
Also, how long does it take to buy a Series I Bond on the Treasury Direct? Do I still have time to buy some for 2021? If you have set up your TD Account and linked it for EFT, then Probably. If not, then Maybe Not.

 

[cranberryjoe]

When I converted all my EE and I bonds to electronic, I sent them USPS certified mail. They arrived safe and sound in a few days, and were all online in about two weeks. If they get lost in the mail, you should be able to recover them (presumably with some hassle factor) since you will have entered all the serial numbers online before mailing them.

 

[homestead]

We converted some paper bonds to electronic several years ago and I think we were able to do it at the CU where we bought them.

 

[audreyh1]

I believe I occasionally need to receive a code via email to access my treasury direct account. Maybe when it thinks I’m accessing from a new device. Device verification probably has to be redone once a year or so.

 

[MBSC]

One other worry is that the Treasury Direct account does not seem to have any sort of multi-factor authentication. Am I missing something where I can turn it on for the account?

Similar to Audreyh1, I am directed to check my email for a special code if I haven't logged into TD in the prior few months. It then asks if I want it to remember the device. Also, I don't actually enter the password. A keyboard appears on the screen and I have to use the mouse cursor to click the letters and numbers corresponding to the password. I believe this can be bypassed by disabling Java.

ETA: Found the following.

Virtual Keyboard: When Java-Script is enabled, each time you arrive at the "Password" page you will be presented with a virtual keyboard to enter your password. Use your mouse with the virtual keyboard to enter the letters, numbers, and special characters that are contained in your password. Source: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/help/tdhelp/help_ug_274-SecFeaturesProtectAcctLearnMore.htm

 

[gauss]

Be careful with the USPS certified mail route. I sent a response to a legal notice back in early December and it still has not arrived. It was sent certified/return receipt requested.

I can see the tracking on the USPS site just like a package, but it appears to have stalled in Colorado after the first 3 days. I would do FedEx if I had it to do over again.

-gauss

 

[joesxm3]

Thanks for all the replies.

I will ask my bank if they can do the paper to electronic conversion.

I had one check sent USPS Priority get lost for three months and then it turned up at the destination but was not visible in the tracking system. I have had only one certified package that went fine during the package apocolypse last year when normal packages were going missing for months.

I did see that virtual keyboard. It seems like a good idea. And I am happy to see that it at least has email 2FA.

I saw the other thread about how hard it was to add a second bank account or to change the bank account. That seems to me to be a good thing. When you think of it, the main way someone would steal from your Treasury Direct account would be by withdrawing to another bank account. If it is hard to change the account that would help to slow them down.

I set up my account yesterday and gave the bank routing info. I wanted to buy $10K of Series I Bonds, but did not have enough in my checking account. I thought I might put the order in and hope that the ACH transfer would not hit until I the ACH with more money cleared, but TD was right on the ball and snatched my money from the checking account before I woke up this morning.

I had been debating whether the 7% now but 0% base rate was worth doing, so I almost let it go to long, but it seems to be ok. Even if the 0% is not a good deal, it is not that much money and would sit in my brokerage account at 0% anyway.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[JoeWras]

Interesting footnote to this topic.

Today, out of nowhere, Treasury Direct sent me an email notifying me that a savings bond matured and the proceeds are put in my C&I.

I mean, I like this notification. It is just typical of TD that it took them 15 years to finally add something like this to their operating procedures.

I've made no account changes. This is literally the first time I got such an email. I've had about 30 bonds mature over the years. Never a notice. The only times I ever got emails from them was when I bought something, or I goofed up, didn't have enough in my C&I, and a purchase failed.

 

[cranberryjoe]

Interesting footnote to this topic.

Today, out of nowhere, Treasury Direct sent me an email notifying me that a savings bond matured and the proceeds are put in my C&I.

I mean, I like this notification. It is just typical of TD that it took them 15 years to finally add something like this to their operating procedures.

I've made no account changes. This is literally the first time I got such an email. I've had about 30 bonds mature over the years. Never a notice. The only times I ever got emails from them was when I bought something, or I goofed up, didn't have enough in my C&I, and a purchase failed.

That's interesting. I've been getting these notification emails each time a bond matures since my first one matured 4 or 5 years ago.

 

[JoeWras]

That's interesting. I've been getting these notification emails each time a bond matures since my first one matured 4 or 5 years ago.

So odd. Welcome to Treasury Direct! The only thing I can think of is that I recently clicked on every tab on my conversion account, including my "account history," just to see what info was there. Granted, I made no changes, but perhaps the mere act of me being alive and visiting the page freed up an email flag or something.

(Old software guy, and I've seen some pretty weird stuff like that.)

 

[jjbychko]

Bonds - Paper to Electronic

I just did this with series EE bonds. You are protected from loss because you create a manifest before you mail. The manifest is logged at the treasury direct site. The bonds are not signed. The signed manifest goes with the bonds. Mine took about 6 weeks from mailing till they showed up in my account.

 

[lawman]

I mailed some I Bonds off USPS Priority mail 8 days ago. My tracking indicated they did arrive about 3 days later. I considered sending them in a way that would require a signature but even if I did get a signature it would not solve the problem of them getting lost..I once sent some IRS papers off that required signature. They did get lost and when I talked to someone with IRS they told me if I had sent them regular mail they likely would not have gotten lost.. I'm hoping my I -Bonds will show up on my account soon..

 

[big-papa]

I just did this with series EE bonds. You are protected from loss because you create a manifest before you mail. The manifest is logged at the treasury direct site. The bonds are not signed. The signed manifest goes with the bonds. Mine took about 6 weeks from mailing till they showed up in my account.

I haven't done this year's yet because I haven't filed my taxes. But I've been doing this for 5 years now and it's never taken more than about 2.5 weeks to show up in my account from date of mailing. This year might be different since I-bonds are all the rage and they're likely quite busy there at TD.

 

[easysurfer]

Most of my EE bonds from days of w*rk have matured and are sitting as a C&I balance in my TD account. Problem is, I treat them like a credit card cash back bonus and hoard. Will wait until the entire balance is C&I just because I can .

 

[lawman]

Most of my EE bonds from days of w*rk have matured and are sitting as a C&I balance in my TD account. Problem is, I treat them like a credit card cash back bonus and hoard. Will wait until the entire balance is C&I just because I can .

What is C & I ?
Is that a Treasury Direct account?

 

[JoeWras]

What is C & I ?
Is that a Treasury Direct account?

It is the generic holding account you get by default at Treasury Direct. It pays zero interest. It is easy to move funds in an out from C&I since there is no term.