Transferring American Express Accounts

[Jennarationnext 0]

I read in a thread somewhere that American Express allows you to transfer a Canadian card to American once you move.

I'm trying to talk my fiance into applying for one so he can build credit once he moves. Does anyone have experience with this? Was it hard to transfer the card to an American account?

[LeprechaunSean 0]

I read in a thread somewhere that American Express allows you to transfer a Canadian card to American once you move.

I'm trying to talk my fiance into applying for one so he can build credit once he moves. Does anyone have experience with this? Was it hard to transfer the card to an American account?

Not sure about american express, but my capital one card wouldn't transfer. Best bet is just to phone the number on the back of the card and ask them.

[trailmix 77]

Yes, I did this.

It is called global transfer - but it really isn't an exchange as such as in you do not exchange your Canadian credit card for an American one.

Basically what happens:

You contact American Express they:

- Tell you what your credit limit will be and ask you which American Am express card you would like (so before you call, pick one)

- A couple of weeks later, if it is approved, they send you your new american card. He does not have to wait until he is in the U.S. to do that, he can do it before he leaves Canada.

- You then have a Canadian card and an American card - which might be handy. They did advise me that if I wanted a higher limit on my U.S. card I would have to cancel my Canadian card, which I did not.

One other thing to consider, I just noted on their site that you must have the Canadian card for at least a year before requesting the service:

• To be eligible for a Card transfer, your Consumer Card must be issued by American Express. You must be the

Basic Cardholder, and have held the Card for at least 12 months. Your Card Account must be open and in

good standing at the time of the transfer request, or if the Card was previously cancelled by you, it must have

been cancelled within the last 3 months. (Corporate Cards, International Dollar Cards, Global Network Cards

and Small Business Cards are not eligible for Card transfers in the U.S.)

[Dan and Ali 3]

Yes, I did this.

It is called global transfer - but it really isn't an exchange as such as in you do not exchange your Canadian credit card for an American one.

Basically what happens:

You contact American Express they:

- Tell you what your credit limit will be and ask you which American Am express card you would like (so before you call, pick one)

- A couple of weeks later, if it is approved, they send you your new american card. He does not have to wait until he is in the U.S. to do that, he can do it before he leaves Canada.

- You then have a Canadian card and an American card - which might be handy. They did advise me that if I wanted a higher limit on my U.S. card I would have to cancel my Canadian card, which I did not.

One other thing to consider, I just noted on their site that you must have the Canadian card for at least a year before requesting the service:

• To be eligible for a Card transfer, your Consumer Card must be issued by American Express. You must be the

Basic Cardholder, and have held the Card for at least 12 months. Your Card Account must be open and in

good standing at the time of the transfer request, or if the Card was previously cancelled by you, it must have

been cancelled within the last 3 months. (Corporate Cards, International Dollar Cards, Global Network Cards

and Small Business Cards are not eligible for Card transfers in the U.S.)

This is super useful information ... thanks for the post, trailmix!

[Jennarationnext 0]

Yes, I did this.

It is called global transfer - but it really isn't an exchange as such as in you do not exchange your Canadian credit card for an American one.

Basically what happens:

You contact American Express they:

- Tell you what your credit limit will be and ask you which American Am express card you would like (so before you call, pick one)

- A couple of weeks later, if it is approved, they send you your new american card. He does not have to wait until he is in the U.S. to do that, he can do it before he leaves Canada.

- You then have a Canadian card and an American card - which might be handy. They did advise me that if I wanted a higher limit on my U.S. card I would have to cancel my Canadian card, which I did not.

One other thing to consider, I just noted on their site that you must have the Canadian card for at least a year before requesting the service:

• To be eligible for a Card transfer, your Consumer Card must be issued by American Express. You must be the

Basic Cardholder, and have held the Card for at least 12 months. Your Card Account must be open and in

good standing at the time of the transfer request, or if the Card was previously cancelled by you, it must have

been cancelled within the last 3 months. (Corporate Cards, International Dollar Cards, Global Network Cards

and Small Business Cards are not eligible for Card transfers in the U.S.)

Thanks so much! I guess I could have found that on the Am Ex site myself, hm?

He doesn't have an American Express card now. I suppose if he got one he could still use it in the States for a year... it just wouldn't build his American credit during that time.

[TayRivers 4]

Yes, I did this.

It is called global transfer - but it really isn't an exchange as such as in you do not exchange your Canadian credit card for an American one.

Basically what happens:

You contact American Express they:

- Tell you what your credit limit will be and ask you which American Am express card you would like (so before you call, pick one)

- A couple of weeks later, if it is approved, they send you your new american card. He does not have to wait until he is in the U.S. to do that, he can do it before he leaves Canada.

- You then have a Canadian card and an American card - which might be handy. They did advise me that if I wanted a higher limit on my U.S. card I would have to cancel my Canadian card, which I did not.

One other thing to consider, I just noted on their site that you must have the Canadian card for at least a year before requesting the service:

• To be eligible for a Card transfer, your Consumer Card must be issued by American Express. You must be the

Basic Cardholder, and have held the Card for at least 12 months. Your Card Account must be open and in

good standing at the time of the transfer request, or if the Card was previously cancelled by you, it must have

been cancelled within the last 3 months. (Corporate Cards, International Dollar Cards, Global Network Cards

and Small Business Cards are not eligible for Card transfers in the U.S.)

This is super useful information ... thanks for the post, trailmix!

My parents did this just last week. They have had American Express credit cards for about 5 years in the UK. We called the Global Transfer number and they gave the account details for their UK account and the account details for their US bank accounts. They were told within 5 mins that their US account was approved and that their new cards would be sent overnight by UPS. American Express told them that they would use the account open date from the UK for their US account and they would have the same $$$$ amount as they had available on their UK account.

The new cards arrived the following morning at 11 am. My parents called again to day to update AMEX with their SSN that arrived yesterday.

I was very impressed with the service they got.. When I think it took me a year to build enough credit history in the US to get a credit card in my own name but my parents have been in the US less than a month and they get credit with no problems... I wish I had opened a American Express account back in the UK.

[trailmix 77]

My parents did this just last week. They have had American Express credit cards for about 5 years in the UK. We called the Global Transfer number and they gave the account details for their UK account and the account details for their US bank accounts. They were told within 5 mins that their US account was approved and that their new cards would be sent overnight by UPS. American Express told them that they would use the account open date from the UK for their US account and they would have the same $$$$ amount as they had available on their UK account.

The new cards arrived the following morning at 11 am. My parents called again to day to update AMEX with their SSN that arrived yesterday.

I was very impressed with the service they got.. When I think it took me a year to build enough credit history in the US to get a credit card in my own name but my parents have been in the US less than a month and they get credit with no problems... I wish I had opened a American Express account back in the UK.

Yes, they are a good company to deal with on this, know what they are doing and are very helpful.