How did you start to build your new credit rating?

[kaya541 1]

We were talking the other night about how we wanted to buy a house as soon as he is able to come down to Washington from Canada. If I remember correctly, any credit rating one has up in Canada does not move with you to the US even though both countries use the same credit agencies (ie Equifax). So we were wondering how those of you from Canada started to get your US credit rating built up when you got down here? I remember once before reading about getting a department store credit card such as JC Penny, etc...any other suggestions as well?

[Necrotica 0]

Réjean and I had to finance a car after the one he bought on Craigslist turned out to be a lemon. We went through a place called Carhop that has financing for cars for people with bad and no credit history. Even though the interest rate is nearly 20%, the financing company reports your payments every month to all 3 credit bureaus. With us applying for the car jointly and getting approved based on my credit (which is crappy, but not crappy enough for them to deny us), Réjean can start building up his credit.

I know this is kind of extreme, but as far as I know, it's working.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Some institutions can check on your Canadian credit rating, but sometimes need to be prodded to do so.

My wife added myself onto many of her accounts--cable, phone, electricity. As well she added me on to her credit cards, but their is a specific term one has to use when doing that, can't recall it right now, maybe its "authorized user"" BUT they are suppose to be dropping that avenue of gaining credit, not sure when it is suppose to happen. Saw that on the Suzy Orman show.

And when it comes time to purchasing a house, the Canadian doesn't have to be on the mortgage! I wasn't, but you can be listed on the deed.

Just by doing those few things listed above, I have excellent credit in the USA and have never really worked since I arrived in DEC 2004

[thetreble 19]

I eventually got my own credit card after I had a job and I had been here for about a year. However, my husband put me on his credit cards so that is how I have gained some credit.

[J&K 0]

The best way is to start out slowly. You aren't going to be getting any $5000, $10000, or large credit limits anytime soon.

CapitalOne has a great starter card for people with little or no credit history. They may only give you $300 to start with, but in time and with On Time payments, you can start getting better cards with higher limits.

Also, credit unions tend to be more generous with their credit lending.

If you or your spouse has excellent credit history, and they can afford the inquiry, your best best would be to get a joint credit card. As flames stated, the Authorized user is (and has) stopped being an affect on the Fico score, so it won't be helping you.

I did what some others did down here and with my Canadian drivers licence, and Canadian credit rating was able to get a Macy's card ($600) a JCPenney card ($1500) and a Target Visa ($500). My Macy's card is now at $1500 as well (as they give regular Guideline increases every 90 days, but you have to call and ask for it).

I now have, altogether a Navy Federal CU Visa, NFCU MC, Walmart Store card $200 and a $19,000 Car loan at 10.75%.

You just have to be patient and that's the hardest part!

I like to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable when it comes to credit down here (how to obtain, how to fix, and what your credit rights are) so if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them!

Edited July 14, 2008 by J&K

[Marilyn. 340]

I think I might have already started to wreck my credit.. stupid hospital bills

my first credit card was a Chase Amazon and then after I got that card I got a capital one card...

[J&K 0]

I think I might have already started to wreck my credit.. stupid hospital bills

The only way to know is to check your credit reports. If the hospital hasn't sent it to a collection agency, you can still work with the hospital. My hubby and I have the same thing with the medical bills...haven't been late, but it's just so darn expensive!

Most, if not all hospitals with work with you and do payment plans.

Start by offering the lowest you can afford monthly, and see if they will go for it. It's all about negotiation

Also, medical collections are not as bad as other collections. They're still bad, but not terribly bad.

Good luck with it!

Edited July 14, 2008 by J&K

[Marilyn. 340]

oh a couple of them are in collections already...

I think I might have already started to wreck my credit.. stupid hospital bills

The only way to know is to check your credit reports. If the hospital hasn't sent it to a collection agency, you can still work with the hospital. My hubby and I have the same thing with the medical bills...haven't been late, but it's just so darn expensive!

Most, if not all hospitals with work with you and do payment plans.

Start by offering the lowest you can afford monthly, and see if they will go for it. It's all about negotiation

Good luck with it!

yeah one of them that we called did set up a payment plan but it was a little unrealistic... we payed it for a few months and then at the end of the year we hit a rough spot and were only sending in part of the payment... they weren't to happy about that..

[Marilyn. 340]

sorry didn't mean to send this thread off topic.. back to regularly scheduled programming

Edited July 14, 2008 by *Marilyn*

[J&K 0]

oh a couple of them are in collections already...

Try this, send a goodwill letter to the billing dept at the hospital. See if they would be willing to work with you if they pull the bill from the collection agency. The worst they are going to say is no, and there is always the chance that they will do it and work with you.

It's called a Pay for a Delete.

You pay it in full, and then it gets deleted from your credit report.

As Marilyn already said...sorry for thread jacking

Edited July 14, 2008 by J&K

[T.O_2_FL 0]

I opened up a Sak's card before moving down here to the U.S during one of my visits (showed them my CDN Visa card and passport).

In addition, I had a CDN Amex card where when I moved down here I just opened a U.S Amex card. They gave me an U.S Amex card based on my CDN credit/Amex card. It's called Global Transfer.

Other than that I haven't applied for any other cards since I got a pretty decent credit limit with the Amex.

Edited July 15, 2008 by T.O_2_FL

[bluegreen 0]

I opened a target visa with my Canadian SSN and passport, got a $5,000 limit, and then just transferred it to my US sss...that is all I have done so far, but I keep getting offers in the mail and I guess I should apply for something else soon....

[Caladan 19]

CapitalOne turned us down, so we ended up getting C. a card with a $500 limit through our bank. According to the bank, the easiest way to get your credit going well is a car loan for a relatively small amount and establishing a history of paying it back.

[SonoranSongbird 3]

Just FYI, Marilyn, even if your overall credit rating is bad because of medical bills, a lot of potential creditors will overlook that (it will show on the full report what the debts are). I used to manage rental units and if the only blemish on someone's credit record was either medical bills or student loans, as long as they also had the income to qualify for the house or apartment (which you need no matter what anyway), we would approve them. I suppose if you want to get a credit card from a bank, they might be less understanding, but I think that is actually a pretty common thing.

[Texanadian 10]

I signed up with Chase the day I received my Social Security card. Opened up a chequing and savings account (the basic cheapest ones). The reason I went with Chase is that they offer the Continental Airlines credit cards and debit cards. So I can earn free trips back home. (They're giving away 21,000 miles just for opening an account at the moment, for details go to Continental airline's website then take that info in to your local Chase bank)

I asked them about which credit cards to get for somebody with new credit like myself. I was told to wait for one month and then to come back and that the time passed would mean I'd be pre-approved.....Waited....Went in for their 3% cash back credit card (that can also be traded for Continental miles instead of cash).

I was declined for the credit card. So I printed up my Canada credit rating and went to speak with the bank manager. About 3 days later I was approved for the credit card. Granted, it only came with a $500 limit (which has since been automatically raised), but it was a credit card.

My wife has lousy credit, so I never joined her accounts or credit cards. I do pay the phone bill in my name, and pay her monthly bills on my credit card (earning $$$ along the way) and then pay off the cards in full.

So at the moment I have the Chase credit/debit card (money comes from my account) earning Continental airline miles. I have the Chase 3% cash back credit card (which I switched to Continental points instead of cash back) netting me about 5% in airline miles, credit card gets paid off in full every month and I have one bill in my name which is paid off before the due date in full.

Only thing I would do differently if I could do it all over again would be to have gotten a Canada American Express card before crossing the border. Then switch it for a US Amex. Preferably their "blue" card.

Edited July 16, 2008 by Texanadian