Fun fact about your Canadian credit and moving here

[J&K 0]

On the up side I had a very funny moment in Target this week..They asked if I wanted to apply for a crad..I said sure(KNOWING I wouldn't get it..but what the hell right?lol) they approved me!!I got so excited..(and then realized I was thrilled over a teeny 200$ limit..) but I WAS approved.

That just goes to show you how little I have come to expect in the land of opportunity and credit! I feel your pain..I was completely self reliant and the fact that if I want to do anything over 200$ I need my husbands signature! apparently it gets better...(crossing fingers) hehe

S

Actually, unless you are automatically approved for the Target Visa, the usual limit for the Target Red Card is $200. Even if you have pretty good credit.

Look for your automatic Credit Limit Increase to $500 at the end of your third statement. (As long as you have on time payments). Some have even had their Red Cards upgraded to the Target Visa after a year.

So, don't look at the $200 as a base on your credit worthiness...that;s always the starting limit. Look on the positive side! You got an instant approval!

[GregS 0]

When I first moved to Chicago (on a TN-Visa in 2001) I too was frustrated with the whole credit history business. I could not get anything initially since I had no US credit history. I ended up signing up with a credit card with Providian. It was $80/year for a measly $250 credit limit. Used that for about 6 months for gas and other small purchases, at which point they sent me a letter that because of my good standing, for $90 I could increase my limit to $1000...Yeah right. I called American Express that day and was able to qualify for an nofee AMEX with a higher limit. That has been my CC since.

Another thing I did to get some history going in the US, was I took out a loan with my company credit union to pay off my car loan I had back in Canada. Since it was an employee credit union, and used the car as collateral, they were not as strict on the credit history requirments. Plus at the time of the loan the Canadian dollar was only worth about 68 cents, so I made off pretty well on the exchange.

[Texanadian 10]

The Chase Freedom credit card really is a good card. No annual fee, 3%/1% cash back or points. I'm using the points and getting the equivalent of about 7% back in airline miles. You also don't need a huge credit score to get it. If you're a Chase bank customer, your top 5 categories work for the 3% rather than the top 3 like everybody else.

Credit scores are one of the most frustrating things for sure. When I was telling my family in Canada about it during a visit, my own step sister who used to work in a bank said "I would never check a US credit score if a customer came in. I'm not doing all that work."

I wanted to strangle her....

Anyways, I got the same $500 Chase Freedom card. They upped it to $800 after 6 months of having it (paid in full every month).

I asked my bank about taking out a loan and then depositing the money in a CD. They said since I didn't have a green card at the time, the minimum loan I could take out was $5,000. (yeah right) Now that I have a greencard, I may take them up on a small loan. $500, $1000 at the most.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I hear you.. been there felt that.. there are so many levels where this moving to the US has bugged me, and this is one HUGE one that my hubby has heard rant after rant about I think what frustrates me the most is I know how things work in Canada, and at times like this -it points out ever too clearly that we're in a new country and we have to learn many of the "for granted" rules all over again. I love that they don't think Canada's "foreign" credit rating is reliable..

That's what I find funny.. Canada appears to be more "international" to the US than the US is to Canada.. I think (may be wrong cause i've never immigrated to canada) that CDN's seem more open to US business, banking etc. than the US is to Canada's. HELLOOOOOO global economy train.. all on board !!! (Uncle Sammy that includes you)

Just so you know, it's the same deal if immigrating to Canada. I'm the USC and instead of her coming here, I'm going there. It's much quicker and easier to immigrate to Canada than it is to the U.S. (case in point: it only took three months, from start-to-finish, to complete the entire visa process and I'm moving up there a week from today), so we chose that route. We'll probably be coming back to the U.S. at a later date, but we wanted to be together as soon as possible, so this worked.

As for credit cards... I've spoken with various banks and CC lenders and it's all the same story, unfortunately. My credit rating (which is fantastic in the U.S.) counts for absolutely nothing in Canada. I'm not happy at all about this and I'm planning on keeping my American credit cards, in addition to whatever Canadian credit cards I may pick up along the way.

It's odd that Canada and the U.S. have such a lack of communication. The credit bureaus used are the same, so theoretically, the U.S. should be able to pull up a Canadian's credit report and vice-versa. I believe it all comes down to laziness. The banks don't feel like doing the "extra work" involved, so they make everyone start from scratch.

I'm printing out my U.S. credit report and showing it to the Canadian banks when I get there, this way they'll have virtually no excuse -- they don't have to do any work. The information will be right in front of them.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Yes, it would be nice if they actually made the effort.

I lvoe my husband, but the 'land of opportunity' line is wearing thin. Why not say...we're the same as everyone else and we treat immigrants kind of crummy

Anyhoo...should probably work instead of cruising the net and writing on VJ...they are paying me after all. Wish they had a credit union here.

[sweetpiano 0]

How do college students get a credit card in the U.S.?

Something to look into...

I feel lucky to have been able start off my credit history in this country without much trouble. I came as an MBA student back in 2002 and got a checking/savings account with the local university credit union, and a credit card through them as well. The credit limit from the start was $200, but after a year, I worked part-time and they increased it to $500, and after another year I had an internship and real income, and the credit limit was increased to $2,000. The truth is that the initial $200 credit limit did not bother me, my student expenses were not much and I used my debit card to pay for most of the stuff anyway.

While in college, I met my husband and after we got married, he added me to his bank account and credit cards, we now have $12,000 credit limit and I recently checked my credit score - high 700's. We never carry a balance and we have credit cards just to build history, because we don't live on credit.

I think it is much easier to start off banking with credit unions affiliated with universities, they trust you more and offer good deals, and in time will be willing to increase your credit limit.

[thetreble 19]

I got a bank account in the US in November of 2006 because my good friend in the US worked at a bank and fudged some numbers for me. It's frustrating to not have any credit. No one could give me a credit card.

Then finally after about 6-8 months I was able to attain a capital one CC with no yearly fee and interest free until July 2008. I only recently started paying interest on it and the interest is only 5.9%. My interest rate is lower than my husband's who has GREAT credit. (760 to be exact)

I started off with $500 and they increased it to $750. I've gotten a lot of mail now to get another CC but the interest is too high on most of them for my liking. I have been offered up to $5,000 limits though.

We will be purchasing a house soon so I guess I will just go on the deed and not the mortgage. I don't see why I need to be on the mortgage as long as I am on the deed and help my husband pay the payments!

Good luck!

[Carlawarla 1]

I've read about this issue on VJ a few times. I have a Royal Bank Visa, in my own name that I brought with me, and just had renewed actually with a huge limit. It's nice for Christmas shopping and such, because for the most part, Gene and I share his credit cards. I was in Kohls and they asked me if I wanted a credit card...they'd give me 15% off my purchase..and I thought, why not? So, I gave them information...actually required little...like no work address or anything. Good, because I'm not employed. hehe

I thought I wouldn't get anything once they reviewed the application, but I got a $1500.00 limit credit card in the mail the following week. Very weird. I will on occassion I think, apply for a credit card if it will help me build credit.

I think that what bothers me the most about this whole issue is in relation to my age. I'm 50, and finished paying a mortgage and have an excellent credit rating in Canada. I'm choosing now not to work, but I'm not collecting any pension, so financially I'm supported by Gene. I'm sure this will impact on my getting credit here, but I don't think it should of course.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I've read about this issue on VJ a few times. I have a Royal Bank Visa, in my own name that I brought with me, and just had renewed actually with a huge limit. It's nice for Christmas shopping and such, because for the most part, Gene and I share his credit cards. I was in Kohls and they asked me if I wanted a credit card...they'd give me 15% off my purchase..and I thought, why not? So, I gave them information...actually required little...like no work address or anything. Good, because I'm not employed. hehe

I thought I wouldn't get anything once they reviewed the application, but I got a $1500.00 limit credit card in the mail the following week. Very weird. I will on occassion I think, apply for a credit card if it will help me build credit.

I think that what bothers me the most about this whole issue is in relation to my age. I'm 50, and finished paying a mortgage and have an excellent credit rating in Canada. I'm choosing now not to work, but I'm not collecting any pension, so financially I'm supported by Gene. I'm sure this will impact on my getting credit here, but I don't think it should of course.

I'm with you totally Carla - and I may just say 'yes' the next time they ask me about opening a store card! And the discount won't hurt either! My TDCanadaTrust Visa will be staying around a long time till this is all sorted out.

Edited August 11, 2008 by Udella&Wiz

[J&K 0]

I'm with you totally Carla - and I may just say 'yes' the next time they ask me about opening a store card! And the discount won't hurt either! My TDCanadaTrust Visa will be staying around a long time till this is all sorted out.

Just be careful about the inquiries. If you start to notice that you are being denied a lot, stop applying. The inquiries will hurt for a while, especially if you have a lot in a little amount of time.

Of course, if you have Equifax pulled, there are ways to have the inquiries removed

[Flames9_RN 358]

Keep in mind many credit cards charge you an extra fee when you use the credit card out of country!!

[J&K 0]

Keep in mind many credit cards charge you an extra fee when you use the credit card out of country!!

The Royal Bank Visa is good to go on this front. I've been using mine down here for a while and never had any out of country fees associated with it.

Now, my check card down here will charge me fees if I use it in Canada. Silly banks.

[thetreble 19]

I'm with you totally Carla - and I may just say 'yes' the next time they ask me about opening a store card! And the discount won't hurt either! My TDCanadaTrust Visa will be staying around a long time till this is all sorted out.

Just be careful about the inquiries. If you start to notice that you are being denied a lot, stop applying. The inquiries will hurt for a while, especially if you have a lot in a little amount of time.

Of course, if you have Equifax pulled, there are ways to have the inquiries removed

yep! We wanted to know how much we would qualify for when it came to a mortgage. I know the more times you inquire about your credit score, the more it goes down. Can any one tell me why?

[MrsCat 6]

yep! We wanted to know how much we would qualify for when it came to a mortgage. I know the more times you inquire about your credit score, the more it goes down. Can any one tell me why?

According the Suze Orman - because it makes lenders nervous that you're going to increase your ability to build up debt in the near future. When you apply for a card - they check your available credit, and if this happens a lot over a short period of time, it means that in the very least you may be increasing the amount of potential debt you carry.

For anyone whose moving, just moved to the US and wants to start building credit and understand the differences (which are a plenty) from Canada, I truly recommend Suze's book - The Money Book for the Young Fabulous and Broke. Its a pretty sensible look at building credit, taking care of it, and what to do should certain life circumstances arise.

[J&K 0]

yep! We wanted to know how much we would qualify for when it came to a mortgage. I know the more times you inquire about your credit score, the more it goes down. Can any one tell me why?

Mortgage inquiries are completely different compared to say a Credit Card application inquiry.

Mortgage lenders (or even car dealerships) will most likely 'shop' out your score to get you the best deal out there, so if you have a lot of inquiries from these types of applications within a short timeframe, it only counts as one.

Whereas, if you apply for 15 different credit cards, even in one day, it will count as 15 different inquiries.

An inquiry will lower your score about 10-15pts initially, but after a year, it doesn't hurt as much. After 2 years, the inquiry will fall off of your report. If it doesn't you can request to have it removed.

So you can see why applying with little or no hope of being approved will not help, but hinder your credit building.