Target Visa / Macy's Card / Etc.

[Gypsyangel 11]

While still living in Canada, upon the advice of a few people here (thank you!), I got some U.S. credit cards (eg. Target Visa, Macy's, Pier 1) using my Canadian info. Now I'd like to transfer these cards to my U.S. info so I can start building credit here.

As I begin to do this, I have a couple of questions .... Did your credit limit stay the same when they transferred it? I'm asking this because I'm just beginning and have no credit rating in the U.S. I have a Target visa with a limit of a couple of thousand. It would be a pain if they reduced it to $500 or something low. Should I transfer them all at once or is there a benefit to doing a couple of cards and waiting a bit? Is it a fairly striaghtforward thing to request or do they give you a hard time?

I'm wondering what others experiences have been with this. Does anyone have any info they'd like to share?

Thanks!

[bluegreen 0]

I am just switching my Target card over now. They need a photocopy of my SIN and US driver's license (I didn't anticipate the DL thing, so I had to wait till I had one). So far, no mention of reducing my credit limit 9I hope not! We've ended up needing to use the card a lot!).

Their customer service SUCKS. I phoned about this twice, was told someone would call be back in 48 hours, and instead got a letter in two weeks. Oh well!

My bank manager found out that if she does a US credit check using my Canadian SSN (not an international credit check), the Target card does show up. Interesting.

[J&K 0]

When I transferred over my SIN to my SSN I did everything over the phone and had no reduction in CL.

My initial limit when I used my SIN was JCPenny $1500, Macy's $600 and Target $500.

I kept all of those limits and got the history to transfer over as well (so like 3 months worth).

I'm now over a year with Macy's and JCP and my limits are now JCP $1700 and Macy's $1500.

Every 90 Days call Macy's customer support and ask for a Guidline Increase (GLI) and they will up your limit (with on time payments)!

[cdn_in_wa 1]

While still living in Canada, upon the advice of a few people here (thank you!), I got some U.S. credit cards (eg. Target Visa, Macy's, Pier 1) using my Canadian info. Now I'd like to transfer these cards to my U.S. info so I can start building credit here.

As I begin to do this, I have a couple of questions .... Did your credit limit stay the same when they transferred it? I'm asking this because I'm just beginning and have no credit rating in the U.S. I have a Target visa with a limit of a couple of thousand. It would be a pain if they reduced it to $500 or something low. Should I transfer them all at once or is there a benefit to doing a couple of cards and waiting a bit? Is it a fairly striaghtforward thing to request or do they give you a hard time?

I'm wondering what others experiences have been with this. Does anyone have any info they'd like to share?

Thanks!

I don't have the SSN yet, but I did change my mailing address on Macy's, Home Depot and Victoria's Secret cards without any change in credit limits. I don't think it should affect your credit limits to change your info and include your new SSN.

Actually, IIRC I got my Macy's card after I moved down here, using my Canadian card and an old mailing address. Then I changed it after the first statement.

I can't see how it will make any difference doing them all at once or a few at a time. After all, the reporting on your CR will show length of time open, not when they found out about it. When you get your free CR from the various agencies (which you should order annually or any time you are entitled - like when you get rated for insurance purposes and they give you that letter) you can see what the companies report to them. :-)

Beware of those great deals offered by Lowe's "do not pay for 6 months" or a year. They report every single month that you have that balance outstanding. It can affect your CR adversely.

Good luck!

[J&K 0]

Beware of those great deals offered by Lowe's "do not pay for 6 months" or a year. They report every single month that you have that balance outstanding. It can affect your CR adversely.

Good luck!

It can only affect you adversely if you max out the credit card. If you don't max out the card, and keep your utilization low, you will be ok. Also, those deals can be very good, as long as you pay it off before the time limit is up, or you'll pay interest from day one of the purchase...even if you've only got a few dollars left on the payment!

Rule number one...if you can pay in cash, do it! If you can't, then you don't really need the big purchase items.

[cdn_in_wa 1]

Beware of those great deals offered by Lowe's "do not pay for 6 months" or a year. They report every single month that you have that balance outstanding. It can affect your CR adversely.

Good luck!

It can only affect you adversely if you max out the credit card. If you don't max out the card, and keep your utilization low, you will be ok. Also, those deals can be very good, as long as you pay it off before the time limit is up, or you'll pay interest from day one of the purchase...even if you've only got a few dollars left on the payment!

Rule number one...if you can pay in cash, do it! If you can't, then you don't really need the big purchase items.

Actually, the insurance companies seem to look at it differently - you are carrying a balance. We had more than enough cash to pay, just figured we were earning interest on the amount and it made sense to wait and pay after the year was up. The card was NOT maxed out. We have no late payments on our CR. We were rated on our insurance, however, despite owning 2 homes and 2 new (2008) vehicles outright.

[J&K 0]

Actually, the insurance companies seem to look at it differently - you are carrying a balance. We had more than enough cash to pay, just figured we were earning interest on the amount and it made sense to wait and pay after the year was up. The card was NOT maxed out. We have no late payments on our CR. We were rated on our insurance, however, despite owning 2 homes and 2 new (2008) vehicles outright.

Whoa Whoa Whoa...I wasn't directing the last sentence directly at you.

Insurance companies, mortgage companies, heck even credit card companies can decide how they feel about your credit, but most, use the FICO credit score, and FICO wants you to use your credit, just not all of it (hence why maxing out your credit would be bad). They want utilization to be under 35% of what your total credit is.

They could also be looking at the length of your credit history.

Like I said, insurance, and even Auto have different scoring models than the Fico score. (They call it the Auto Enhanced Fico score, or the Insurance Enhanced).

But for the most part, having a balance won't hurt you too much (unless of course it's maxed out the card).

But paying in Cash is always better (unless you can score the 0% or don't pay for...deals)

[cdn_in_wa 1]

Actually, the insurance companies seem to look at it differently - you are carrying a balance. We had more than enough cash to pay, just figured we were earning interest on the amount and it made sense to wait and pay after the year was up. The card was NOT maxed out. We have no late payments on our CR. We were rated on our insurance, however, despite owning 2 homes and 2 new (2008) vehicles outright.

Whoa Whoa Whoa...I wasn't directing the last sentence directly at you.

Insurance companies, mortgage companies, heck even credit card companies can decide how they feel about your credit, but most, use the FICO credit score, and FICO wants you to use your credit, just not all of it (hence why maxing out your credit would be bad). They want utilization to be under 35% of what your total credit is.

They could also be looking at the length of your credit history.

Like I said, insurance, and even Auto have different scoring models than the Fico score. (They call it the Auto Enhanced Fico score, or the Insurance Enhanced).

But for the most part, having a balance won't hurt you too much (unless of course it's maxed out the card).

But paying in Cash is always better (unless you can score the 0% or don't pay for...deals)

Hey,

Sorry to come off sounding cross. The angry face was directed at the insurance companies, not you. And I admit, also a bit at the loss of my CR in Canada where I have more than any sane person needs.

I know insurance companies look at things differently, but they do run your credit. And the letter we got (can't recall if I still have it or where it would be if I do) indicated that it was because we had a balance. I've seen the other one, where they say you haven't had credit long enough which is ridiculous for someone my age. And they have another one for opening up too many new accounts in a short period of time, too. Insurance companies will rate you for anything they can. Apparently, we were a risk for carrying that balance. No matter that we obviously weren't stretched to the max of the credit we have down here, by a longshot, and only the one carrying a balance was the "don't pay until ..." account.

The point I was trying to make is that, while some companies will report periodically, the ones where you are encouraged not to pay until time is up report that o/s balance *every* month. It makes you look like you're having trouble paying.

Anyway, EVERYONE should get their CR from the reporting agencies as often as they are able.

And I would encourage all the Canadians out there to also get your Canadian ones regularly, as well. You are perhaps more at risk in Canada after you move here, because you are no longer accessing your accounts the way you were and might not notice if something happens.

(Will try to be more careful with the emoticons in future)

[Gypsyangel 11]

Thanks for the info guys! Maybe I'll try going into the Target rather than on the phone.

More good news about Target, I was in one the other day and they were renovating and they added a Starbucks! Target and Starbucks together ... I'm in heaven.

[jedinite 0]

If you want a bank credit card, i.e. Bank of America, Citibank, Wellsfargo, etc. You typically have to have a US bank account for 6 months. At least that's how it worked for me when I didn't have any credit status in the US when I first started working down there on my TN-1. I didn't check into getting my Canadian credit established in the US but if you have already got approved it probably isn't a bad thing. If you're transferring your accounts over they will probably match your limit if not give you a bit more. Credit Card companies like it when you carry a balance because it means you're paying them interest. As long as you pay a bit more than your minimum required payments every month you'll see your FICO score go up pretty quickly. That and you don't max out or spend more than 60% of your limit on each card.

Showing that you can pay more than the minimum on your cards each month, not carrying a large percentage of debt on your cards and paying every month will boost your credit score. Also applying for too many accounts in a short period of time raises flags with your FICO score and can temporarily reduce what you are capable of receiving, asking for limit increases also shows up on your FICO score, so if you require higher limits just ask every 6 months.

Good luck with everything.

[Texanadian 10]

Good credit advice is always beneficial.

I never got a Target card before crossing the border. Kind of wished I had as a way of jump starting my US credit rating. However, if you want a good credit score, here's how you do it.

Eventually you'll be able to get a credit card. Might not be much. Probably a $500 limit. You don't want to pay interest, because that's just throwing your money away. (I've never paid interest in the US). You want your monthly bill to be 10% or less of your limit. So buy a $45 tank of gas on your credit card and then forget about it until the bill comes. Then pay it in full. The credit card will report it to the credit card bureau as paid in full, utilization will be 9% (45/500). Your credit score will increase quite rapidly.

An easier way would be to just buy a magazine or a bottle of pop on your credit card. Say $5. And then leave it until the end of the month. Again, you're getting a 1% utilization. Your score jumps.

You could go out and spend $200 and then pay it down so that the end of month bill is $50 and still get the good utilization score.

Now most of the people on TV say keep your debt to credit limit ratio at 30% or lower. But the people on the net who check their FICO scores like we used to check our online status waiting for NOA 2's have done the calculations. The best utilization to have is 1-9% (they round up to the nearest percent)

Paying the bill in full before your statement shows up or not using the card at all all month will result in you having $0 reported to the credit bureaus. Not going to do much for your score. On the other hand, it won't hurt it either. The main thing to remember is to always pay in full and keep that credit card less than 30% maxed out. Less than 10% maxed out being preferable.

The proof? I've been in the USA for 1 year. I have a 760 FICO score with 1 single credit card. No car loans, no mortgages, nothing else. I came into the country with no US credit history just like everybody else at VisaJourney. With a 760 score, I should be able to get any credit card I want as well as the best mortage/auto loans. I've had my 1 credit card for less than 1 year. But through always paying it off in full and keeping the balance low, it's all good.

It's strange to see people trying to game the system by getting 8 credit cards. Thinking they'll have a higher combined credit limit hence a lower debt to credit limit ratio....But all they're doing is complicating themselves with 8 monthly bills all due at different times. Who needs or wants that many cards?

And yes, be careful of those don't pay for 6 month card offers. 2 things happen with them.

1) Your utilization will be higher during the months that you have the high balance.

2) Say the card is no interest for 6 months or maybe 3% interest for 6 months. But the credit card has a 15% rate for credit card purchases. You go out and buy $2,000 worth of stuff for no interest or a low 3% interest rate. You then put $200 worth of normal purchases on the card......what happens when you go to pay your bill at the end of the month? Everything you pay will be put towards the free interest low interest "deal" and your other $200 worth of purchases will continue to charge you 15% interest until the "deal" is completely payed for.

So if you do end up using one of those don't pay for 6 month deals (and you shouldn't), at least make sure you put the card away and don't use it until you've completely paid for the 6 month item.

[brown_eyes 0]

Thanks for all of this really great info... I never thought to get any credit before living across the border but I'm going to take your advice and do it!

[MrsCat 6]

great advice Texanadian!