Canadian Credit Cards

[g&a246 0]

I'm sure I've read here that people have kept their Canadian credit cards active once moving to the US, but I did a search and couldn't seem to find a specific thread addressing this.

I just called TD Visa, said I was looking at possibly moving to the US and asked if they could send my statements to the US address if I did so (because they apparently have to send paper statements). They told me that if I moved out of Canada I couldn't keep my Canadian cards. Is that true? Can I give them a family member's address in Canada, but still change my address to my US one with TD Bank (because they said it was fine for me to keep my chequing and savings accounts open)? Is that going to raise a flag or impact me at tax time?

I have a US Dollar card and was planning to use this for the first few months while in the US, transfering from CDN to US dollars and paying it off online as needed, while waiting for the exchange rate to get better.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks for any advice!

[JillA 2]

I don't think that's true at all! I kept 1 BMO Mastercard, just to use when I go back to Canada and to book Air Canada flights on, etc. They were happy to send my statement here to the US. Also when I went to cancel 2 others as I only wanted to keep 1, they tried to get me to keep it active! "Even when you move to the US, you'll be coming back to Canada often to visit I'm sure, you'll need a Canadian CC" it was really hard to get them to cancel it! They were more than willing to switch my statement over here.

None of my cards were TD, so maybe it's TD specific?

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Hey!

So...

I have a TD Visa card and I used it here for like the first 8 months after I moved here.

I forgot to notify them that I was moving....

After 8 months they put a hold on my card because they noticed "Suspicious activity" I was charging at places in NJ when the address on the card is in Canada.

Shows you how closely they watch the activity...lol I was using it for 8 months!!

So I called them, they changed the address on it and have now started mailing me my statements here instead of to my parents house in Canada.

They didn't say anything about not being able to use the card in the States...it's a visa...

You pay the exchange rate but I'm still using it today...not so much now that I have a job and my own bank account here (TD in the States)

but it's good to have in emergencies.

Good luck on the move!

Edited April 24, 2009 by ~Laura and Nick~

[g&a246 0]

Thanks guys. I think I'll just wait until after I move (May 5!) to call and change my address. Hopefully I'll get a different operator. She was saying I had to keep assets in Canada in order for my credit card to remain active, and I started to worry about the whole resident vs. non-resident thing when it comes to taxes. But I'll be keeping my bank account open which is considered an asset, right? And it appears that most of you have done so without a problem.

I was really surprised by her answer actually. I expected her to react more like Bell did this morning when I called to cancel my internet and cell service. They were practically begging me to keep my account open... ("We should keep this account active for when you return to Canada" "Are you sure you won't be coming back?" "Well if you do, I really hope you'll come back to Bell!" and on, and on...)

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Thanks guys. I think I'll just wait until after I move (May 5!) to call and change my address. Hopefully I'll get a different operator. She was saying I had to keep assets in Canada in order for my credit card to remain active, and I started to worry about the whole resident vs. non-resident thing when it comes to taxes. But I'll be keeping my bank account open which is considered an asset, right? And it appears that most of you have done so without a problem.

I was really surprised by her answer actually. I expected her to react more like Bell did this morning when I called to cancel my internet and cell service. They were practically begging me to keep my account open... ("We should keep this account active for when you return to Canada" "Are you sure you won't be coming back?" "Well if you do, I really hope you'll come back to Bell!" and on, and on...)

Yep, when I cancelled my cell phone it sounded like the woman was going to cry.

LOL

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I have a TD Visa that has renewed twice (in fact, just renewed this week - I received the card in the mail and still have to activate it) since I've been in the US. I notified my bank that I was moving to the US and receive my statements here without a problem. I retained a Canadian bank account so whenever I use the Visa card, I just transfer money online from my Canadian account to pay the bill. Not a problem - except I think I have forgotten my PIN since it is a long time since I've used it - oh, and I had to notify them of a change of phone number when we let go of Vonage because that was the phone number listed on the account.

I actually made an appointment and went in person to the bank to set things up for dealing with my accounts from the US. You might want to do the same.

I let my other Canadian credit cards lapse and didn't renew them when the time came but I had no trouble receiving the statements here in the US while they were active (ie. Sears, PetroCanada, etc.)

Edited April 24, 2009 by Kathryn41

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I was able to change the address to US of a BofM (plain-jane C$) with almost no issues (almost due to the fact that exchange rate for the cheque sent in is different, and lower, than that for the charge), as well as a Canada Trust (as it was then, now TD) Borderless US$ MasterCard.

It is true that you cannot easily do online payments from US bank accounts to a Canada-issued credit card...

[Krikit 1,164]

Yeah.... I agree with all the others. You've received misinformation. I kept all my credit cards and bank accounts open in Canada and just changed my address.... including TD Visa. I initially spoke with someone at Capital One who told me the same thing as they told you.... that I would have to close my account for being a non-resident.... but they were wrong.