Banking and Building credit in the US

[FormelyCA 0]

Just a heads up for those wanting credit cards.

I applied as a student since I am enrolled in college down here now. So, if you aren't a student I don't know if it is a loophole or illegal (lying on the application form to claim yourself a student). But the online form only asked which college I attended and no one has mentioned it since. Didn't ask for student number or anything. You do have to list the college tho, but whose to say when you applied for the card you were enrolled, and then you later dropped out????? I don't know.

Mine is Discover student card. I got it from www.studentcards.com but I'm sure if you go on the Discover site you can see it. No credit, no problem! Just put in SSN and you are GTG. It's a $500 limit but it's a start!

Anyway...just an FYI.

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

Any American account or credit card you apply for prior to moving to the US, will not start assisting your credit or record until it is transferred onto your SSN #...it may help you with leverage with that specific company, but not on your credit score...it is tracked by your SSN...

I applied for various cards before I came here and am now in the process of trans them to my SSN.

TD this fall will merge....Canadian and US sectors will recognize sister companies and associated branches...therefore, you will be able to access and be recognized for Canadian history. This has not taken place yet...

I had TD change my account to a no fee account....I use the ATM at Wawa, they charge no banking fees, I pay no fees with TD, I only incur what ever exchange rate is in place at the time.

I have had no issues cashing canadian cheques...but that is not on my part...it's my husband....due to the amount of biz he has with his branch, I just write him a cheque and they release the funds the same day...even for several thousands....they said normally it's a 30 day hold ?! #######?!

My only advise is to appy for 3-4 credit cards peior to your move....get them based on your canadian credit, SIN and canadian address....once you move, you can change them to your SSN and new married name...and within 3 months of moving you can have 3-4 credit cards

I've been here 3 months and have 2 US accounts and 4 credit cards....3 of which I obtained on my own, one my husband added me on.

ps. Krikit....I am with ya sister....my dad was the biggest anti-banking and anti-gov't everything guy! He would go to the bank with a heavy Greek accent and tell the teller that she is being forced to do the dirty work for her 'pimp' the government...'but it wasn't her fault, as we are all hookers and the big pimps ...aka the Gov, is just pimping us out) lol! Needless to say by the time he left, he was the talk of the branch! HAHA!

Edited September 1, 2009 by poprocks

[Gypsyangel 11]

Any American account or credit card you apply for prior to moving to the US, will not start assisting your credit or record until it is transferred onto your SSN #...it may help you with leverage with that specific company, but not on your credit score...it is tracked by your SSN...

My only advise is to appy for 3-4 credit cards peior to your move....get them based on your canadian credit, SIN and canadian address....once you move, you can change them to your SSN and new married name...and within 3 months of moving you can have 3-4 credit cards

Great advice to apply for cards prior to your move. It sure makes things easier. Also, I just found out that it may help to get them as soon as you can on your Canadian SIN. Here is what I just experienced ... I signed up for Myfico to understand my score better (I've been here about a year). One of the things that helps your score is how long your credit history is. To my surprise they have my Target Visa recorded from the first day I signed up on my Cdn SIN, which was a about 2 years before I moved.

Also, I couldn't transfer my Target Visa to my SSN until I had my NJ driver's licence, which I couldn't get until I had my green card. Even though I moved last July, I didn't get my driver's licence until April 2009. So instead of having a credit history starting this April, I have about 3 years. They say the average is 19 years, so it may not affect the score much. But, hey, every little bit helps! btw, I don't know how much they look at the Canadian history, but at least they have a record of me.

btw, my credit score is a little over 700. Nothing to brag about, but it's a good start. They say it's low because of lack of history and because how much I put on my card is too high for the limit that I have (even though I pay it off every month). I guess I need to apply for some more credit cards to bring my score up!

Also, I find credit cards a little confusing here. In Canada I just made sure I had a Visa, Mastercard (from one of the banks), plus an American Express. Then I acquired some store credit cards over time. Here, you get credit card offers from out of the blue from god-knows-who. It just felt more straightforward in Canada in that I knew who I was getting credit from.

This game is a little frustrating, given the credit I had in Canada, but what can you do?

[trailmix 77]

btw, my credit score is a little over 700. Nothing to brag about, but it's a good start. They say it's low because of lack of history and because how much I put on my card is too high for the limit that I have (even though I pay it off every month). I guess I need to apply for some more credit cards to bring my score up!

The woman at one of the credit bureaus explained this to me, the whole - how much you have on your card thing. On our report it said something like - balance is too high for credit available - something like that.

We pay ours off each month, so I was wondering what that meant.

She said they just take a snapshot periodically - so say you were renovating and had $4000.00 on your $7000 limit card, but paid it off when you got the bill, that $4000 snapshot can be there for some time. Apparently lenders aren't too concerned about it - at least RBC wasn't when we applied for pre-approval on our mortgage - and one other place we applied for didn't care either (they just didn't like that our credit history was under 2 years)

[SapphireDreams 71]

OKay so I followed the advice of others and tried to apply for a Capitol One visa - the one targeted to new immigrants and even with a job and pretty good joint income i was denied because I don't have a credit bureau file.

Can anyone explain to me what that means? If I don't have a file, how do I go about getting one? If my husband adds me to his credit card, I know that won't do anything to my score, but will it at least give me a file?

[JillA 2]

OKay so I followed the advice of others and tried to apply for a Capitol One visa - the one targeted to new immigrants and even with a job and pretty good joint income i was denied because I don't have a credit bureau file.

Can anyone explain to me what that means? If I don't have a file, how do I go about getting one? If my husband adds me to his credit card, I know that won't do anything to my score, but will it at least give me a file?

That's so wierd that they denied you - I don't know what that means, sorry! It's wierd because I put down 0 income and I was a "homemaker" as my occupation and I still got approved

[bradcanuck 1]

OKay so I followed the advice of others and tried to apply for a Capitol One visa - the one targeted to new immigrants and even with a job and pretty good joint income i was denied because I don't have a credit bureau file.

Can anyone explain to me what that means? If I don't have a file, how do I go about getting one? If my husband adds me to his credit card, I know that won't do anything to my score, but will it at least give me a file?

That's so wierd that they denied you - I don't know what that means, sorry! It's wierd because I put down 0 income and I was a "homemaker" as my occupation and I still got approved

Ya the first card i got was CapitalOne. I have a Canadian one now too.... got this after the US

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

OKay so I followed the advice of others and tried to apply for a Capitol One visa - the one targeted to new immigrants and even with a job and pretty good joint income i was denied because I don't have a credit bureau file.

Can anyone explain to me what that means? If I don't have a file, how do I go about getting one? If my husband adds me to his credit card, I know that won't do anything to my score, but will it at least give me a file?

A file gets automatically generated once you have 'credit existence' which means, you need to be added on to one of your husbands cards, which may help, or get approved for some sort of card. Once you are approved, a file automatically opens under your name and SSN. You can't just 'open a file up' unfortunately. You need to be approved for credit first. Try getting added on to hubby if it is possible, or try applying for a Dept store card like Macys or JCP, Target?

Not sure how easy they are to get after you have begun residing here, as I got all mine prior to moving.

Good luck!