Credit Cards

[bogartnoir 1]

no more perks and rewards! i'm in debt as it is!

[DeadPoolX 9]

Yeah, I have the TD First Class Visa Infinite card. Apparently that's TD's best credit card. I earn 3 TD Points for every $1 I spend (plus a bunch of other benefits). I think I have something like 25,000 points on that card.

On my Capital One card, I have over 75,000 points (I came to Canada with just under 30,000 points) and there's not a whole lot I can buy for that. I can, however, get a fairly decent plane ticket paid for by it. I'm saving up points for a vacation. I'd like to visit Seattle, Jasper Park, and explore the less inhabited areas of Vancouver Island as I've already been to Victoria and Nanaimo.

Anyway... I just wonder why specialty perks cards aren't available in Canada. The example I made up above (for the WWF) is what I mean.

It's not a huge deal, but if Americans can have it, why not Canadians too? It seems Canadians get shafted a lot.

[KnJ 0]

There ARE charity cards in Canada:

http://creditcards.redflagdeals.com/t/Charity-Credit-Cards/

(although not too many)

Edited October 27, 2009 by KnJ

[DeadPoolX 9]

There ARE charity cards in Canada:

http://creditcards.redflagdeals.com/t/Charity-Credit-Cards/

(although not too many)

I like the MBNA Canadian Wildlife Federation MasterCard. I'll look into getting that.

Thanks for the link!

[bradcanuck 1]

I find Canadian credit cards are way behind or just seem different. In America, credit cards are just standard. I know many Canadians who don't even have a credit card.

I think it's just a different market or attitude or something that makes cards less "demanded". I can't explain it I guess.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I find Canadian credit cards are way behind or just seem different. In America, credit cards are just standard. I know many Canadians who don't even have a credit card.

I think it's just a different market or attitude or something that makes cards less "demanded". I can't explain it I guess.

From what I understand, debit is far more standardized and protected in Canada than it is in the United States. That's probably due to requiring a PIN for Canadian debit transactions, whereas in the U.S., you can use a PIN or swipe-and-sign. That makes using debit far less sure (at least to me, anyway).

I find a lot of people -- both American and Canadian -- use debit if they have trouble paying off their credit cards. It makes them keep track of their finances, instead of simply slapping more charges to their credit card.

Having said that, I really prefer credit cards. You can improve your credit rating (or get one if you're new to the country) and most have some sort of perk. If I'm going to spend money, I'd like to get something back for it.

Edited October 27, 2009 by DeadPoolX

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I find Canadian credit cards are way behind or just seem different. In America, credit cards are just standard. I know many Canadians who don't even have a credit card.

I think it's just a different market or attitude or something that makes cards less "demanded". I can't explain it I guess.

I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around debit-only credit cards...ones that aren't credit cards, but are still Visa or Master Card.

My wife doesn't understand my confusion. I'm just so used to having a debit card, which is from my bank, and a credit card, which is also from my bank, but distinctly a CREDIT card.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I find Canadian credit cards are way behind or just seem different. In America, credit cards are just standard. I know many Canadians who don't even have a credit card.

I think it's just a different market or attitude or something that makes cards less "demanded". I can't explain it I guess.

I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around debit-only credit cards...ones that aren't credit cards, but are still Visa or Master Card.

My wife doesn't understand my confusion. I'm just so used to having a debit card, which is from my bank, and a credit card, which is also from my bank, but distinctly a CREDIT card.

Do you mean debit cards that have the Visa or MasterCard logo on them? That's because the U.S. uses an offline debit system which means you can swipe-and-sign a debit transaction just as you would when using a credit card. The U.S. doesn't use access cards either. So maybe that's part of it, as well.

Canada uses an online system, which requires the PIN. You can't swipe-and-sign.

[trailmix 77]

I think debit/credit cards are kind of cool. It allows people who don't have credit cards, or don't want to use their credit card, to make purchases online.

Edited October 27, 2009 by trailmix

[lgg 2]

Yeah, I'm with you Wyatt... I don't understand those cards either. Thus far, when I'm in the US I only use my credit cards as our debit cards are useless over there.

That said, I like my credit cards -- I carry no debt but they're great to have for said occasions and such.

BTW... just wondering, am I going to be able to keep my Canadian credit cards? i was planning on it as I only ever make payments and stuff online. And yes, I was planning on keeping my Canadian bank accounts too...

thanks guys...

LGG

[DeadPoolX 9]

Yeah, I'm with you Wyatt... I don't understand those cards either. Thus far, when I'm in the US I only use my credit cards as our debit cards are useless over there.

That said, I like my credit cards -- I carry no debt but they're great to have for said occasions and such.

BTW... just wondering, am I going to be able to keep my Canadian credit cards? i was planning on it as I only ever make payments and stuff online. And yes, I was planning on keeping my Canadian bank accounts too...

thanks guys...

LGG

I've kept and still use my American credit cards, so I don't see why you couldn't keep your Canadian cards. Just make sure you notify them of your address change and tell them you're living in the U.S., so they won't go berserk and put a stop on the card when you buy stuff outside the country. Sometimes credit card lender do that because they think the card has been stolen.

[The_Dude 1,142]

A big problem with debit cards in the U.S. is that many retailers and some banks charge fees to use your debit card. I use my visa debit card through my bank primarily to avoid the debit charges that a lot of stores have.

[DeadPoolX 9]

A big problem with debit cards in the U.S. is that many retailers and some banks charge fees to use your debit card. I use my visa debit card through my bank primarily to avoid the debit charges that a lot of stores have.

That's true, too. If I use my American debit card as a debit card, I get charged a fee. If I swipe-and-sign it like a credit card, no fee is charged.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

BTW... just wondering, am I going to be able to keep my Canadian credit cards? i was planning on it as I only ever make payments and stuff online. And yes, I was planning on keeping my Canadian bank accounts too...

thanks guys...

LGG

Yeah, I've been thinking about that lately too. I plan on keeping my Canadian bank accounts and at least one of my two credit cards as well...for the same reason. The real downside will be if the exchange rate starts going upward... Otherwise, if the Canadian buck stays below the U.S. one, then it will be to our benefit to be making U.S. dollars but making payments for things on a Canadian account. My car loan is a good example of that.

Then again, the benefit to the exchange rate being close to the U.S. dollar (or higher) is that you can pay for things using your Canadian credit card without taking the hit on the exchange rate.

I guess they both have their ups and downs.

[dutchmatt 1]

It's just like everything else in Canada it will take us a few years to catch up. And heaven forbid we would have flashy pictures on our cards that might be too much for our canadian eyes. In canada we can't even get visa debit cards - crazy.

Another point along the same lines - ever noticed how much cooler US license plates are? I mean you wanna support breast cancer? Get a cool pink plate.

Don't get me wrong - I'm Canadian but I can't wait to get out of here. We take it up the a$$ with everything from cell phone rate, air fare, car insurance and beer. And cool plates and credit cards of course . And what do we do? Nothing - we get used to other people telling us how it is and how it's gonna be.