What are you guys doing with your US credit cards

[APPNOV2014NY]

Hello All,

This is a question for all those who are moving to Canada permanently and will not maintain any residential address in USA. What are you going to do with US credit cards? These US credit cards will eventually expire and won't be replaced as Credit Holder won't have any US address. Are you closing these before moving to Canada

Thanks in advance !!

 

[ashu1710]

Hello All,

This is a question for all those who are moving to Canada permanently and will not maintain any residential address in USA. What are you going to do with US credit cards? These US credit cards will eventually expire and won't be replaced as Credit Holder won't have any US address. Are you closing these before moving to Canada

Thanks in advance !!

I still have my US credit card. It was REALLY useful when I first moved to Canada and didn't have a Canadian credit card or a permanent SIN to build credit with. I didn't mind the foreign transaction fee that Bank of America charges. A lot of services don't accept interac e transfer or debit cards. During my first few months in Canada, I used my US credit card for quite a few purchases.

I won't be closing my card. I simply had replacements shipped to my parents' US address. I would recommend you keep your US credit card till it nears its expiry date and then cancel it.

 

[aa0303]

I am planning to do the same thing. Keep the cards and get them shipped to my friends place if needed. With some of the Chase cards there is no foreign transaction fee, so it will be really useful.

 

[yodheydhara]

Agree. I too have kept the credit cards and if they cannot send it to an overseas address, I will cancel them. If they can, then I will keep them. When I first moved the US I opened a bank account while I was still in hotel. At that time, I gave my Indian driving license as ID proof. They took the Indian address and mailed one set of debit cards to the India address! this gives me a hope that they could then ship it to Canada too.. not sure though. That situation was different.

 

[DEEPCUR]

I haven't given a thought about this yet! People in Canada.. how popular is discover in Canada? They don't have foreign transaction fees

 

[APPNOV2014NY]

Try to keep your older US credit cards working. If older credit cards are cancelled then it will impact length of US credit history hence US credit score.

 

[yodheydhara]

I haven't given a thought about this yet! People in Canada.. how popular is discover in Canada? They don't have foreign transaction fees

Not sure I have seen Discover here much.
You can start with Capital One.

Also, do remember that it does not matter if you had an account with any of these credit card companies in the US, its always a separate account here and they are not going to consider any of the credit history you have in the US. So, basically, we start from zero here.

However, you still might want to check with the ones that you have accounts with.

 

[Kuchbhi]

I have two bank accounts. One with BofA and another with DCU. I also have CC from BofA and Amex. I plan to close my DCU and keep BofA. I'll simply swap my address for my sister's US address on BofA.
For Amex I will ask them to transfer/change the address to Amex Canada. I will open an account on TD and gets funds transferred to it from BofA using Xoom.

Once my sister also applies for Canadian PR and enters Canada then I'll close my American accounts in late 2018/19

Building credit may take time, and it's better if we select the "Newcomer to Canada" type accounts from various banks.
P.S - Even though we can use HSA for medical bills in Canada. I will cash it out and pay 20% tax and close my HSA.

 

[APPNOV2014NY]

I am planning to use my Bofa Travel Card which has no International transaction fees, also applied for an Amex which also offers same.

I do plan to close some of the store based cards, I know it will impact the credit score but that can be rebuilt vs the hassle of maintaining them. I will change address to my Brother's for the ones that I plan to keep.

Btw I have heard that if you have Costco membership in US you an get their Credit card in Canada, anyone has more details on this?

I had applied for Costco Credit card in Canada and was brutally rejected after 800+ score in USA . I had Costco USA membership at that time.

 

[APPNOV2014NY]

LOL so that option is ruled out. How long can one keep using American CC in Canada? I mean will the bank say that you cant use it beyond xyz months outside US? At current Exchange rates it might be cheaper to use American CC in Canada

US Banks should be OK with you using US CC in Canada indefinitely as long as you are keeping USA address.

 

[rir170814]

Hello All,

This is a question for all those who are moving to Canada permanently and will not maintain any residential address in USA. What are you going to do with US credit cards? These US credit cards will eventually expire and won't be replaced as Credit Holder won't have any US address. Are you closing these before moving to Canada

Thanks in advance !!

They will ship it to Canada. I have done it many times, including renewing...

 

[APPNOV2014NY]

They will ship it to Canada. I have done it many times, including renewing...

Can you please share more details? Which all US Financial Institutions shipped cards to Canada? Did you mention that you have moved "permanently" to Canada while request address change?

 

[rir170814]

Can you please share more details? Which all US Financial Institutions shipped cards to Canada? Did you mention that you have moved "permanently" to Canada while request address change?

- I had either a credit card or a bank account with these banks when I moved from the US to Canada and changed my address with all of them: Chase, AMEX, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Bank of America. Got cards shipped or letters either confirming balance or any other information...

- I wasn't never asked about "permanently," so... I think some of them would allow you to even change it online. I can't recall which ones as it's been many years.

You can also get a physical mailbox in the US with UPS or any other provider that ships to Canada and probably even scan your mails, so you don't get so much junk.