Transferring Credit History From US to Canada

[Cheeseburger]

I am relatively young, 28, but over the years I have developed a fairly good credit history, in the excellent category. I would hate to completely lose that and have to start over. I have been looking in to the topic online and I am getting mixed answers. Some say, nope, sorry they don't share/transfer that information between the US and Canada. Then others are saying they do!? I have an AMEX, Mastercard, and Visa. American Express says on its website that you can transfer your credit history to Canada, and I believe Capital One offers the same thing. I don't know about Visa, but I would think so.

So what is the right answer? A lot of people say no, you have to start all over. Then others say you can, and my credit card companies advertise on their website that they transfer your credit and credit history. Also, if they do all offer this transfer, should I do it with all of them? Should I transfer all my US cards to Canada? Or should I keep one in the US? I don't want to transfer them all to Canada if it then completely ruins my US credit worthiness, just in case my family were to ever move back to the states.

 

[rhcohen2014]

per the other thread, your credit score and credit history can NOT be transferred. what was discussed is that you can ask your credit card companies if they can transfer your card to a canadian version of their card. this will not automatically give you "credit" in canada the way you are thinking. transferring your credit card balance/relationship to a canadian one only gives you the ability to have a credit card to use in canada. HAving a credit card to use will help you build credit, depending on how responsible the card holder is.

as far as i know, when you move to canada, your credit starts from 0. canada has a completely different system for credit reporting, and the information is not transferrable between the two countries (same with the us bureaus). i have been told this by the canadian bank we are customers at. i tend to believe them.

transferring your credit cards is not going to ruin your us credit score. your score is based on your payment history and how much debt you use compared to what you have. my guess if your credit card usage goes dormant for many years in the us, and the cards are not deliquent, your credit will go up, not down. that's generally how credit works. when you have it and don't use it or pay the debt regularly, you have a higher score.

 

[Cheeseburger]

per the other thread, your credit score and credit history can NOT be transferred. what was discussed is that you can ask your credit card companies if they can transfer your card to a canadian version of their card. this will not automatically give you "credit" in canada the way you are thinking. transferring your credit card balance/relationship to a canadian one only gives you the ability to have a credit card to use in canada.

as far as i know, when you move to canada, your credit starts from 0. canada has a completely different system for credit reporting, and the information is not transferrable between the two countries (same with the us bureaus). i have been told this by the canadian bank we are customers at. i tend to believe them.

transferring your credit cards is not going to ruin your us credit score. your score is based on your payment history and how much debt you use compared to what you have. my guess if your credit card usage goes dormant for many years in the us, and the cards are not deliquent, your credit will go up, not down. that's generally how credit works. when you have it and don't use it or pay the debt regularly, you have a higher score.

Ouch that hurts. Sorry I didn't see the other thread. I could have swore AMEX advertised transfer your "credit history" but maybe that just means for their purposes only. Ouch, that is brutal.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Ouch that hurts. Sorry I didn't see the other thread. I could have swore AMEX advertised transfer your "credit history" but maybe that just means for their purposes only. Ouch, that is brutal.

i thought you were the one who posted about it? my apologies if you weren't! it's either in the general immigration or settlement topics thread. anway, AMEX is a US company, and it's not regulary accepted in Canada (at least in my experience). I think what they mean by transferring the credit history is transferring the usage of the card to Canada so you don't incur the fees associated with using a card in another country. AMEX can't transfer credit report history to another country, they are not the governing body for credit in the us.

edit: oops, my bad, it wasn't you... it was jsut the same question. i believe it was canuck who explains it best:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/best-way-to-transfer-fundscredit-history-from-usa-to-canada-t234035.0.html

 

[scylla]

Ouch that hurts. Sorry I didn't see the other thread. I could have swore AMEX advertised transfer your "credit history" but maybe that just means for their purposes only. Ouch, that is brutal.

Right - for their purposes only. You'll be starting over from scratch.

My husband owns several properties in the US (all mortgage free), has significant invested assets in the US, and an extremely high credit score. But when he first arrived in Canada, he could only obtain a credit card through me (i.e. as a secondary card holder).

 

[rhcohen2014]

there are also now banks that offer "newcomer" packages and will approve the immigrant for a low balance credit card, without needing a co-signer. I believe scotia bank and HSBC are the recommended banks for this, though i'm sure the other big ones have similiar packages.

 

[spark1999]

"transfering credit" from American Express

So my husband and I have just finished doing this and a few caveats:

1. You must have a Canadian phone number and mailing address before you begin.

2. Only certain cards are available to Global-transferred accounts, for example you may not be offered a CREDIT card, but only a CHARGE card.

3. You may have only one shot at Global Transfer, so if you'd like another American Express card, that one will start from scratch using your (short) Canadian credit history.

The AmEx cards are really much less useful in Canada. The CHARGE card doesn't report increases in spending limits or decreases in interest to the credit bureau so is not very useful in establishing a credit history. The cards are accepted in fewer locations and small merchants hate their high fees.

On top of this, it took us months to get the cards, they sent the wrong cards. We had to send them a 1$ check to cash and waive permission for them to examine our Canadian checking and savings accounts. They made a big fuss over whether my husband or myself were the "primary card holder". So much for being loyal clients.