USD credit card

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Norbert Schlenker
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USD credit card

Post by Norbert Schlenker »

It's the new year, so in about a month, I'm going to get a bill from my US Visa card issuer (Chase). Because of new rules in the US restricting fees on late payments and interest rate changes, rumour has it that US banks are going to start charging fat fees, especially to troublesome customers like me who pay in full every month. Since 9/11, cross-border shopping for credit cards has been severely restricted.

Anybody here have anything nice to say about a USD credit card issued by a Canadian bank? I want no trouble when buying things in the US, either over the phone, the internet, or in person. I am willing to pay a small fee if necessary, but would of course prefer not to.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by couponstrip »

Our USD credit cards from TD work quite well. There is no fee since it is part of the TD service select account (which requires you to carry a 5k balance, but comes with a host of other freebies).

The only problems we have are related to our Canadian address (ie can't ship from some American internet vendors to a Canadian address, can't always pay at the pump in the US because it requires you to enter a zip code...90210 works sometimes 8)) but I'm not sure those problems would be any different for a US bank US dollar credit card provided the card has a Canadian address.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Bylo Selhi »

couponstrip wrote:Our USD credit cards from TD work quite well. There is no fee since it is part of the TD service select account (which requires you to carry a 5k balance, but comes with a host of other freebies).
Although I also have a Select account, the card is available à la carte for $35/year or $0 with $3k minimum balance in their US$ account. The extra $2k minimum balance, gets "free" [almost] everything at TD including gold CA$ Visa with 1% rebate, printed cheques/checks, auto club membership, no-fee ATM transactions overseas, etc.
The only problems we have are related to our Canadian address (ie can't ship from some American internet vendors to a Canadian address, can't always pay at the pump in the US
I've not run into either problem, however, I don't run a lot of transactions on this card. I think the shipping restrictions are imposed by the vendors, not the card company. Some won't even ship to a third-party US address in order to thwart credit card fraud. That makes it a pain to buy online and have the stuff shipped to a third party ("Amerifriend") for pick-up on my next visit. Also I've never been asked for a ZIP code at a US gas pump.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Springbok »

Bylo Selhi wrote: Also I've never been asked for a ZIP code at a US gas pump.

This happens to us all the time. After a while we get to know which gas companies require this and we just avoid them. Major brands like Exxon are usually OK. Otherwise, just go inside and pay there - it's only at the pumps that there is a problem.

We order stuff while in USA and have it delivered to our rental condo. Even with our Canadian CC, we have not had a problem. We do have a BMO US CC mainly to save on exchange charges.

With Paypal, there could be a problem with on-line orders, but that's a separate issue.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by couponstrip »

ByloSelhi wrote:I've not run into either problem, however, I don't run a lot of transactions on this card. I think the shipping restrictions are imposed by the vendors, not the card company.
Yes, I wasn't very clear. I think it is the Canadian address, not the credit card that is the problem with receiving goods from some US-based internet vendors.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by queerasmoi »

Does it have to be a credit card or is VISA debit okay? I had no trouble in November 2007 opening a Bank of America account in Blaine, Washington with a CDN address and ID. I use XETrade to fund it. I wasn't able to open an account online due to lack of an SSN, which would have granted me a no-monthly-fee checking account. But the teller said she could grant me a 5-year fee waiver, and so far that has worked out.

In Bellingham this past autumn, I asked a bank teller what I should do when I reach the end of the waiver in November 2012. She said I might not be able to renew it, but she could happily open a new account for me and have yet another 5-year waiver.

I keep a few hundred in this account and I add more if I expect to need to make a big purchase or a trip. I'm aware that BoA charges ridiculous amounts for overdrafts so I tread cautiously.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by marty123 »

Springbok wrote:
Bylo Selhi wrote: Also I've never been asked for a ZIP code at a US gas pump.

This happens to us all the time. After a while we get to know which gas companies require this and we just avoid them. Major brands like Exxon are usually OK. Otherwise, just go inside and pay there - it's only at the pumps that there is a problem.
I've never NOT have a problem paying at the pump in the US. I've tried different things and suggestions from my issuers have not been fruitful (including "00000", "99999" as well as the 3 digits from postal code with padded zeros). The process is pretty much the same all the time: prepay inside (which is just an authorization), fill up, go back inside to get the receipt for the right amount. There doesn't seem to be a credit + refund, it's clearly a receipted authorization with the customer's suggested amount (instead of $100 or $80 like we see in Canada).

I didn't know about Exxon. Amongst the large chains, Citgo come to mind as not working.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Richmond »

I investigated all big Canadian banks offerings and came to the conclusion that the Royal Bank package was absolutely the best. You get a US credit or debit card, a US bank account,a Canadian Bank account and if you want a Canadian Visa, that too. You can easily transfer money from Canada to the US accounts and vice versa on the web. There is one small fee per month. The Royal seem to have integrated their US bank and their Canadian bank rather well.

My only troubles come in ordering from some US merchants whose web pages insist on a US zip code.I solved that by getting a US debit card tied to a relatives US address. I can then ship to that address or my Canadian address
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Re: USD credit card

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I got a TD US$ Visa this year for my snowbird trip to Florida. I've been happy with the card. I use the card almost daily for pretty well all of my purchases in Florida including gas, groceries, golf, shopping, etc. I've ordered items online that were charged to my US$ Visa and had them shipped to the condo in Florida with no problems. I also used the card to pay for a US eBay purchase via Paypal.

In previous years I could pay for gas at the pump by entering a fake ZIP code (99999 or 90201), but that hasn't worked this year at any gas station. As marty indicated, I've had to go inside and get prepaid authorization for my credit card.

I can view the US$ Visa transactions and statements online via TD Canada Trust EasyWeb. I pay the US$ Visa online by transferring cash from my TD Can Trust US$ chequing account.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by queerasmoi »

I have contemplated asking a US relative if I can put my BoA card's address to theirs (uncle in NJ, cousin in Maine, among others). The hitch is that BoA will send paper bills to that address all the time, no way to disable e-billing. I don't really want to be spamming my family's mailboxes, and worse off, if the mail is ever accidentally marked return to sender then I'll get into account trouble.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Bylo Selhi »

Arby wrote:I pay the US$ Visa online by transferring cash from my TD Can Trust US$ chequing account.
As with TD's CA$ Visa cards, you can have TD debit a designated chequing account on the credit card's "due date" every month to pay either (a) the entire balance or (b) [not recommended!] the minimum payment amount. In the case of the US$ card they'll dip into your US$ chequing account. This saves you from having to remember to make a payment every month and, when chequing accounts actually paid any, let you earn interest until the last day of your credit card float. If you also have a TDW account then you can do a Norbert's Gambit there, then transfer to the US$ chequing account directly from WebBroker.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Jaunty »

Flying J gas stations aren't requiring a zip code (at least the one in Wytheville, Va and the one in Fort Pierce, Fl).
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Re: USD credit card

Post by zinfit »

Spent my 1st winter in Texas. Only card that we could obtain was AE. Eventually opened an account at Chase and found their debit card served my purpose very well. When purchasing just tell them you want credit not debit. Then you accumulate reward points on your purchases.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by donaldjustine13 »

Some credit cards have some problem with the Canadian addresses. You might try some other options of payment to purchase. I know there are better out there for you to choose.
Last edited by donaldjustine13 on 01 Jul 2010 22:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by biker »

What are the reasons for using a USD credit card?
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Norbert Schlenker »

Because, when I buy things in USD, e.g. hotel rooms, computers, boat parts, vehicles, restaurant meals, etc., I want to avoid paying an extra few percent for it. For example, use of a CIBC Visa incurs an extra 2.5% charge. AFAIK other Canadian banks surcharge similarly.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by AltaRed »

Ditto. I use my USD credit card for all USD purchases.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Ken »

I plan to apply for a USD credit card from a Canadian bank in the next week or so. Just wondering which cards you folks currently recommend or like.
All of them seem to have annual fees these days. And unfortunately the bank I would LIKE to have it with because of my other banking is RBC with the highest annual fee. Suggestions?
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Re: USD credit card

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Ken wrote: 26 Dec 2017 14:51 I plan to apply for a USD credit card from a Canadian bank in the next week or so.
How do you plan to pay it?
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Re: USD credit card

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Ken wrote: 26 Dec 2017 14:51 I plan to apply for a USD credit card from a Canadian bank in the next week or so. Just wondering which cards you folks currently recommend or like.
All of them seem to have annual fees these days. And unfortunately the bank I would LIKE to have it with because of my other banking is RBC with the highest annual fee. Suggestions?
Bmo has a usd card that rebates the $35 fee if you spend a minimum amount ($1000 or $1500, i can't remember which) in the following 12 months. No other charges and no rewards. I like it because i can easily make payments by transferring money from my usd account at bmo.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by pmj »

If one can get a zero-fee zero-vig cashback C$ CC, what is the advantage in having a Canadian-domiciled US$ CC?
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Re: USD credit card

Post by gobsmack »

If you have a TD cross-border account, you can apply for their TD Cash Credit Card (US based and no annual fees): https://www.tdbank.com/personalcreditca ... rd-ca.html.

However, the application process requires filing a paper form. I gave up on it when I was told the process required a paper form.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by Ken »

adrian2 wrote: 26 Dec 2017 15:32How do you plan to pay it?
Short answer: With dividends from USD ETFs.
Long answer: In the short term from my corporate investment accounts at Scotia, but being retired I'm drawing those down over the next few years. Long term from my RBC-DI RRSP and possibly RBC-DI non-registered account which doesn't exist yet as all my non-registered funds are tied up in rental houses. Anyway that's why I'd like to use RBC but they want US$65 annual fee. I might go talk to them and see if I can get it waived since I'm such an awesome dude.
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Re: USD credit card

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Pickles wrote: 26 Dec 2017 15:45Bmo has a usd card that rebates the $35 fee if you spend a minimum amount ($1000 or $1500, i can't remember which) in the following 12 months.
That's a nice twist, thanks! I saw their $35 fee but didn't notice the rebate. I better look closer at the offers.
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Re: USD credit card

Post by milton »

Anyone use a Rogers Platinum Mastercard for USD purchases? It gives 4% cash back for all foreign purchases (although it charges you 2.5% forex). Net rebate is 1.5%. The $29 annual fee is waived if you're a Rogers, Fido, or Chatr customer and enrolled in auto-pay. Seems like a good deal. Oh yeah, and on Canadian purchases, it gives back 1.75%. For a 'free' card, it's a lot better than some of the other cards that have an annual fee.
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