US-based Credit Cards
 

Does anyone have a US-based Credit Card from Banners Bank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc? if so, what are the pros and cons of having one for a Canadian vs. obtaining an American card here from a Canadian banking institution?

TIA!

You need a SSN to apply a credit card in the states. It's almost impossible for Canadian to obtain US CC there. The USD CC in Canadian banks has annual fees and I'm still looking for a free one too.

Bank of America offers cards specifically for Canadians. When I travelled down to the states last I was offered Bank of America's Alaska Airlines Mastercard which is specifically for Canadians.

If you go to Bank of America's website that card doesn't come up. If you google it, it does show up but you can't apply for it...it's a dead link.

I remember the last time I was at a Bank of America branch, I was told for new bank accounts you need a SSN and a mailing address (no PO Box's). I assume the credit card applications would need both as well. Luckily I've kept my Bank of America account open and still have a Visa chequing card.

You don't necessarily need a SSN. If you have a US work visa, you can get the manager of your Canadian branch to talk to their US counterpart and get everything setup for you ahead of time. Basically they see your work visa and get everything done without needing the SSN. I have did it a few times (with RBC). Of course it helps if you know who your branch manager are etc. because 3 out of 10 times, if you call the call centers on both side of the border, they say they don't know anything about it. So you will need to call the manager who setup your account to fix problems.

It is a US based visa, but the downside to that everything has a fee, I think it cost about $10 to transfer money in. It is purely a stop gap measure.

If you don't have work visa the best is to get a prepaid one at any CVS store.

u can get a cc without ssn, my friend has 1 from target. its a full cc.

Also u can open a bank account in us, they will give u a visa /debit card that is tied to ur account. its not a real cc cause it debits ur account on a cc purchase similar to a debit card.

alot of USD CC will waive the annual fee if you spend over a certain amount per year.

BMO, i believe.

open a us bank account at bmo, there's no annual fee as long as you spend $1000 usd

US online merchants who don't ship to Canada won't accept those cards.. eg consumer electronic places like MacMall and car dealerships etc. They need cards that are issued in US for US (ie a US banking number 2nd digit onwards on the credit card), not just a card in US Denomination.

If you have an RBC account, I would recommend getting the Access USA account. They'll send you a US based Visa debit card (works like a credit card) and you can transfer funds easily. http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/usbankin...a-details.html
bad part is that you need to keep a 700 min balance to waive any service charges. there is a way around that if you can get them to give you the free checking account only for americans. some have been successful
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/usd-b...thread-685523/