U.S. credit card questions

[keesio]

Someone told me she had to keep an American address just so she could use a credit card at gas stations when she is traveling in her car in the US (since most gas stations nowadays ask for your zip code to verify the validity of the card and Canadian cards, I guess, won't work.)

Yup, this is 100% true

 

[Rob_TO]

The bonuses offered by most Canadian cards pale in comparison to the US. I will seriously miss the air miles/points I've been able to accrue over the years.

With the 2 main Canadian credit cards I use, I get 2 points for every dollar spent (so a 2% rewards) on my main card (as well as loads of insurance and price protection features) as well as $100 worth of points every single year on my anniversary date, and then on my secondary card I get 4% back in points just on gas and groceries.
Are the US cards that much better?

If you do hold a US card with no extra f/x fee and the conversion from CAD to USD for each transaction is right around the market rate, then there should be no issue using it here. However this should be dependent on being able to pay the US credit card balance each month directly from your Canadian account. If you must pay the account from a US bank account, then that would involve you to first convert your CAD to USD to fund your US bank acct, in which case you would lose money.

Also if paying the US credit card directly from a Canadian bank account, just make sure that the credit card is applying the same currency exchange rate on purchases that they do with payments. Some companies treat debit and credit exchanges differently (not sure about credit cards though).

 

[deweysmith]

Someone told me she had to keep an American address just so she could use a credit card at gas stations when she is traveling in her car in the US (since most gas stations nowadays ask for your zip code to verify the validity of the card and Canadian cards, I guess, won't work.)

I actually have spoken to an RBC rep about this. All you have to do is enter the digits from your postal code, padded with zeroes if it complains about not having 5 digits. Example, if my postal code is H3P 2C8 then I enter 32800. Works like a charm.

What I'm curious about for those who have US cards is how do you pay your bill? Is it easy to set up online bill pay through your bank for a US bank based card?

RBC Bank is pretty great, and only $2.95/mo. TD offers a similar service, but the cross-border service is not instant, and you have to call someone to use it.

 

[deweysmith]

If you do hold a US card with no extra f/x fee and the conversion from CAD to USD for each transaction is right around the market rate, then there should be no issue using it here. However this should be dependent on being able to pay the US credit card balance each month directly from your Canadian account. If you must pay the account from a US bank account, then that would involve you to first convert your CAD to USD to fund your US bank acct, in which case you would lose money.

Also if paying the US credit card directly from a Canadian bank account, just make sure that the credit card is applying the same currency exchange rate on purchases that they do with payments. Some companies treat debit and credit exchanges differently (not sure about credit cards though).

I hold the additional advantage of having an American job that continues to pay me in USD.

 

[OntarioBound]

With the 2 main Canadian credit cards I use, I get 2 points for every dollar spent (so a 2% rewards) on my main card (as well as loads of insurance and price protection features) as well as $100 worth of points every single year on my anniversary date, and then on my secondary card I get 4% back in points just on gas and groceries.
Are the US cards that much better?

If you do hold a US card with no extra f/x fee and the conversion from CAD to USD for each transaction is right around the market rate, then there should be no issue using it here. However this should be dependent on being able to pay the US credit card balance each month directly from your Canadian account. If you must pay the account from a US bank account, then that would involve you to first convert your CAD to USD to fund your US bank acct, in which case you would lose money.

Also if paying the US credit card directly from a Canadian bank account, just make sure that the credit card is applying the same currency exchange rate on purchases that they do with payments. Some companies treat debit and credit exchanges differently (not sure about credit cards though).

Which canadian credit cards do you have that give you 2 points for $1 if I may ask? That is exactly what I am looking for. US CapitalOne Venture card is what I use most now and Venture Card offers exactly that, and I can use the points for miles or for merchandise purchases/gift cards, and that's what I would love to have in Canada.

 

[Rob_TO]

Which canadian credit cards do you have that give you 2 points for $1 if I may ask? That is exactly what I am looking for. US CapitalOne Venture card is what I use most now and Venture Card offers exactly that, and I can use the points for miles or for merchandise purchases/gift cards, and that's what I would love to have in Canada.

My main card is the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite. It gives a 2% return but only only when you use the points for travel. They also no longer offer the $100 in annual anniversary points to new applicants (mine is grandfathered).

Then my secondary card is the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite. This gives a very nice 4% cash rewards on all my gas and grocery spending (so I only use it exclusively for these 2 items).

If you want a good all-around 2 pts per $1 cash card, then I would recommend the MBNA Rewards World Elite.

 

[Amalthea]

I kept my credit card through my small credit union, personally.

Through Northwest Community Credit Union, I have a credit card w/ a $7,500 limit, 10% interest, 1% foreign conversion fee (and right now the conversion rates from USD-CAD are pretty good.. 1 CAD = 0.79 USD give or take a few cents). And this is for someone who had meh/barely any credit..

That's about the best I'm gonna do. I was pretty shocked to see interest rates in Canada.

 

[OntarioBound]

I got a credit card with TD Bank last December (while still living in California at the time) and my limit was $1000. I hope I can get a better limit elsewhere but I don't know how they would give me much more without me having any kind of credits in Canada.

I use www.xe.com (no fee) to transfer money from my US bank into my personal account at TD that I opened last December... So if I use my TD card, I can pay off it without paying any fees.

Thank you, Rob. I will look into MBNA rewards. (I currently have 2 points for $1 for any type of purchases.)

 

[scylla]

I'm a huge fan of the TD First Class Visa. You earn travel dollars you can use on Expedia towards any travel purchase (air, hotel, car). There are no restrictions. You just apply your dollars to whatever you decide to buy through Expedia.

 

[deweysmith]

I use www.xe.com (no fee) to transfer money from my US bank into my personal account at TD that I opened last December... So if I use my TD card, I can pay off it without paying any fees.

Wow. Hadn't heard about xe.com, trying that out now. Thanks.

 

[OntarioBound]

Wow. Hadn't heard about xe.com, trying that out now. Thanks.

You are very welcome
It is very simple to use and the money is transferred in a few days time.
They have support with a live person (which I used initially when I couldn't figure out different transfer options.)