USD Bank Accounts and Credit Cards

[qbacreative]

good info!

 

[FigmentSpark]

BMO offers up to 20 accounts for one price a month. So if you were doing all your banking with them, having one or two USD accounts would cost no more than having none. Their USD Mastercard is I think $35 a year, but that is waived if you spend at least $1000 on it in the calendar year.

 

[qbacreative]

Thanks that info FigmentSpark!

 

[Grandstander1]

We used the BMO US$ MC for a long time. We always covered the 1000$ with Disney cruise bookings. We have dropped the card because we got a card with a better deal (my wife works for a competing bank). Were this not the case we would still have it

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just got my Rogers' World Elite statement. As of June 2, they are changing the perks from 4% to 3% and they will be requiring an annual spend of $15000 a year to keep the card (or be downgraded to something else).

 

[FigmentSpark]

These are the Rogers/Fido changes:

Fido Mastercard:



Rogers Platinum Mastercard:



Rogers World Elite Mastercard:




For more details:
https://rogersbank.com/en/changes

 

[bankr63]

So it will be over a year from now before we drop down from Elite to Platinum, and since the only reason I have the card is to reduce my Forex to zero effectively, then the Platinum card will do just fine for me. Yes, I won't be getting any real cash back, but the 3% is still better than the 2.5% forex. Might feel differently if I actually used the benefits, but we use PC for all our household purchases in Canada as it gets us thousands of $$ off groceries per year.
I guess I will miss the dropping of the cash back on ALL foreign currency the next time we head down to Mexico, but in the age of COVID I have no idea when that might be.

 

[Queenjacko]

Finally figured out the RBC US thing to pay my DVC dues. Made a Canadian cross boarder savings account and also made a US RBC account (based out of Georgia) so I can transfer USD from one to the other with no fees. They are also sending me an American debit card which will be handy to withdraw American spending money while I am on vacation. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction with this thread y’all.

 

[minnie56]

Finally figured out the RBC US thing to pay my DVC dues. Made a Canadian cross boarder savings account and also made a US RBC account (based out of Georgia) so I can transfer USD from one to the other with no fees. They are also sending me an American debit card which will be handy to withdraw American spending money while I am on vacation. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction with this thread y’all.

RBC also have a USD Visa based out of the US that’s handy ..

 

[bfost87]

RBC also have a USD Visa based out of the US that’s handy ..

It sure is! I used it as my first US card, now I’ve for a few other US AMEX cards as well

 

[VGF-Home]

Is it possible for Canadians to get the Disney Visa card. I am interested in this credit card not for the points but because it gives discounts off meals and merchandise at Disney. I purchased my DVC second hand and as such do not get the same discounts as members that purchased directly from disney.

 

[efrant]

Is it possible for Canadians to get the Disney Visa card. I am interested in this credit card not for the points but because it gives discounts off meals and merchandise at Disney. I purchased my DVC second hand and as such do not get the same discounts as members that purchased directly from disney.

It is, but it is not an easy or quick process.

You need to have:

1) a U.S. address
2) a SSN or ITIN
3) at least one year of U.S. credit history

 

[Dmbpjfan]

It is, but it is not an easy or quick process.

You need to have:

1) a U.S. address
2) a SSN or ITIN
3) at least one year of U.S. credit history

I got the disney chase visa in January and it was painless. I went with the no annual fee. I have a us address, used my Canadian sin and the only us credit I have is a target card that I’ve had since 2012

 

[efrant]

I got the disney chase visa in January and it was painless. I went with the no annual fee. I have a us address, used my Canadian sin and the only us credit I have is a target card that I’ve had since 2012

If you used your Canadian SIN, then you are essentially using someone else's credit profile. Canadian SINs are the same format as U S. SSNs, but that doesn't mean you can use them on U.S. credit applications. The U.S. credit card issuer has no idea that it's a SIN and not a SSN/ITIN. Now, your name is attached to a SSN that may belong to someone else, or that may not have been assigned yet. It's akin to someone using your SIN here in Canada to open a new credit account.

 

[bfost87]

It is, but it is not an easy or quick process.

You need to have:

1) a U.S. address
2) a SSN or ITIN
3) at least one year of U.S. credit history

Confirmed. It’s not easy. I have a US address, a US SSN, and have more than 2 years of credit history (including 5 cards over 3 different companies), and I’ve been unable to crack Chase.

 

[efrant]

Confirmed. It’s not easy. I have a US address, a US SSN, and have more than 2 years of credit history (including 5 cards over 3 different companies), and I’ve been unable to crack Chase.

I got lucky and managed to get a first card with them after a year's worth of credit history. Had three other credit cards at the time of application (Amex, RBC Bank, TD Bank). What I've seen (from others who've had difficulty) that helps in getting approved is opening a checking account with them (and remember that Chase won't approve you for any credit card if you've opened more than four credit cards in the past 24 months). I've gotten several Chase cards since then. I still plan to get a Disney card, but it's last on my list. (Although it would be cool to pull out a Disney card from my wallet, I find I get much more value from their other cards).

 

[Canadian Tom]

We have a TD boarderless Account that also includes a TD Visa card in US funds. It $4.95 per month if the balance in the Boarderless account drops below $3,000. So if you keep minimum balance of $3,000 us in the account it's free. Canadian Tom

 

[ABCanada]

Any update on available no FX fee credit cards?

We moved to the HSBC card after Chase exited the Canadian market. (Loved HSBC and their card). Now with the sale of the HSBC Canadian operation to RBC looks like we will need to find a new no FX fee credit card.

Any suggestions on what makes the most sense these days? We need for USD and currencies other than USD. We have lounge access on another card so that is not a must. (We were not that thrilled with the Dragon Pass that MC moved to)

 

[yowcruiser]

Any update on available no FX fee credit cards?

We moved to the HSBC card after Chase exited the Canadian market. (Loved HSBC and their card). Now with the sale of the HSBC Canadian operation to RBC looks like we will need to find a new no FX fee credit card.

Any suggestions on what makes the most sense these days? We need for USD and currencies other than USD. We have lounge access on another card so that is not a must. (We were not that thrilled with the Dragon Pass that MC moved to)

The options remain fairly limited:

"Free" cards are:
Home Trust Preferred Visa (no FX and 1% rewards on CAD purchases)
MBNA Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard (provides 2.5% rewards to Prime members, effectively offsetting the FX fee)
BRIM Mastercard (no FX and 1% rewards)
Rogers World Elite Mastercard: US FX offset (3% rewards, 2.5% FX)

Cards with annual fees
BRIM World Elite Mastercard ($199, 2% rewards)
Scotiabank Visa Passport Infinite ($150, 1-2% rewards)
Scotiabank Gold American Express ($120, 1-6% rewards)

 

[efrant]

Any update on available no FX fee credit cards?

We moved to the HSBC card after Chase exited the Canadian market. (Loved HSBC and their card). Now with the sale of the HSBC Canadian operation to RBC looks like we will need to find a new no FX fee credit card.

Any suggestions on what makes the most sense these days? We need for USD and currencies other than USD. We have lounge access on another card so that is not a must. (We were not that thrilled with the Dragon Pass that MC moved to)

It's pretty difficult to replace the HSBC World Elite MasterCard. It was a great card for a net $49 annual fee. Rumour is that when it gets transitioned to an RBC card, it will maintain its no-FTF feature, but we'll see how that pans out.

The only other options in Canada that give you any kind of rewards and do not charge a FTF fee are:

1) Scotiabank Gold Amex (6% cashback at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland; 5% cashback at other grocery stores, restaurants and entertainment; 3% on gas, transit and streaming; 1% on everything else; 1% on non-CAD transactions regardless of category; $120 annual fee).

2) Soctiabank Passport Visa Infinite (3% cashback at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland; 2% cashback at other grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment and transit; 1% cashback on everything else; 6 lounge passes; $150 annual fee)

3) Brim World Elite MasterCard (2% cashback on all purchases up to $25,000/year and 1% after that; $199 annual fee)

4) Brim MasterCard (1% cashback on all purchases; $0 annual fee)