BluebirdUK

Recently moved to Toronto on work permit and opened a bank account with TD. Was told the only way to have a credit card is to put a secured deposit. I find this idea silly when I compare it to the UK system where no such thing exists. I am trying to build a credit history but without a CC that is not possible. Any idea how to get an unsecured credit card?
Ps I tried Carandian Tire MasterCard with C$200 limit (what a joke!!)

withabix

TFW credit card limits are notoriously low.

Change your bank. Scotiabank will probably at least give you a massive $500 limit, unsecured. I have a Scotia credit card and this appears on the same screen as my checking account when I log in. Paying takes seconds. I can do $000s a month but still only have a $500 limit...

Did you have an Amex in the UK? If so, get it converted to a Canadian one.

Use the Canadian Tire mastercard - that's a start. Just pay the balance every time you get home from shopping.

Try getting an HBC (Hudson's Bay) credit card as well.

But don't apply for them all at once - space them out by a month or so!

Dashie

We did the secured card. It's no big deal really. I believe you used to be able to get an unsecured card with Citi with no credit score for about $200, but the annual fee on it was stupid. I'd rather have a secured card with money that stays mine (they just put it in a savings account in your name, they don't take it from you) and then regain access to it in 6-12 months. Probably easiest to start your credit history that way.

orly

Canadian banks are a bit more stable and profitable than UK ones though.

colchar

Since you are new to the country you don't have a credit history here. Without a credit history, they want some guarantee that the bills will be paid so ask for a security deposit. While a hassle, it isn't completely unreasonable for them to do this.

withabix

At the moment.

Wait for the property crash.

(Allegedly)

Jimbo2012

We had a similar problem and ended up taking out a secured credit card with Capital One (Mastercard). It's not an ideal solution but it helped us build our credit history here and we were soon eligible for unsecured cards.

The fact that you may have had a shiny credit history in the UK matters not one iota here. It is very much a case of starting from scratch.

Jimbo2012

We tried this. What a hassle! Amex Canada are very stringent and wanted us to jump through hoops to get a Canadian card e.g. notorised documents from GPs etc; despite us being in very good standing with Amex when we left the UK.

withabix

Seems strange. We just had to get a letter signed by my employer iirc.

Did you cancel your UK Amex first - if so that was a mistake.

Jimbo2012

No, didn't cancel it. Still have it in fact and use it occasionally e.g. Costco!

SchnookoLoly

There's another thread going that's still active on the same topic, worth a read: http://britishexpats.com/forum/canad...comers-838887/

joinerboy

Same for me when I opened an Amex account in Canada had to get docs notarized by GP, worth the hassle I feel as they gave me a good limit straight off the bat shortly after arrival and feel it helped me establish a good credit rating in Canada. Also found Scotia good as well have 2 CC cards with them now both with combined high limits. A good credit rating can take time to establish in Canada but cell phone accounts etc and small lines of credit to start off with will help improve your rating provided they are paid on time of course :-)

scrubbedexpat091

Takes time to build credit, and can't expect a large limit off the bat. Try RBC though, they heavily advertise to new immigrants with no credit history for their Visa card, but don't apply to too much as each inquiry lowers your score a bit, stays around for 2 or 3 years, and may appear to lenders your desperate for credit.

Since you have a card, just use it with the low limit, show your responsible and in time they will increase it.

200-500 seems the norm with everyone I know when it came to their first card, unless they had a really high income or savings which helps of course since banks see customers with money more useful and in turn more willing to provide what the customer wants.

scrubbedexpat091

Which cell companies report to credit agencies? None I have used did, unless of course it goes to collections. (Bell, Virgin, and Telus)

izzi81

We went to RBC and each got an unsecured $1000 credit card. I would shop around, one of the big banks should give you one without requiring the security...