veryfunny

Suggestion for the owner of this website. Would it not be good if you could get some of these banks representatives in one room and tell them about this site and explain to them that the are missing out on so many future customers that are expats that need to establish credit?

Scarlett-Dallas

Not true. I had heard this but experience has proved otherwise. I got my credit report yesterday and was shocked to discover it showed me (only a second card user on my hubbie's Providian card) as having revolving credit in the amount on his card with Providian. It's been reported ever since he got the account - it was all their in my credit report and helped give me a decent credit score.

Regards
-=-
Scarlett

scrubbedexpat099

I think the problem is that the numbers involved are not significant in US terms.

And as so much is done on a state by state basis the numbers become even smaller.

There is a tendancy also to lump all Immigrants into the 'latino' category, I was reading, the bits I could, a newspaper in Spanish in the local Doctors waiting room and there are services, credit unions etc targeted in Colorado at this community. But we are talking about a million or so (in Colorado) potential customers.

If you watch Little Britain, we fall more into the Daffyd category.

When it comes down to it it is just a question of time for the majority to be assimilated by the system.

BTW my 20 year old step son said his FICO was something like 670, I had assumed that he would be down in single numbers with me and the Dog. Seems like not defaulting on Student loans also helps, well he has little else in his name other than a Credit Union account. That is after 18 months, he finished his schooling in the UK before coming here for Uni.

PS I may be being unfair to the Dog, she is US born, USD?, and 11 years old so probably has a much higher score than me.

austin_d_powers

Try: WWW.CITIBANK.COM

choose United Kingdom in country dropdown.

This is a very large US bank, but seems to operate in the UK too
(you can get a UK credit card from them).

Maybe they will just transfer the UK card to a US card when you move to the USA.

I believe you need a SSN in the US before you can get credit as everthing is based on your SSN.

BritGuyTN

Did you have ANY other credit in your own name? - If yes, then what I said is completely true. If that providian card is the ONLY account of any kind on your report then I will gadly accept your correction

Scarlett-Dallas

Hi,

I do have other credit NOW but I didn't up to 2 months ago. This is the first time I've looked at my report, but it says it has tracked 14 months of Providian, and I've only had the auto loan for two months. I got approved for a credit card this week, but obviously that's not showing yet. Before two months ago, no other credit.

So are you saying before I got the auto loan, the Providian thing wouldn't have shown up? I guess it's possible, but they do show it as having been tracked for much longer than we've had the auto loan. And also, under credit record it shows me as having a record for 14 months. That should say 2 months if being a second user on my husband's card didn't count.

The whole thing's weird to me. But it obviously has done something for my credit history, even if that something is simply extending the history by a year when I finally got credit of my own - something which affects the FICO score and the interest rates you're offered. All I'm saying is, it seems like it was worth it for me. It doesn't cost anything.

Also, I just found out with Providian, you can see your FICO score online on their site anytime for free. I don't work for them - I PROMISE!



Regards
-=-
Scarlett

fatbrit

Providian Rip Off Reports 2004

Providian Sucks

I Hate Providian Financial

BritGuyTN

Thats exactly what i'm saying - your husbands card doesn't track on your account - it tracks on his... but as soon as you get credit in your own name - you get ALL of his history on the relavent card

for example - i was an authorised user on my wifes card for six months and my credit report was either unable to be pulled or blank (depending on the bureau)

as soon as i got a secured card the it magically appeared, along with 3 years of history (despite being in the country for only 6 months)

it is weird, and getting on as an authorised user is very cool if you are in the position to be able to - it will very positivey impact your fico score.

two things to bear in mind though

1) if the primary card holder goes above 40-50% utilisaton on that account and you have limited other revolving accounts then your fico score will take a massive hit (until the money is repaid)

2) with applications that are manually reviewed, athough the score will be high, there is a strong likelihood of being rejected as credit in your own name will be of a limited duration - for example disocver and mbna rejected me despite a fico of 730 for this reason


BTW i have a providian card and have had no problems.... they have been the first lender to give me a card with a reasonable limit (greater than $1000) and their on-line stuff is cool

anotherlimey

I came to the US in March 2004. First I had to get a SSN before I could open any bank account and all your credit is tied to that number, so you can't apply for credit until you have it.

One phonecall plus signing a form was all it took for me to get a US AMEX card equivalent to my UK AMEX card. If you're about to move to the US from the UK it's well worth getting an AMEX card before you leave the UK so you can do this.

I first opened a bank account at Citibank but I've now realised my error as they have got my address wrong twice on my credit report (It seems that every time you open a new account your address is updated on your credit report) and they activated my debit card before I even received it.

So now I've moved to Washington Mutual, they offered me a secured credit card but I turned it down for the time being as I have already got a US AMEX and I bought a car on finance from CarMax.

A word of warning if you're going to buy a car, don't bother explaining your situation to the sales people, they don't understand what is required for an immigrant to get credit, they will always tell you not to worry about it. It's true you'll get credit but it will be some ridiculous APR.

After visiting a few new car dealers I decided it wasn't worth paying anywhere between 7-11% on a new $25000 car, so I went to CarMax and bought a six month old Mitsubishi Galant for $11000. The APR was still high at just under 13% ( :scared: ) but I'll refinance in 6 to 12 months to get a better rate. CarMax know what is required for an immigrant to get finance, in fact they have a specific 'Immigrant Loan' from CarMax Finance.

-tom

scrubbedexpat099

Ouch, just a thought but it might be better to get a loan whilst still in the UK, there is the currency risk on the repayments but not too much of an issue for something you are going to pay off quickly.

anotherlimey

Forgot to mention, I may refinance through lendingtree.com. My future mother-in-law knew someone in the same position as me, he bought a car through CarMax with a 13% APR then refinanced through lendingtree 6 months later and got 6.5%.

However I was wondering whether or not each lending tree lender runs a credit check, it may hurt my score if too many do it.

-tom

fatbrit

If you have multiple credit enquiries for the same sort of loan (e.g. 3 enquiries for an auto loan ) within a very short period of time, it should - in theory - only ding your score once. They assume you are just shopping for the best deal. This does not hold true for CC enquiries. Also, note that the depth of the ding depends on your Fico score at the time. Somebody with a good, solid score will get a minimal ding and vice versa.

Minty

Thought I would share the latest on this credit history thing.

I went into my bank today (HSBC) and asked about opening an account in the US as they have some branches over there. They have special forms which you can complete which acts as a formal introuction to the US side. Of course, the UK end have their own credit rating on you (out of 100) and of course how long you have held the account.

Apparently you can open up a US account in the UK so it is all set up prior to the move. They can even help arrange a credit card which would help to build a credit score.

If you are luck enough to have enough income and/or assets with the bank (£75k inc a year or more) then you will be eligible for a Personal Banker. In effect this means that just about verything is automatic but the big plus is that you take your UK credit rating with you!

Seems that if you bank with a UK bank that has branches in the US, its well worth talking to them to see what they offer. I was really pleased with what I heard today and have already started the process of opening a US nack acount now!

Minty

scrubbedexpat099

The Bank account is not a problem but it has no impact on your FICO score (unless they give you a loan)

Getting a US Credit Card however does help, I tried with my UK Credit Cards but had no joy, sounds like if you have a HSBC account you may be lucky.

Let us know what happens.

And this does not transfer your UK credit history, but a US credit card is a good start.

Minty

This is what the HSBC web site says if you have their HSBC Premier account -

"I you are moving to live or work abroad, we'll set up your accounts in your new country; provide you with access to credit facilities at a similar level to those you enjoy in your home country; and introduce you to a dedicated relationship manager to guide you every step of the way."

"When you move abroad, getting access to credit facilities is not always easy. HSBC Premier International Services allows your credit history to follow you within the HSBC Group. This means you'll have the security of knowing you'll have access to credit facilities such as loans and credit cards at a similar level to those you enjoy in your home country."