O/T: Amex Credit Card
 

Hey all,

I recently applied for an Amex Card here in Canada. I should be recieving it soon.
The reason behind it all is that elusive "bad credit transfers, good credit doesn't"
bit. I heard from a poster that certain cards, such as Amex, will allow you to switch
over to a US account once you're working and have a SSN, thus also transferring your
credit (somewhat - either the credit attained so far via the Amex card, or your
complete credit history) history as well. I want to make sure I have some decent
credit as I will eventually (by next summer) want to purchase a used SUV for myself
and will obviously need a small loan to cover the cost. My wife said it was no
problem for her to cosign for me, or place my name on one of her credit cards,
however I never like to place the weight of a loan on someone else's shoulders,
weather it be my wife, or any other family member.

Question then is, will I be able to go the Amex route? If so, how would I go about
doing this, and what are the min requirements? If not, guess I got an Amex card for
nothing :-P

This brings a small sub-topic to mind: My wife is worried that by sponsoring me for
the K-3, and if my AOS takes over a year or so, that she won't be able to get any
school or government loans to go to university until I'm a full fledged citizen (so
she's worried it would be 5 years or more until she could attend university). Is this
true? She says she has "sources" that have gone through immigration as well before,
and said thier spouse couldn't apply for any federal grants or loans because that
would "void" the affidavit agreement. I don't know what to think, and I'd imagine
someone in this group went through both this experience, and my current credit card
experience, so I turned to the faithful NG for support :)

Thanks all,

-Ev

Re: O/T: Amex Credit Card
 

    > I recently applied for an Amex Card here in Canada. I should be recieving it soon.
    > The reason behind it all is that elusive "bad credit transfers, good credit
    > doesn't" bit. I heard from a poster that certain cards, such as Amex, will allow
    > you to switch over to a US account once you're working and have a SSN, thus also
    > transferring your credit

Only charge cards. Apparently it's illegal for them to do this with a credit card.

I have heard that if you give them permission they can check Canadian credit records.

    > This brings a small sub-topic to mind: My wife is worried that by sponsoring me for
    > the K-3, and if my AOS takes over a year or so, that she won't be able to get any
    > school or government loans to go to university until I'm a full fledged citizen (so
    > she's worried it would be 5 years or more until she could attend university). Is
    > this true?

*You* as the non-citizen would not be able to apply. As a citizen, she can apply for
herself. Part of the AOS is the sponsor guaranteeing that the non-citizen will not be
claiming money. It says nothing, AFAIK, about the citizen.

--
Hilary

Re: O/T: Amex Credit Card
 

Hi,
I've had an American Express card in England for some 15 years.
I wrote to them asking if they would either transfer my account to the US or at least transfer my credit rating.
The answer was a flat NO.
The only thing they did was send me a letter saying that I have had an Amex Gold card for xxxxx years, a totally useless piece of paper really.
They wouldn't even write that I have recently averaged in excess
of £1,000 pm and that I always pay on time.
Apparently it would have no "clout" when I get the the US.
My conclusion is that if Amex won't do it, it is virtually impossible.
So I'm resigned to buying a pair of socks in Sears, getting a store card, buying a pair every month, paying on time and building up my credit rating that way.
Unless anyone has any better suggestions.

A Useful Thread in the Expat Chat Forum
 

Evan,

If you haven't already noticed this, I started a thread about getting credit in the US. It's in the Expat Forum and is called Brit Trying to Establish US Credit History.

A lot of interesting responses have been made that may help you.

Regards,

Re: O/T: Amex Credit Card
 

Roger, would those be black socks to wear with shorts and sandals whilst at the sea? ;)
mo,
seen too many Englishmen attired just so on the Greek beaches

Re: O/T: Amex Credit Card
 

Hilary wrote:

    > *You* as the non-citizen would not be able to apply. As a citizen, she can apply
    > for herself. Part of the AOS is the sponsor guaranteeing that the non-citizen will
    > not be claiming money. It says nothing, AFAIK, about the citizen.

This is not correct. There is a difference between educational grants and loans and
so called means tested benefits. When applying for admission at a college it will
verify your status with the INS. Once this is done you can file for educational
assistance if you need it and if you qualify for it. The same is for loans. This is
by the way the same procedure for non citizens and citizens. Me and my husband are
that first hand examples as we both receive financial aid to pursue our education. I
(the non citizen) even receive a scholarship as that is not based on citizenship
(some scholarships are though). There is a list of means tested benefits that is
maintained by the INS and changes once in a while. Benefits on that list are mostly
long term assistance and can be found on the INS page:

http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee...les/i-864p.pdf

Those are not available when the affidavit of support is enforced.

hope this helps, Isa

Re: Amex Credit Card
 

D'oh!

I should have listened to my father in law about getting a BP card and then building
credit from that. But, I listened to my own thought and a personal friend's advice
instead. I figured those wouldn't work very well, and so I applied for the Amex
credit card. This is my own fault :-P

So, now I'm stuck with a credit card and not sure what to do with it (I hate using
them, I originally wanted to just build credit with one little by little). Should I
just get it, sit on it for a while, and cancel it? Or just keep it with me in the US?
I don't want to have both a credit card in Canada, and one in the US (eventually).

Re: O/T: Amex Credit Card
 

    > Hi, I've had an American Express card in England for some 15 years. I wrote to them
    > asking if they would either transfer my account to the US or at least transfer my
    > credit rating. The answer was a flat NO.

They will transfer a charge card account though, which may open the door a crack for
those wanting a credit rating. I've applied for mine :)

--
Hilary

Re: O/T: Amex Credit Card
 

Hi! I'm actor Troy McClure. You may remember me from such threads as 'Re: O/T: Amex
Credit Card' and 'rogerpenycate: tasty but deadly.'

    >Hi, I've had an American Express card in England for some 15 years. I wrote to them
    >asking if they would either transfer my account to the US or at least transfer my
    >credit rating. The answer was a flat NO

I had the opposite experience. I had an Amex *credit* card in the UK for I guess 3
years prior to arriving in the USA, and when I couldn't get a credit card anywhere
else due to my zero credit history in the USA, Amex gave me a US credit card with the
USD equivalent of my GBP
limit.

This was about two years ago by the way, maybe things are different now, but I would
say persevere and if the first phone droid says 'no,' call back and try another one.

Cheers,

Marco