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Email this11:50 am
February 17, 2013
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Nehpets said
Rick,
We happen to own a snowbird property in the U.S. so a U.S. based account is essential for admin purposes.
The U.S. based account is funded by EFT from my Canadian based TD $USD account.
U.S. funds are purchased periodically when the rate is favorable and deposited in Hubert's $USD HISA, then EFT transferred to TD, as outlined above.
I do believe that Royal Bank has affiliated banks in the U.S. even after the failure of their own U.S. holdings a few years ago, as well as BMO with their Harris Bank subsidiary.
However, I don't know if any other Canadian bank has as seamless a cross border banking protocol as TD has at this time.
Stephen
Thanx for the explanation Stephen. I can see how it would be a necessity to have a US based account if I owned property down there. Seems a little overkill for cross-border shopping though.
2:17 pm
December 12, 2009
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Save2Retire@55 said
That's actually a great idea. Just doing some more research before applying. There is a discussion on reddit and seems they reject so many applications for no real reasons. Some people even reported 800+ score but still got rejected.
For the Home Trust Preferred Visa or a different credit card issuer?
Key Takeaways:
- Use parent's address, if they still live there and if you previously used it as a residential and/or mailing address in the last, say, 6 years (so it'd still be on your credit bureau)
- Ensure all of your pertinent identity and demographic information is the same (i.e., date of birth, first and last names, middle name if on your credit bureau, etc. - sometimes they'll give you an option to specify a "display name" anyway for embossed "name on card")
- Ensure you accurately enter your current, and previous, employment information as well as income information as may be required
- Enter all of your spouse's ID and income information as may be required, likely not address if a sole account and she's just to be an "authorized user"
You should then be fine.
Basically, Quebec consumer protection laws are likely at play here (specifically, a separate rule that requires credit card companies to offer an interest-free grace period for all purchases if the minimum payment is paid on time, even if you don't pay it off in full, and also in terms of when or under what circumstances annual fees may be charged). So, legally, they can't actively market to Quebec residents but, likely, Quebec law can't prohibit them from doing business with existing customers, either. 
Related: I know of people who created bank accounts with PC Financial banking pavilions in Ottawa even though they lived in Gatineau, QC, for instance, and they just updated their address to Gatineau online.
Cheers,
Doug
5:10 pm
October 22, 2015
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The one really handy thing about the Amazon Visa was that you could prepay to a negative balance and then do a cash advance in a foreign country. This allows you to get the best possible exchange rate.
Do any of the cards suggested above allow you to do this?
Thanks in advance!
5:22 pm
December 17, 2016
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Well, the problem with prepaying the credit card for a foreign trip, is the amount to prepay so the cash advance doesn't cost the big "loan" percentage.
5:27 pm
October 22, 2015
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We usually prepay 1K and then figure out the pesos so that it is less than the 1K Canadian, therefore avoiding the cash advance huge loan interest.
Amazon also had no foreign exchange fee, whereas the Rogers Mastercard has 2.5%, which the started October 2016. It is going to be really hard to replace that Amazon card!
5:34 pm
December 17, 2016
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So you don't use your credit card to made purchases when you're travelling ONLY to save on the cash advance - what is it just a 3-4 day trip?
6:17 pm
December 12, 2009
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fabafter50 said
The one really handy thing about the Amazon Visa was that you could prepay to a negative balance and then do a cash advance in a foreign country. This allows you to get the best possible exchange rate.
Do any of the cards suggested above allow you to do this?
Thanks in advance!
Most should but more and more cards are charging fees for cash advance and quasi-cash transactions on credit cards, including if you have a credit balance on the credit card and also including convenience cheques. Or did you mean net of any fees, it was still cheaper versus an FX fee?
Cheers,
Doug
5:13 am
October 22, 2015
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Top It Up said
So you don't use your credit card to made purchases when you're travelling ONLY to save on the cash advance - what is it just a 3-4 day trip?
It was a three week trip. We have a MBNA cash back card and saved up the cash back rewards all year so we had 3K to spend on restaurants, shopping etc by putting those purchases on that card. The pesos are for the places that don't take CC's. By doing this there is no FX fee and the rate you get on exchange is the best.
Or was, need to find a new card that works like the Amazon.
1:03 am
May 3, 2015
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Top It Up said
I guess I'm missing something in the calculation - with the Fido card you pay a 2.5% Fx fee and get 4.0% back on Fx purchases which means "you basically end up saving $15 for every $1000 you spend on it" and NOT the $40 / $1000 you suggest - correct? or is my math bad?
Seems to me you'd be better off with the Home Trust Preferred Visa where you DON'T pay a 2.5% Fx fee which means "you basically end up saving $25 for every $1000 you spend on it" - correct? or is my math STILL bad?
What I said in my post was this: "Compared to a regular 2.5% forex card, you basically end up saving $40 for every $1000 you spend on it." I didn't say Fido would give you $40 back.
What I meant was this: on XYZ Bank's 2.5% forex card, you'd pay $25 extra for every $1000 spent, which you'd never get back.
With Fido, you pay 2.5% forex, but then you get 4% cash back.
Out of this 4%, 2.5% cancels out the forex fee, so that's where your $25 in savings come from. Then you get additional 1.5% (or $15) in cash back. $25+$15=$40.
So, compared to a user of an XYZ Bank card, you end up having extra $40 in your pocket for every $1000 spent.
Is that not $40 in savings?
11:29 am
December 12, 2009
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Again, like anything, it depends on the context, which in this case would be the anticipated sundry holiday spending amount.
For those that prepay and prefer to take cash, the Fido MasterCard make not be ideal. 😉
Cheers,
Doug
12:40 pm
October 21, 2013
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It's actually still quite a good card, even for domestic spending, if your main issue is cashback , especially for those who do not have 120K incomes and don't qualify for some other cards.
Does anyone know if Rogers has a firm minimum income?
2:44 pm
August 9, 2014
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Roger bank appears to have a firm minimum income as I am rejected twice despite I pay my bill on time every time.
On another note, the Fido credit card is perfect for Costco as its 1.5% cashback exceed most other MasterCard. 
.
3:48 pm
May 20, 2016
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I applied for Fido MasterCard last night, and received an approval email this morning.
5:39 pm
October 21, 2013
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Jon said
Roger bank appears to have a firm minimum income as I am rejected twice despite I pay my bill on time every time.On another note, the Fido credit card is perfect for Costco as its 1.5% cashback exceed most other MasterCard.
Jon, are you still a student? Perhaps that's the issue?
2:22 pm
February 20, 2013
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Top It Up said
I guess I'm missing something in the calculation - with the Fido card you pay a 2.5% Fx fee and get 4.0% back on Fx purchases which means "you basically end up saving $15 for every $1000 you spend on it" and NOT the $40 / $1000 you suggest - correct? or is my math bad?
Seems to me you'd be better off with the Home Trust Preferred Visa where you DON'T pay a 2.5% Fx fee which means "you basically end up saving $25 for every $1000 you spend on it" - correct? or is my math STILL bad?
AND you don't have to call Home Trust every year to convert points to dollars - correct?
Don't forget to consider the 1% back from the Home Trust card. Considering everything, the Fido card gives you an extra $5 back ( $15 for Fido or $10 for Home on a $1000 transaction). If you are not a Fido customer, the inconvenience of the annual phone call for a statement credit may not be worth it depending on your spending level?
2:45 pm
February 20, 2013
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Doug said
This was most likely JPMorgan Chase Bank's slow, multi-year exit of retail banking and consumer credit cards in Canada, including dissolving several banking subsidiaries, much like Bank of America is also doing but somewhat further along. As such, I expect the same to happen to the Marriott Rewards Visa as well, if it hasn't already.
Chase is no longer accepting applications for the Marriott Rewards card and it will end on March 15, 2018 just like the Amazon Card.
Marriott Card Information
2:53 pm
May 15, 2007
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Apparently a new Marriott card is coming soon: https://insiders.marriottrewards.com/thread/51907
No idea whether it will also waive the foreign exchange fee.
4:38 pm
December 12, 2009
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My bet is that'll be a big fat no. 🙂
Probably Capital One or American Express will land Marriott. Looks like American Express for sure, since they already issue the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card plus other travel cards. Likely just be a "skinned" version of the SPG Amex card with the Marriott Rewards name on it and be linked to the Marriott Rewards program; fees and charges should be the same though. 🙂
Cheers,
Doug
7:54 am
May 15, 2007
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The update from Marriott today was rather useless: "With change comes new adventures, and we're here to reassure you that exciting news is on the horizon! We will be reaching out in the coming weeks with more information."
I'll create a separate thread or drop a quick note in this one if anything interesting comes up from the Marriott card at a later date.
9:33 am
December 12, 2009
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Sure, sounds good...feel free to move any posts subsequent to your above post (including this reply), if you wish, to a new thread with any development(s). 🙂
Cheers,
Doug
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