Credit Cards

[Meridian Visa] 4% cash back on G&G, 2% on Rx&PAP VISA card (First $25,000 in purchase)*No limited time

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Dec 3, 2017
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Like coolintheshade said Meridian hasn't officially launched its credit products outside of Ontario yet, so I doubt you'll be able to get their credit products outside of Ontario. The good news is, Meridian does allow anyone in Canada to open a bank account.

Personally I'd wait until the fall/winter when Meridian's new national bank is expected to launch (expect it to be like Alterna's Alterna Bank).
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batcave wrote: When you click through, it's show borrowing. Also, why would I get Meridian banner ads if I'm in BC?
No idea.
What I do know is, I get banner ads all the time for Coast Capital, and I’m not from BC.
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jacnel wrote: Like coolintheshade said Meridian hasn't officially launched its credit products outside of Ontario yet, so I doubt you'll be able to get their credit products outside of Ontario. The good news is, Meridian does allow anyone in Canada to open a bank account.

Personally I'd wait until the fall/winter when Meridian's new national bank is expected to launch (expect it to be like Alterna's Alterna Bank).
We will see I guess because I did click through the banner ad and apply for a card with my BC address.
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batcave wrote: We will see I guess because I did click through the banner ad and apply for a card with my BC address.
Hmm maybe they changed things but who knows Meridian is a bit strange with out of province customers it seems.
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jacnel wrote: Hmm maybe they changed things but who knows Meridian is a bit strange with out of province customers it seems.
It wasn’t long ago that @Kiraly applied for a Meridian credit card, and had to jump hoops as a non Ontario resident, just to obtain the card.
It may be different now, since Collabria is issuing the cards presently, instead of Cuet’s.
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coolintheshade wrote: It wasn’t long ago that @Kiraly applied for a Meridian credit card, and had to jump hoops as a non Ontario resident, just to obtain the card.
It may be different now, since Collabria is issuing the cards presently, instead of Cuet’s.
Let's hope. Collabria just checked my credit so maybe.
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I think the system automatically pulls credit, even if you aren't technically eligible. (It happened to me with an Alterna Savings card).
Banking: Alterna Bank (2.25%), Motive Financial (4.1%)
Investing: Qtrade Direct Investing
Spending: Scotia Amex Gold (6 pts/Sobeys, 5 pts/dining, 1 pts/rest), Scene Visa (1 pts)
Mobile: Eastlink 20GB Rollover ($39/mth)
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joshnet wrote: I think the system automatically pulls credit, even if you aren't technically eligible. (It happened to me with an Alterna Savings card).
alterna bank or cu?? so confusing yeah lol
Give me a J. I'm a maniac and an African expert.
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batcave wrote: Let's hope. Collabria just checked my credit so maybe.
You’ll receive an email when approved, at least I did 6 hours after applying for the Mortgage Alliance credit card.
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dekvitaly wrote: alterna bank or cu?? so confusing yeah lol
Alterna Savings is the CU, Alterna Bank is the bank subsidiary. Alterna Bank does not have credit cards.
Banking: Alterna Bank (2.25%), Motive Financial (4.1%)
Investing: Qtrade Direct Investing
Spending: Scotia Amex Gold (6 pts/Sobeys, 5 pts/dining, 1 pts/rest), Scene Visa (1 pts)
Mobile: Eastlink 20GB Rollover ($39/mth)
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joshnet wrote: Alterna Savings is the CU, Alterna Bank is the bank subsidiary. Alterna Bank does not have credit cards.
Surprisingly, Alterna Bank is actually much better for a savings account.
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Manatus wrote: Surprisingly, Alterna Bank is actually much better for a savings account.
That's always irked me about Alterna, your members are the ones you're supposed to be answering to, so why are you giving random customers better rates over your members who own the company.
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joshnet wrote: Alterna Savings is the CU, Alterna Bank is the bank subsidiary. Alterna Bank does not have credit cards.
Alterna Bank used to have credit cards, it was an MBNA Mastercard with an Alterna Branding, they dropped it when Alterna switched providers last year.
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I got an email today with the approval for the Visa card! They also made me open a bank account to become a member (does that make sense?). It is all good though because there is a $100 WB for a high interest savings account with $1000 deposit. Face With Tears Of Joy Face With Stuck-out Tongue And Tightly-closed Eyes
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batcave wrote: I got an email today with the approval for the Visa card! They also made me open a bank account to become a member (does that make sense?). It is all good though because there is a $100 WB for a high interest savings account with $1000 deposit. Face With Tears Of Joy Face With Stuck-out Tongue And Tightly-closed Eyes
Yes you must be a member to get a credit card at any Ontario credit union. Provincial law. Membership at Meridian and opening deposit accounts there at has been open to all Canadians for quite some time. It's just the credit card that was restricted to Ontario residents (they were never explicit about that.)

I'm glad to hear you were approved for the card without having an Ontario address. Hopefully we start hearing about more non-Ontarians getting the card.
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Kiraly wrote: Yes you must be a member to get a credit card at any Ontario credit union. Provincial law. Membership at Meridian and opening deposit accounts there at has been open to all Canadians for quite some time. It's just the credit card that was restricted to Ontario residents (they were never explicit about that.)

I'm glad to hear you were approved for the card without having an Ontario address. Hopefully we start hearing about more non-Ontarians getting the card.
Thanks. I was expecting a reject letter but this is a better than expected result.

Everyone should apply for all of their cards! Face With Stuck-out Tongue And Winking Eye
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OK, I just had a very weird experience trying to verify whether non-Manitoba residents can apply for the card.

I called the toll-free Meridian number and got into their automated CSR system, which didn't really have any options for people calling who want to know about the card. I finally pressed the button for people who have questions "about their Meridian Visa card", figuring that was as close as I'd get. I wound up talking to a Collabria CSR who was absolutely useless and inept, and who couldn't answer my question. I called the toll-free Meridian number back and simply pressed 0, which got me to a Meridian operator. I asked her about whether I could apply as an Alberta resident for a Meridian Visa card, or whether I had to be a resident of Manitoba. She had to put me on hold to ask. When she came back 5 minutes later, she said "OK, so I asked, and you have to be a Meridian member to apply for the card. Once you're a member, you'll need to submit a copy of the front and back of your driver's licence."

I love when people provide an answer to a question that doesn't answer the question that was asked. I asked again: "So, am I able to become a Meridian member and apply for the Visa card if I'm a resident of Alberta, not Manitoba?" She said yes, but didn't seem all that confident or sure about saying it. I then tried to helpfully prompt her by saying, "Thanks, that's good to know, because there's been some confusion online as to whether non-Manitoba residents are able to apply for the credit card, so I'm glad to hear that confirmation that we can." I was hoping she'd say something helpful, but instead she just kind of mumbled "yeah", and that was that.

So the answer to whether non-Manitoba residents can apply for the Visa card is: supposedly. As an aside, I'm already very wary of the customer service I'd be getting if I got the card. Aside from the slightly bizarre conversation I had with the Meridian CSR, she also answered the phone while talking to someone else, in a totally unprofessional way.
Last edited by canadave on Aug 22nd, 2018 1:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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batcave wrote: I got an email today with the approval for the Visa card! They also made me open a bank account to become a member (does that make sense?). It is all good though because there is a $100 WB for a high interest savings account with $1000 deposit. Face With Tears Of Joy Face With Stuck-out Tongue And Tightly-closed Eyes
Did they make you open the bank account before they issued you the approval for the card? Or did they approve you for the card, conditional on you having to open a bank account?
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canadave wrote: I love when people provide an answer to a question that doesn't answer the question that was asked. I asked again: "So, am I able to become a Meridian member and apply for the Visa card if I'm a resident of Alberta, not Manitoba?"
I'd probably be confused if you asked me that too, considering that Meridian is an Ontario credit union.
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canadave wrote: Did they make you open the bank account before they issued you the approval for the card? Or did they approve you for the card, conditional on you having to open a bank account?
They did for me. I wasn't a member when I applied for the card. After not hearing back I called in and they said I needed to be a member. So I opened an account and became one. After that they still stonewalled me for not living in Ontario, but after I put up a big fight about it they caved and gave me the card. This was 5 months ago.

They won't give you a credit card if you are not a member. Under Ontario law, Ontario credit unions can lend money only to members.

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