Recently moved back to Canada, questions building credit history from scratch

sokolov wrote: ↑ Can you still get an Amex card in the country where you were until recently? Pick a nice one with first year free.

User it for half a year paying it off every month, then apply for a Global Transfer to Canada.

That will jumpstart your credit score and open doors to other credit cards. Everything else I know about is a long, tedious game.

Andreit wrote: ↑ What the banks told you is correct, you only qualify for newcomers packages if you are a permanent resident, foreign worker or international student who's been in Canada for less than 3 or 5 years depending on the institution. The only other reasons banks would issue an unsecured card without history is being a student.
Starting out with those cards is great. After you have at least 6 months of history and on time payments apply for a card with any bank, you might get a low limit (probably your everyday bank where you have your chequing account or savings will be more generous) but that will allow you to get rid of the capital one card (no need to pay a fee for that product) and start earning average rewards!

Viper87 wrote: ↑ Ah, that's a good idea. Since I don't have an address in the United States anymore, I wonder if I can use my parent's address to apply for it. I used to have an Amex many many years ago but I had closed it because I barely used it and it had an annual fee.

FightingInternet wrote: ↑ Assuming you have credit history in the US and an SSN, should be fine. You'd need to have it for 6 months and consistent usage before you can apply for Global Transfer. Might be tricky if all the purchases are in Canada, but you could mix that in with online purchases.

Viper87 wrote: ↑ Yeah, I definitely plan on getting rid of the capital one card as soon as I can get approved for a better card. My fiancee has excellent credit in Canada and has a TD Visa, BMO Mastercard, and Tangerine World Mastercard. I know if she adds me as an authorized user, it doesn't help my credit in Canada the way it does in the United States. Does anyone know if there is anything we can sign up for together where I can piggyback off of her credit?

Andreit wrote: ↑ An authorized user isn't reported here at all, so it wouldn't help. You guys could co-sign a credit card or a line of credit and it would report to both your files but it doesn't really make sense, it won't give you any past history anyway, just a new tradeline. Just wait 6 months and you'll be good to apply for a bank credit card on your own.