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I can use my American credit card in foreign countries, and pay my bill in the normal way. Why wouldn't that work?
My card company doesn't even charge currency exchange fees.
If someones plan is to establish themselves in a country where they have no credit rating, using a foreign card isn't going to help. Especially when and if comes the time they want to take out a mortgage or a loan, perhaps even to start a business.
The OP is living in Canada and wants to establish credit in Canada. When you charge purchases to your American CC, it converts to USD. The OP is living in Canada -- why would they want to then pay in USD for Canadian purchases?
Depending on the card company, the conversion is made by them at no charge. The goods or services are paid in the currency of the country where they are purchased at the regular price there. Since Canadian currency trades at around a 30% discount, the actual numbers are higher for the payment, but you would pay the bill in American dollars, which in absolute numbers would be 30% fewer of them, but the value would be the same.
If the goal is to establish credit there, then that wouldn't do it, but otherwise for purchases and payments, it would make no difference.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CTMountaineer
Depending on the card company, the conversion is made by them at no charge. The goods or services are paid in the currency of the country where they are purchased at the regular price there. Since Canadian currency trades at around a 30% discount, the actual numbers are higher for the payment, but you would pay the bill in American dollars, which in absolute numbers would be 30% fewer of them, but the value would be the same.
If the goal is to establish credit there, then that wouldn't do it, but otherwise for purchases and payments, it would make no difference.
I hear you, but the OP is living in Canada, so using an American credit card makes no sense since we have to assume that he's earning Canadian dollars now, and has a Canadian bank account. And, yeah, establishing credit history.
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