Canadian Amazon Visa card

[cdnSpinalTap]

Not that it really matters for the purposes of this thread, but just to add a little clarification to your wording: it may look like the exchange rate you get from the credit card is better than the bank, but that is only because the bank embeds their 2.5% f/x fee in the exchange rate (compared to credit cards, which separate if from the exchange rate).

So, for example, say you look at the current CAD spot rate of ~1.248. Visa will offer you a rate of about 1.248, + 2.5% on cards that charge the fee, while the bank will offer you a rate of about 1.280 (which is in fact, about 1.248 + 2.5%)...

Hence the advantage of using a f/x-fee free CAD credit cards for USD purchases, rather than using USD credit cards and paying it off by converting CAD into USD.

Definitely - completely agree. As you said, if you can find a card that does not charge the 2.5% or get something more than that back (i.e. the net 1.5% from Rogers), you can take advantage of VISA/MASTERCARD not embedding that fee. You don't have that option with the bank unless you are transferring huge amounts of money.

 

[TommyJK]

As an aside, I did apply for the HomeTrust visa and I was declined. It's interesting as I have a great credit rating, I own a business, make decent salary, etc. - so it left me a little stumped. I obviously do not fit their ideal customer profile.

Were you declined on the spot while applying online? Or did they send you a letter saying you were declined?

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Were you declined on the spot while applying online? Or did they send you a letter saying you were declined?

I received a letter about 2 weeks after applying.

 

[DavidL]

After reading through the discussion here, I've applied for the Rogers Platinum card. We have Rogers phone/internet so I will set up my Rogers bill to be charged to my Rogers card each month to avoid the $29 annual fee.

I am also kicking around the idea of calling Disney in advance of our arrival and getting them to charge our entire stay to the Amazon card prior to our arrival.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We settled for the Fido MasterCard since we don't have cell phones accounts to wave the Rogers annual fees. We plan to get the reward apply once a year to our account. This seems like the best cost-saving option at this point.

I believe the Rogers version is a little more flexible than the Fido one, as they let you put it to your balance at any time instead of just once a year. I did the Fido one, as well, although my phones are with them, so I get the discount off my bill.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

I believe the Rogers version is a little more flexible than the Fido one, as they let you put it to your balance at any time instead of just once a year. I did the Fido one, as well, although my phones are with them, so I get the discount off my bill.

Just be careful with this...with the Rogers platinum you can pay for transactions at any time, BUT they have to be one of the following types of transactions:

"Eligible Rogers purchases include: your monthly Rogers, Fido and chatr bills; purchases made in Rogers and Fido branded stores; and online purchases at Rogers.com, Fido.ca and The Shopping Channel."

If you want the cash applied to your account, then you have to call Rogers prior to December 1, as I mentioned above.

 

[mab2012]

I'm disappointed, but I can't say I'm surprised. The writing was on the wall once they stopped accepting applications. I hoped I would be allowed to keep my Amazon card until it expired, but I knew even that was unlikely. We leave for Orlando on March 16, and we'll be travelling to Europe in August. I'll have to look at the options. We're not Rogers or Fido customers; I'm not keen on the idea of a $29 annual fee for what would very much be a secondary card, nor do I love the idea of Rogers hanging on to my "cash back rewards" for a full year.

Too bad. It was good while it lasted.

 

[bcwife76]

If you applied for this card: https://www.td.com/ca/en/personal-banking/products/credit-cards/us-dollar/us-dollar-visa-card/ you may want to re-think your decision. You're paying $39 and earning nothing for your spending. If a USD card is really what you want (rather than a forex-fee free CAD card), you'd be better off applying for one of these cards: https://www.tdbank.com/personal/credit-cards.html Those are cards from TD Bank in the U.S. (as opposed to TD Canada Trust in Canada). If you are an existing TD Canada Trust customer, you can open an account with TD Bank online/over-the-phone (it only takes a few minutes), and there are no fees as long as you keep US$100 in the account. The credit cards that they offer at least let you earn something for spending on them, rather than paying a fee for no reason.

Thanks for the info. I am an existing TD customer so I'll look in those cards you have mentioned.

 

[Spotthecat]

Well nuts. We are in Florida March 1st to March 14th. How the heck does this work? Some things aren't posted on the day you buy them, but a few days later...

 

[efrant]

Well nuts. We are in Florida March 1st to March 14th. How the heck does this work? Some things aren't posted on the day you buy them, but a few days later...

I'm just guessing, but if the transaction is approved on the 14th or earlier, it shouldn't matter if it posts after March 15th. You'll still have a chance to pay off your balance after the 15th.

 

[mab2012]

I'm just guessing, but if the transaction is approved on the 14th or earlier, it shouldn't matter if it posts after March 15th. You'll still have a chance to pay off your balance after the 15th.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they'll be happy to give you that "opportunity".

Does anyone have direct personal experience with Home Trust? If my credit card gets compromised (which, unfortunately, seems to be a somewhat elevated risk in certain international destinations), am I going to have any issues having them a) detect issues early, and b) reverse any fraudulent charges?

I'm weighing the options. On Fido's side, I get an extra 0.5% return, and the relative "safety" of a known brand. Granted, Rogers customer service is nothing to write home about, but at least it is a known quantity. On Home Trust's side, there's the immediate and automatic conversion of rewards (as opposed to the 1.5 - 4% loan I'd be offering Rogers), and Visa car rental insurance coverage, which is a definite plus when renting internationally.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Raimiette]

I ended up going for the Home Trust Visa. I was approved and recently received it. It comes with basic road side assistance too which is nice.

Apparently it is quite random as to who they approve.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they'll be happy to give you that "opportunity".

Does anyone have direct personal experience with Home Trust? If my credit card gets compromised (which, unfortunately, seems to be a somewhat elevated risk in certain international destinations), am I going to have any issues having them a) detect issues early, and b) reverse any fraudulent charges?

I'm weighing the options. On Fido's side, I get an extra 0.5% return, and the relative "safety" of a known brand. Granted, Rogers customer service is nothing to write home about, but at least it is a known quantity. On Home Trust's side, there's the immediate and automatic conversion of rewards (as opposed to the 1.5 - 4% loan I'd be offering Rogers), and Visa car rental insurance coverage, which is a definite plus when renting internationally.

Decisions, decisions.

Just so you know, if you carry a Visa or a MasterCard, you are covered by the rules of that brand. Some banks will have better systems to detect fraud or to deal with customers, but the 0 liability is a brand guarantee, not a bank guarantee.

 

[pharm55]

Well nuts. We are in Florida March 1st to March 14th. How the heck does this work? Some things aren't posted on the day you buy them, but a few days later...

I would think as long as it has been pre-auth'd it should be ok and shouldn't matter that it hasn't posted yet. You can view those on your account when you log in online so I wouldn't think they would suddenly reverse them.

 

[FigmentSpark]

If they will approve the charge, it'll be settled and you will be billed. They probably won't approve any charges after the 15th, however. Just because the card has an end date, doesn't mean the bank stops working, then. They will see their transactions to completion. I would expect that includes until all the chargeback cycle time has passed as well.

 

[shaunacb]

That Amazon.ca card was sure great while it lasted! I pondered this Home Trust card based on what I learned here, but decided to just get a USD Money Market savings account (0.2% interest) and a USD Visa with RBC Bank, in the USA. Super easy to sign up by calling RBC Bank and happy that it links with my main Canadian RBC online banking, and no fees for the bank account or credit card! (The money market account would charge a fee if I let the balance go under $1000.). Online at RBC Bank it says the Money Market account is only available if you have a USD chequing account ($40/yr), but he was able to set it up for me without the chequing account since I was getting the Visa. I have another tip - as others have said, the bank will charge you a Forex fee to exchange money to put in this USD account, but we have used a FX service called Knightsbridge in the past and they were great, with a rate just slightly above the daily Bank of Canada rate. I would definitely recommend them. So I will be converting money through Knightsbridge when the exchange is good to deposit into my USD account with RBC Bank, and use the account to pay off my USD credit card. All online.

 

[isabellea]

I’m a little confused about the differences between the Rogers and Fido cards?!? We are not customers of any of these companies...

 

[bankr63]

Like the phone services themselves, Fido card is a bit more basic - no annual fee regular MasterCard, but lower percentage back in cash as well. The Rogers is a Platinum card (slightly better benefits/coverages), with an annual fee, and higher percentages of cash back.

Also, with careful reading of the announcements, it should be noted that the last day for charges is March 14th. Charges will be rejected ON or after the 15th.

 

[efrant]

Just an FYI: I read over at RFD that someone who got the HomeTrust Visa said he was limited to 10 transactions/day outside of Canada. (Having that restriction seems like of silly to me.) It hasn't been confirmed by anyone else yet. Posting it here just in case.

 

[MommyBG]

I got my letter today about my Amazon Visa. I was confused by the wording. When is the last day I can use the card. We check out on March 15. Can I only use it until March 14 or until March 15?