Secured credit card

[Insane]

It's time for me to start rebuilding my credit rating as I am just discharged from a consumer proposal. I've looked at a few, but I'm curious as to people's thoughts/experiences. I'd prefer one with no annual fee, but those are few and far between.

[tjthemanto]

It's time for me to start rebuilding my credit rating as I am just discharged from a consumer proposal. I've looked at a few, but I'm curious as to people's thoughts/experiences. I'd prefer one with no annual fee, but those are few and far between.

I think if you do a GIC for a certain amount , the bank gives you a CC for about half the amt.

I have a friend who is a newcomer to Canada with NO Cdn credit card history.

So he did a GIC with TD bank for $ 1,000 and got a NO fee simple CC with a credit limit of $ 500, not a big limit but enough to buy groceries etc and to build a Credit history

He pays the bill on time and in full , when the bill comes and never carries a balance

[Insane]

I think if you do a GIC for a certain amount , the bank gives you a CC for about half the amt.

I have a friend who is a newcomer to Canada with NO Cdn credit card history.

So he did a GIC with TD bank for $ 1,000 and got a NO fee simple CC with a credit limit of $ 500, not a big limit but enough to buy groceries etc and to build a Credit history

He pays the bill on time and in full , when the bill comes and never carries a balance

Newcomer to Canada and rebuilding your credit are 2 different things. I talked to a few banks who offer secured credit cards for newcomers but not for rebuilding. I guess they only want to take a chance on a newcomer, not on someone who's credit rating is poor.

I've looked at Capital One secured mastercard or maybe TD secured. I liked the scotiabank one, but they will only offer it to newcomers.

[lecale]

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[Insane]

You may want to check out MBNA http://www.mbna.ca/home/index.jsp and Citi http://www.citi.com/canada/en/

I would say those are the two leading brands for people who are rebuilding credit. Deloitte and Touche refers people to MBNA. Citi is just very generous.

I would also look into Canadian Tire options MasterCard https://www.ctfs.com/Products/Credit...onsMasterCard/ and Sears Financial Mastercard http://www.searsfinancial.ca/creditcards.aspx as these brands will give credit to dogs and children so hey it's always worth a shot.

Thanks! I never thought of a CT or sears card. Maybe I'll get the secured card, use it responsably for a few months then try those, so I have 2 forms of credit!

I'll check out citi. Probably can't do MBNA as they were included in the proposal.

[tjthemanto]

Newcomer to Canada and rebuilding your credit are 2 different things. I talked to a few banks who offer secured credit cards for newcomers but not for rebuilding. I guess they only want to take a chance on a newcomer, not on someone who's credit rating is poor.

I've looked at Capital One secured mastercard or maybe TD secured. I liked the scotiabank one, but they will only offer it to newcomers.

I don't know ..what their problem is .

If you don't pay they can confiscate your GIC or take money out of it to pay your outsatnding CC bill & cancle your CC or something.

I knew someone who owed money on RBC visa & had a bank account with RBC , RBC automatically took money out of his bank account (without his permission ) & applied it to the CC bill ..not even sure if its legal or illegal for them to do that

[lecale]

.

[boldjack]

Go get it from capital one. It's tough for you to get a secured cc at one of the big 5 banks.


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[Insane]

Home trust offers a secured credit card with no fees. I might do that. I would like to avoid annual fees, especially since they aren't giving me interest on my security deposit.

[Insane]

Maybe it would be better to say I want to get any sort of credit.

Stores that offer their own card not associated with a bank or Visa/Mastercard that you use at that store only e.g., Target, The Brick, JYSK, The Source, Rona, Home Depot, IKEA

Store cards that are backed by a Visa/MasterCard that you can use at other stores e.g., Leons, Canadian Tire, Sears, Walmart

Store cards that are associated with both a bank and Visa/MasterCard like SDM are premium and not where you are going to be looking

Thanks. We do have some of those stores here.

[Insane]

Are things like a cellphone contract easy to get?

[lecale]

.

[CrazyQT]

Home trust offers a secured credit card with no fees. I might do that. I would like to avoid annual fees, especially since they aren't giving me interest on my security deposit.

Home Trust Visa has a no fee secured visa card but the interest rate is 19.99%. It won't matter to you though if you are just charging and paying off right away.

[Insane]

Depends on who you go with. Telus does rigourous credit checks and can demand deposits if you do not have a credit card. Bell, Rogers, if they already have you as a home customer are usually pretty pleased to have you on the hook for more services without a credit card. Others are limited contract like Koodo and targeted at teens paying for themselves so they have little if any credit requirements. Then there is Speakout that has prepaid cards that last 1 year before expiry (expiry every month is usual) no credit required. The difference between them is the bigger buys like Bell, Rogers, Telus are willing and able to finance an expensive phone for you whereas if you want a smartphone from some of the more credit friendly companies you will have to buy it yourself elsewhere and just get a sim card for it from the cell company.

Crap. Thanks. We only have Bell and Telus. And Bell doesn't do home phone here. Oh well.

[MortgageQueen]

I don't know ..what their problem is .

If you don't pay they can confiscate your GIC or take money out of it to pay your outsatnding CC bill & cancle your CC or something.

I knew someone who owed money on RBC visa & had a bank account with RBC , RBC automatically took money out of his bank account (without his permission ) & applied it to the CC bill ..not even sure if its legal or illegal for them to do that

Yes it is legal, and likely would have been in the credit agreement he signed. Best thing to do is switch banks.