Top United States Credit Cards Offered in Canada (updated November 28, 2017)
I may not update this list very frequently, but every now and then, there are updates to be had. Only minor updates this time around. Not to mix up with U.S. based credit cards, below is a list of Canadian based USD credit cards that allow you to make purchases in U.S. currency (which essentially avoids foreign transaction fees), but you would need to pay off the balance with USD.
The first thought would be that it makes no sense to get this credit card if you do not have any existing US currency savings or USD income. Because then you would need to exchange for CAD to USD every time you need to pay off your credit card.
Therefore, I would recommend this credit card Canadians who have existing USD savings from before or ongoing USD income, but unable to apply for US based credit cards (which is the preferred method).
Below is the updated list of credit cards, which I have ranked according to the annual fees.
BMO U.S. Dollar MasterCard for Business
- $25 USD annual fee
- $5 USD annual fee for supplementary cardholders (for employees)
- No rewards
- $30 USD annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders (for spouse and other family members)
- No rewards
Desjardins U.S Business Visa Card
- $30 USD annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders
- No rewards
- $35 USD annual fee (next year’s fee waived if you spend $1,000 per year, based on your anniversary date)
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders (no limit mentioned)
- No rewards
Scotiabank U.S. Dollar Visa Card
- $35 USD annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders
- No rewards
- $35 USD annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders (to a maximum of 3)
- No rewards
National Bank U.S. Dollar MasterCard
- $35 USD annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders (to a maximum of 3)
- No rewards
National Bank U.S. Dollar MasterCard Business
- $35 USD annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders (to a maximum of 3)
- No rewards
- $39 USD annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders (up to 3 limit)
- No rewards
- $65 USD annual fee
- $30 USD for supplementary cardholders
- Earn 1 RBC Rewards point for every $1 spend on all purchases
- $65 USD annual fee (first year fee waived)
- $30 USD for supplementary cardholders
- Earn 1% cash back for every $1 spend on all purchases
Please let us know in the comment section below whether we missed any cards!
You can also get the TD Bank (the US one, not TD Canada Trust) Aeroplan Visa Signature using your SIN and Canadian credit history. I think you have to do it over the phone or in-branch.
Side note, if you have a TD Canada Trust account, you can open a TD Bank accounts in the US as well. This can be done online through Easyweb. I’m not sure about other banks (BMO/BMO Harris, RBC/PNC, National Bank, etc.)
Thanks for sharing JamesP!