If you are a RBC customer, they have a US branch: http://rbcbankusa.com/

You can open an account there through your RBC Canada local branch and they'll use your canadian SSN when you ask for a credit card. You can also have a debit card, line of credit, etc. That's what I did when I moved to SF a year ago and it was a pretty good experience, even if I'm a recent grad and their program is meant for snow birds