GREAKLY

Hello everybody,

I have been reading this forum for quite a long time but haven't posted much info yet. I reside in the US (IAD), but for the next three years or so due to my job assignment I will be leaving mostly in Canada. I have a US-based UA MP CC with Chase. However, when I use it in Canada there is a 3% surcharge on the top of the "normal" exchange rate. Given the amount of money I usually spend with that card in a year that's over $1500. So, naturally, I started looking for ways to save that money

Initially, my first idea was to call Chase and ask to change the currency of my account from USD to CAD. Or just add another account in CAD and link it to my MP number. But it turned out that in the US (unlike anywhere else in the world) one cannot have an account in any other currency but USD. Seriously, no EUR, CAD, GBP and etc. Weird...

Since I have Canadian address, their Social Insurance Number and pretty good local credit score I figured I would just open a Canadian-based CC (account in CAD) that participates in the MP program. Unfortunately, Chase Canada doesn't offer such product. After long internet search the only option I was able to find was getting the MNBA SPG card. What upsets me is that I would only be getting 1 point for every $2 spent. In the US the ratio is one to one, which means (provided US and Canadian dollars are pretty much on pair now) that this card is pretty bad deal, if compared to my US-based Chase UA MP card.

Are there any fellow Canadians on the forum, who actually have Canadian-based credit card (or US-based CC denominated in CAD) that participates in the MP program? If so, I would greatly appreciate the advice where to get one. If not, do you think MBNA SPG CC is the best deal in Canada for UA MP fans?

Thanks in advance.

One addition to my previous post. I just found that SPG points could be transferred into UA miles with 2:1 ratio (2 SPG points for 1 UA mile). This fact makes MBNA SPG card a really bad deal, as I would only be getting 1 UA mile for each $4 spent on purchases (compare to Chase's 1:1).

Anyone has/used MBNA SPG card? Is the deal so bad?

The Ivory Actuary

It's not so bad. But still pretty bad.

After spending $10k, $20k, and $30k on the card, you get a 5,000 SPG-point bonus each year. Based on your forex fees of $1,500, you'll spend about $50,000 on the card in a year. So you get 1 pt/$1 for the first $30,000 and 1 pt/$2 for the next $20,000. This means 40,000 SPG points.

Now, SPG gives a bonus of 5,000 extra SPG points for every 20,000 SPG points you transfer to an airline programme.

So..with your 40,000 points from credit card spend, you would do two transfers of 20,000 points each, which, with the 5,000 point bonus, would become 12,500 UA miles (or 25,000 UA miles in total).

So in the end, you'd getting 25,000 miles for $50,000 in spend..which is actually only 1 mile:$2 spent.

Hope that helped!

1kdreamer

I always had been encouraged by UA agents to apply for a United Mileage Plus Visa Card and I apllied twice over the phone ( I wanted to apply online but the application is only for US residents). At least whenever I would apply through an agent, they would process my application as long as I have a US address ( I use my sister's address in the US). Despite my good credit history, UA Mileage Plus Visa had declined me twice and I think this is because of the fact that here in Canada, we use SIN instead of SSN. When will this Visa Card available to non-US residents (i.e., specifically Canadians)? Did any Canadian out there experience the same hassle, too?

beanex

Unfortunately, I don't think you can apply for US credit card, they will require SSN which is very different from SIN, and SIN will not be accepted as SSN equivalent.

Those credit card offers are only for US residents. I have never seen one for Canada, but if there's one, it will have to come from United.ca not .com

mre5765

http://www.united.ca/local/english/M...rds/index.html

Not only for US residents, but also not for Canadians. Still, OP could try the non-U.S. card issuers in the list at the above web page and see if any will give him a card.

28isGreat

Obviously, you can't substitute SIN for SSN on the application and have it magically work...

Even if you were eligible as a non-US resident (or by faking US residency), would you really want a US$ credit card? Depends on what country you do most of your spending, of course... If most of your charges are in Canada, in C$, then the currency conversion fees that these companies charge are ridiculous, and you would be losing a lot of money that way.

If UA offered a C$ card to Canadians, I would think hard about switching from (collecting) AC Aeroplan points, and switching from my Aeroplan-linked Visa.

BonnieSEA

I can't open a bank account in Canada, or even be added to as Joint to my (Canadian) husband's existing bank accounts, because I don't have a SIN. I figure it's because the nations' credit reporting facilities are separate.

1kdreamer

Thanks for the advice. I just really want to have UA Mileage Plus Visa merely for booking flights on UA online. I feel sorry that I should collect those points offered by UA since I have no choice but to use credit card to pay anyways.

6rugrats

I don't understand why you can't. I am a US citizen with only a SSN and I have two Canadian bank accounts.

However, it is next to impossible to obtain a VISA card from my Canadian bank; I would have to have an account with funds in placed on "hold" to cover any charges I might make. According to the bank, this is because so many Americans defaulted on their Canadian credit cards in the past, and they had no way to legally go after them to collect the funds.

Perhaps this is the reason the OP can't get a Chase card?

ranman1973

Hey, I'm looking for something similar. I'm located in Victoria, BC and United has direct flights to San Francisco... nice. But I want a Canadian credit card that earns Mileage points.

emcampbe

There is no MP credit card issued in Canada. I'm not sure why. AA has one (I think they still do) and DL just started one a few months ago. I'm pretty sure that UA has more flights to Canada and a bigger market share in the country then either of them.

My guess is that it has something to do with the UA/AC partnership, and because of this, most of the Canadian-based FF'ers that fly UA frequently, and that might benefit from such a card, are mostly crediting to Aeroplan.

I know its not a UA card, but I've heard good things about the Avion from RBC. I'm pretty certain you can book UA with those points.

thebobmc

I feel your pain ! As a Canada based member of the Mileage Plus program I would be delighted if there was credit card issued in Canada that allowed me to earn MP miles.

Emcampbe you may be correct. It may also be that UA doesn't consider there to be enough demand for such a product in Canada to make the effort to arrange an affiliation with a Canadian credit card issuer.

As far as ranman1973's situation, if you just want to earn miles to travel on the UA flights from YYJ to SFO you can achieve that using any of a number of Canada based credit cards that earn Aeroplan miles. If the seat is available as a Saver award with MP miles, it should also be available using AP miles.

emcampbe

And if using AP miles on AC aircraft, you can get those flights for 15,000 miles (though would require a stop in YVR. Of course, the downside is the fees would be more on AP as they have a fuel surcharge. If the saver award is available through UA on the nonstop, you should also be able to book it through AP. It would be the regular 25K miles, but taxes and fees should be relatively comparable without an AC segment.

zoicca

I'm wanting to earn enough points for me and my family to go to Europe on Points. The airlines I use most often are Alaska and United.

Currently, I have the Alaska Airlines MBNA Mastercard, which is awesome, but I am thinking that I will probably be using United more often in the next couple of years, and wouldn't mind switching credit cards. Need lots of miles to reach my goal of flying my family to Europe in 30 months from now.

I have not yet been able to find a good Canadian credit card that can earn me miles quickly on United. Anyone know of any? Muchos..

garykung

Sorry to say - Aeroplan is your new home...