All About Foreign Credit Cards

[Franko Costa]

I didn't know you could file an alternative address in Australia...interesting

 

[blacksultan]

This is a good idea. Is your account address still US? As in you just asked them to send you a new one to Aus?

Just let them know you are travelling overseas .

 

[Mr He]

Last month Wise Australia sent an “Your USD account details are changing” email. Because of the change, I had to manually link the new checking account for my Amex US repayment. Interesting the US Bank is now Community Federal Savings Bank, replacing the previous Evolve Bank and Trust.

 

[Mr He]

Just saw the article about Diners Club closing down here Down Under ( https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/diners-club-australia-closing-down/ ). Reminds me of the Diners Club card that I hold, a foreign one issued by ICBC. It won't be affected by the change here for sure, but I hardly use it anyway, more for collection purposes as a cardaholic.

The news also reminds me of Australia Post's notice earlier this year: "Payment by Diners Club no longer accepted".

 

[joon8887]

Hilton Aspire card holders - how are you guys using the quarterly flight credit? ($50 per quarter) - I'm just banking it on united. Is there any better way?

 

[Mr He]

Hilton Aspire card holders - how are you guys using the quarterly flight credit? ($50 per quarter) - I'm just banking it on united. Is there any better way?

Pay taxes applicable to reward flight bookings with Qantas or any other airline. Or according to some sources, shopping on Qantas Wine, Qantas Hotels etc will also trigger. This $50 quarterly credit is so much more flexible than before, so it's really not advisable to bank it on United.

 

[joon8887]

Pay taxes applicable to reward flight bookings with Qantas or any other airline. Or according to some sources, shopping on Qantas Wine, Qantas Hotels etc will also trigger. This $50 quarterly credit is so much more flexible than before, so it's really not advisable to bank it on United.
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OMG! I thought it only applied to US airlines!! Thanks for this !

 

[sudoer]

Or according to some sources, shopping on Qantas Wine

First hand experience - can confirm

 

[Mr He]

Just survived the stressful FR process from Amex US last month, and came out all good, with lowered credit limits though!

As an international customer who has never resided in the US and does not have a US job and income, which means I’m definitely not able to provide a US tax return (Form 4506-T) and a pay stub (payslip as we Australians normally say), I prepared for the worst, i.e., account closure, when their FR hit me in early May. So this is an outcome I’m really happy with.

Can’t say enough how much I love Amex. Thanks Amex US, for approving my first Global Transfer application many years ago, purely based on my credit history and creditworthiness as an Amex Australia cardmember, and for approving my subsequent applications over the years. Thanks for the flexibility and true customer care shown during the past weeks, and for the super nice and helpful staff (I’ll always remember one saying “Get some sleep, Mr He” when she realised the vast time difference between the two countries before ending the call).

And thanks @wiseaccount as well, for producing the requested documentation, and for serving as a backup payment method for my Turkey YouTube Premium subscription, at a time when my Amex US account was suspended because of the FR.

 

[sudoer]

Any idea what may have triggered the FR?

 

[levelnine]

As an international customer who has never resided in the US and does not have a US job and income, which means I’m definitely not able to provide a US tax return (Form 4506-T) and a pay stub (payslip as we Australians normally say), I prepared for the worst, i.e., account closure, when their FR hit me over two weeks ago. So this is an outcome I’m really happy with.

What did you produce to survive FR in that case?

 

[Mr He]

Any idea what may have triggered the FR?

I reckon it's trigged by a bit too many airline ticketing purchases (not for flying myself), as well as general purchases and subsequent refund (due to change of mind or merchant order cancellation etc.)

 

[Mr He]

What did you produce to survive FR in that case?

Mostly statements from Wise as I said in my post (I use Wise to pay my Amex US cards), as well as two statements from my HSBC US Premier account.

 

[Viridis]

Just survived the stressful FR process from Amex US last month, and came out all good, with lowered credit limits though!

As an international customer who has never resided in the US and does not have a US job and income, which means I’m definitely not able to provide a US tax return (Form 4506-T) and a pay stub (payslip as we Australians normally say), I prepared for the worst, i.e., account closure, when their FR hit me in early May. So this is an outcome I’m really happy with.

Can’t say enough how much I love Amex. Thanks Amex US, for approving my first Global Transfer application many years ago, purely based on my credit history and creditworthiness as an Amex Australia cardmember, and for approving my subsequent applications over the years. Thanks for the flexibility and true customer care shown during the past weeks, and for the super nice and helpful staff (I’ll always remember one saying “Get some sleep, Mr He” when she realised the vast time difference between the two countries before ending the call).

And thanks @wiseaccount as well, for producing the requested documentation, and for serving as a backup payment method for my Turkey YouTube Premium subscription, at a time when my Amex US account was suspended because of the FR.

That’s good news @Mr He, I’m glad it worked out for you

I’m not sure where you are ‘in life’ but given the stress involved, and assuming at some point you can say I have the US cards I want, has anyone gone down the line of just phoning Amex and saying I’ve moved abroad permanently, please change my address (to wherever it is that you actually live)

I accepted a points bonus offer to upgrade from Gold to Platinum last year And I was, genuinely, travelling. I asked them to post it to a UK address. Unlike previously, the CSA changed my address permanently in the system. My only regret is not accepting the offer to change my phone to my UK one (which is proper pay monthly account rather than TextNow)

I thought I’d give it a dignified time period and then ask them to change the address to my Aussie one. Should take the stress out and ease the ability to provide docs

Any experience with this?

 

[levelnine]

Mostly statements from Wise as I said in my post (I use Wise to pay my Amex US cards), as well as two statements from my HSBC US Premier account.

Surprised they accepted only bank statements. Great outcome though. Did you offer to provide Australian pay slips? Or were they only willing to accept US ones?

 

[Mr He]

Surprised they accepted only bank statements. Great outcome though. Did you offer to provide Australian pay slips? Or were they only willing to accept US ones?

I said I could, but they only accept US-based documents.
Having said that, @Viridis , changing your address to AU or anywhere outside the US won't "take the stress out and ease the ability to provide docs" in the slightest if FR happens, as they only accept US-based documents. Even for Wise, they had a bit issue understanding this truly international institution and tried to do a three way call.

 

[Mr He]

And one more thing, don't combine all PDFs under the cover sheet in one document when sending your submission via the encrypted email. I did that the first time, and got told I need to attach all PDFs separately. I believe it's because they need to see the Where from information, to make sure that all documents are actually directly downloaded from the relevant bank/financial institution websites.

 

[Viridis]

………. as they only accept US-based documents. Even for Wise, they had a bit issue understanding this truly international institution and tried to do a three way call.

Mmmmm, well, that’s going to be a problem then. I have no US based documents. My account is paid via my Wise account which was opened in Australia

 

[Mr He]

Mmmmm, well, that’s going to be a problem then. I have no US based documents. My account is paid via my Wise account which was opened in Australia

Maybe it's time to consider applying for some US-based bank accounts - HSBC US would be one of the easiest. As for Wise, if FR ever happens to you (hope you won't have to go through this, by using your card/s in a good way and to Amex's total satisfaction), just download Wise USD statements. Anyway, it's always better to cooperate and provide whatever you have, than to ignore their FR document request.

 

[Viridis]

Maybe it's time to consider applying for some US-based bank accounts - HSBC US would be one of the easiest. As for Wise, if FR ever happens to you (hope you won't have to go through this, by using your card/s in a good way and to Amex's total satisfaction), just download Wise USD dollar statements. Anyway, it's always better to cooperate and provide whatever you have, than to ignore their FR document request.

Thanks

I have UK & Aus HSBC accounts but have been reluctant to try and add a US one given that I haven’t done what I said I would with the UK one !