eleewhm wrote:hi all US expats... i cant find a thread to help me on this so i am starting a new one...
I am moving from Singapore to the States soon sometime next year Aug 2011 for a US based job. A question on my mind is when i arrive there , my credit score is basically zero..
Questions
1) are there any banks here which i can have a account and have my credit scores transfered over and be considered.. i heard of HSBC.. but what sort of accounts?
2) how about if i open a online US account does that count?
really need the experts to comment
lots of things you can do, but nothing is really instant. i think that's what you want.
my wife some of the stuff stated below, and it works good.
google how to build credit score expatriate
http://expatriates.stackexchange.com/qu ... in-the-usa
Get a secured credit card with a decent limit. Don't be tempted to deposit a very low amount in the secured savings account because your credit limit on the card will be too low. The higher your credit limit, the higher your credit score will be. $5000 or so would be a good start.
Lease a car with a company like Intl Autosource. They specialize in serving foreign nationals without a credit history. They also report all your payments to the credit bureaus.
Don't apply for loans, unsecured credit cards or store cards in the first 6 months, even if you get so-called "pre-approved offers" in the mail. You will be denied and that will affect your credit score. Also, if you're ever offered a "savings card" in a store and they want your social security number: politely decline.
Don't ever give your social security number unless it's absolutely necessary. For example, when you sign up for a cellular plan with AT&T, they'll ask your SSN and run a credit check. That will affect your score. Simply get a prepaid plan for the first 6 months.
In stores you will regularly be offered a discount if you sign up for a store card. Don't. They will ask your SSN and run a credit check, impacting your credit score.
Even if you plan to pay off your credit card every month, try to make a payment before the billing cycle ends because the bank will report the balance to the credit bureaus. You should keep the reported balance below 30% of the credit limit on your card.
Get an account at creditkarma.com to check on your progress. It's free. The only problem with creditkarma.com is that they only use data from TransUnion. If you want to track your credit reports and scores from the other 2 agencies (Equifax and Experian) you should get an account with them (not free!)
Pay all your bills on time. Doing that will not build credit history but it will make sure there's no negative information on your credit report.
If you do all of that, you should have a decent score after about 6 months. At that stage you may consider applying for unsecured credit cards.
Even if you are able to get one or more unsecured credit cards later on, it may not be a bad idea to hang on to it for at least six months. Although FICO sources claim that a closed account still counts to determine your credit history length, there's conflicting information on the different credit bureau websites. Even if it doesn't influence your credit history length, keeping the account open does help to keep your total available credit at a higher level, decreasing your credit utilization and so it helps your score.
http://expatriates.stackexchange.com/qu ... in-the-usa