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International credit cards?

I’m 20, and a dual citizen of the US/UK. I lived in the UK my entire childhood with my parents but have been spending most of my time alone working in the US since I left school 2 years ago.

I want to get a credit card and start to build a credit score but I don’t know which country my future lies in.

Is there such a thing as an international credit score? Should I just pick one? Or get two cards? Or hold off until I have more of an idea? I don’t expect to have an income from both countries at once.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 4 October 2021 at 1:49PM
    There are no credit scores in the UK (not real ones). You have credit files with Experian, Transunion and Equifax. They will hold details of your credit history and are used by UK lenders. 

    The US uses credit scores, but you will need to build a separate credit history with US lenders. 

    You may be able to make things simpler if you can find a lender which operates in both countries, such as Amex, so that your internal history with them may count for something if you move between countries.
  • Malkytheheed
    Malkytheheed Posts: 657 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 4 October 2021 at 2:35PM
    Amex will take your US / UK rating and transfer it to the other and vice versa. So that's a good place to start. It's the only company I know of that do. I'm hopeful that with Chase opening banking in the UK credit cards will come along too and might share credit history between the two. Who knows. You will need to build a credit rating in both countries seperately but at least AMEX will allow you to get "out of the gate" with a card upon arrival basically. 
  • Jasonh2015
    Jasonh2015 Posts: 136 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 4 October 2021 at 5:49PM
    I think Amex require a good amount of credit history, so if it is for your first card, its unlikely they'll give you a credit/charge card. A credit building Visa from Barclays or Capital One could be better if you're staying in the UK.
  • Alex9384
    Alex9384 Posts: 962 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Amex will take your US / UK rating and transfer it to the other and vice versa. So that's a good place to start. It's the only company I know of that do. I'm hopeful that with Chase opening banking in the UK credit cards will come along too and might share credit history between the two. Who knows. You will need to build a credit rating in both countries seperately but at least AMEX will allow you to get "out of the gate" with a card upon arrival basically. 

    In the Chase thread someone said that Chase can't do that. I was wondering if HSBC can do something similar like Amex.
     
    EPICA - the best symphonic metal band in the world !
     
  • I was looking at Chase, but it appears you cannot setup direct debits with them just yet. So there would be no payment/direct debit history for the moment.
  • Shanwick
    Shanwick Posts: 67 Forumite
    Second Anniversary 10 Posts
    If you have and can maintain actrive credit files in both USA & UK then that provides the maximum flexibility. If that is not possible then acquiring a USA American Express at some point would give a path to having a UK American Express card in future via their global card relationship program. Banks like HSBC can help with international opening of current account products but they are lesst able to open credit products in the new territory - with exceptions if you are in a position to make a substantial deposit.

    CRAs are similar in both markets with files being held at Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. The biggest difference in the USA market is that use of a scoring model by Fair Issac Corporation (The "FICO" score) has been all but mandatory for mortgage issuance in the USA because USA mortgages are often sold onwards and bundled. Thus, at least for mortgages, a USA borrower can track their relevant FICO score online prior to mortgage application and have a reasonable idea of what mortgage terms will be available. As far as other credit products are concerned the USA and UK are more similar. USA credit card issuers might use a Fair Isaac product to score such applications (generally not the same scoring method as mortgages), may use an alternative commercially available scoring model or may use an entirely proprietary evaluation of the credit file contents as is common in the UK.
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