# Brim Financial 0% FX World Mastercard



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

*Brim Financial World Mastercard (No-FX)*

New *No-FX* Brim Financial World Mastercards coming to Canada soon with some interesting features










Brim *Free*


Step up rewards by returning to brands
Free boingo wifi (on planes and in airports)
Real-time notifications with app
Receipt capture and maintenance
Common Carrier Accident Insurance ($100k/300k)
Extended warranty ($25k)
Event Ticket Protector Insurance ($1k)
Purchase protection ($1k)
Mobile device insurance ($500)

Brim World $99


Additional rewards at 1.5x
Lounge key ($27 USD per visit)
Out-of- Province Emergency Travel Medical Insurance (8 days/$5M/-65)
Additional Common Carrier Accident Insurance ($150k/500k)
Car Rental Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance ($100k)
Car Rental Collision / Loss Damage Insurance (48 days/$65k)
Car Rental Personal Effects Insurance ($1k)
Additional mobile device insurance ($1k)
Flight /Baggage Delay Insurance ($250-$500)
Theft Insurance ($500)

Brim World Elite $120/year


Additional rewards at 2x
Out-of- Province Emergency Travel Medical Insurance (15 days/$5M/-65 or 3 days for +65..)
Trip Cancellation Insurance ($3k)
Trip Interruption Insurance ($2k)

There will also be a $100 referral program. These new cards are not well know yet, first I heard of them today


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

these cards are new. The company debuted in november 2017.

the young founder, Rasha Katafi, is an interesting entrepreneur. Here's a video where she describes a key segment in her career, when the TD Bank sent her to london to spearhead a risk analysis of the bank's entire european & asian operations.

although maybe best to tread cautiously with a Brim card at first. The venture capital behind Brim Financial appears to be toronto's anthony lacavero, best known for launching Wind Mobile, which subsequently, ah, _stumbled ..._


https://www.facebook.com/GlobaliveMedia/videos/2037571016462494/



.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Any startup telecom in Canada faces the insurmountable wrath of the big 3. I never used Wind but I use the more recent startup Public and it was great until it was bought by Telus, but the end result is an exclusive offer from Telus

I've signed up for Brim today and I have a referral code if anyone is interested, at risk of the supermods wrath. This card sounds like something ING Direct would have done pre Scotiabank takover


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

wondering if they mean zero FX on CAD/USD or do they mean zero FX on any currency in the world?

even if it's CAD/USD & USD/CAD only, i'd still doublecheck. I don't mean doublecheck by asking the company since a lot of CC call centres & other financial institutions as well don't reply accurately to FX queries. It's not that they're intending to deceive, it's just that the call centre reps don't quite know or understand enough, so they make things up ...

best to doublecheck with an actual transaction check, either the bank of canada rate for the transaction date; or XE.com is even better.


i believe that Rasha's country of origin is syria. So far, she's an accomplished toronto success engine. Supports - among other objectives - the education of children from war-torn middle eastern countries.


.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

This is what's in the asterisk so far



> *0% Foreign Transaction Fees**Brim will not charge any foreign transaction fees on purchases in another currency, online or abroad. Everyone else charges you 2.5%**.
> 
> 
> * Up to $10,000 in annual spend on Amazon.ca. Does not include purchases for Amazon Web Services(AWS).
> ...


From the FX FAQ



> What is a foreign transaction fee?
> A foreign transaction fee is a surcharge that appears in addition to your foreign exchange rate when you make a purchase in a currency other than Canadian dollars (CAD). This surcharge is on average 2.5% of your purchase price with most other banks and credit cards. With your Brim card, you will save this surcharge on all of your purchases when you’re travelling abroad or when shopping online.
> 
> Why do banks charge foreign transaction fees?
> ...





humble_pie said:


> i believe that Rasha's country of origin is syria. So far, she's an accomplished toronto success engine. Supports - among other objectives - the education of children from war-torn middle eastern countries.


When I signed up there was something about Brim making donations with every transaction, but now that I completed the application I don't see it mentioned on the main site

There seems to be some kind of deal going on with amazon. Rumors have been 2% base reward and 4% after 5 return transactions but I can't find the source

The fresh concepts and full disclosure reminds me of ING Direct and Public Mobile. Very rare


----------



## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

Hmm, pretty interesting. 
I've been looking for a travel reward card that has certain features that I'm interested in and I don't mind paying a yearly fee if it ticks a lot of items off my checklist. This card comes pretty close. It's definitely caught my attention enough to make me look into it further. 



humble_pie said:


> although maybe best to tread cautiously with a Brim card at first. The venture capital behind Brim Financial appears to be toronto's anthony lacavero, best known for launching Wind Mobile, which subsequently, ah, _stumbled ..._
> 
> .


Even though his involvement in Wind likely didn't end up exactly like he hoped, it shouldn't tarnish Anthony Lacavera's reputation as a legit Canadian entrepreneur IMO.


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

yes the concepts are fresh, however when i look closely at your extracts above re "foreign transaction fees," i see that Brim is only promising to not-charge the standard 2.50% fee that most credit cards do charge ... plus some/many credit cards add their own FX fees on top of this 2.50%.

i'm nitpicking, not in any kind of rush to nail this down because the truth will come out once a card is put into use by an observant cardholder. But the question remains: will Brim have any FX fee of its own or will it truly deliver the spot rate on foreign currencies?

from a practical POV i can see a nimble startup being able to deliver USD/CAD at spot rates, but not really other currencies. I think that most credit card companies should be getting ready to dump the 2.50% base FX transaction fee because there have been so many inroads of CC companies already doing that. Sooner or later the dinosaurs will have to let go.



(to milhouse) you're right, mr lacavera is indeed a storybook venture capitalist & an asset to canada (i'm not being sarcastic) & the mobility problems encountered by WIND were never anticipated


----------



## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

humble_pie said:


> yes the concepts are fresh, however when i look closely at your extracts above re "foreign transaction fees," i see that Brim is only promising to not-charge the standard 2.50% fee that most credit cards do charge ... plus some/many credit cards add their own FX fees on top of this 2.50%.
> 
> i'm nitpicking, not in any kind of rush to nail this down because the truth will come out once a card is put into use by an observant cardholder. But the question remains: will Brim have any FX fee of its own or will it truly deliver the spot rate on foreign currencies?
> 
> from a practical POV i can see a nimble startup being able to deliver USD/CAD at spot rates, but not really other currencies.


If I'm not mistaken, Brim and other financial institutions offering credit cards are not involved in the forex conversion which I think is solely managed by Mastercard's Cirrus interbank network, Visa's Plus network, American Express global network, etc. Financial institutions just tack on an optional forex fee as a fee grab.


----------



## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

For those interested, there is an active Brim discussion on RFD. Still early days for this card. https://forums.redflagdeals.com/brim-mastercard-no-fee-foreign-exchange-card-2169126/50/

We liked the lack of FX fee on the Amazon card, but cashback was only 1% on most things. The Scotia Visa Momentum Infinite appears to have much better cash back, but has FX fee. We only benefit significantly from the 0% FX when in USA during winter, so lots of time to see how BRIM card pans out. 

Looking at the Scotia Momentum Infinite through Amazon. $75 credit at Amazon plus 
First year annual fee ($99)waived (Supplementary card fee ($30) also waived)
4% cash back on gas and grocery purchases
2% cash back on drug store purchases and recurring bill payments
1% unlimited cash back on all other eligible purchases
More here: http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/common...mentum_visa_infinite_terms_and_conditions.pdf

What I wondered, is which grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations qualify. These: http://www.scotiabank.com/images/en/filespersonal/26664.pdf
Cashback is only paid once per year in November. They said they will pay after 8 months if we sign up now. 

Not doing anything until we return to Canada, but sounds like a reasonable choice. We can handle the FX charges (which would only be about $100) by just doing more of a NG than we did in past (we have US$ Mastercard)

Might be interesting to compare Brim with Momentum infinite. Someone will soon, I am sure! From what I recall, our cashback would come to over $1000 for the Momentum Infinite.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I spend about 6 months outside Canada when I live in Canada and I will be full time outside Canada starting this summer, and 2 months in NorCal between now and then.

I and many others are looking for a *0% FX* card to replace the amazon and marriott rewards cards (I had both). I'm comparing this to Home Trust Preferred (Fido/Rogers ruled out for many reasons)

If anything we should be comparing the Brim World Elite to the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card with $139 fee



agent99 said:


> Looking at the Scotia Momentum Infinite through Amazon. $75 credit at Amazon plus


In risk of going off my own topic, what's this? I'm with amazon prime and I haven't received any credit card offers

I'd love to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve my US counterparts use but you need excellent US credit, which Chase amazon/marriott might have helped me with


----------



## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

We have a TD USD bank account, topped when advantageous, and a USD Visa that is paid from the USD account.


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> We have a TD USD bank account, topped when advantageous, and a USD Visa that is paid from the USD account.




excellent arrangement. A little gambit or small judicious cull of overpriced or topping-out US securities if necessary & you are in that enviable sweet spot forever. The sweet spot where you will never again, in your lifetime, pay any FX fee on USD currency conversions.

re Brim, i'm still not convinced that they do not have their own FX fee on USD. Not talking here about the 2.50% credit card network fee, i'm talking about a possible fee that Brim itself might levy.

a while ago a cmffer posted a tool for calculating Visa FX rates for one Visa card. He claimed that the real-time calculator was offering holders of that particular Visa card USD at spot rates.

intrigued, i checked for a few days, working the calculator followed by immediate click to XE.com, which shows true spot. Horrors. The "no-FX-fee" Visa calculator was consistently showing a charge of approximately 1%. While it is true that XE.com will show the median money centre bank rate, not any actual bid or ask, nevertheless the deviation from spot that a nimble FX avoider can obtain should always be only a few points _per mill_, never anything as big as 1%.

a credit card company can still make a mint on 1%. As for USD FX fees at Brim, i for one believe the jury is still out.


.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> We have a TD USD bank account, topped when advantageous, and a USD Visa that is paid from the USD account.


Yea I'm considering that one as I have a dormant TD All Inclusive account with the min balance which has been mostly useless to me for 8 years now compared to free accounts like Tangerine

I'm still sour they killed the free Borderless account from "All Inclusive" when Tangerine has a USD account for free.. I find min balances really annoying as you have to buffer to avoid the piddly fees. I just don't like their annoying gotcha practices and find them antiquated and deceitful. But I like my big bank stocks

And this is silly but why does the TD USD card have to scream I'm a tourist and I have a "U.S. Dollar" Visa. Also I travel to more places with FX fees besides the US. This is only helpful in the US


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

m3s said:


> I and many others are looking for a *0% FX* card to replace the amazon and marriott rewards cards (I had both). I'm comparing this to Home Trust Preferred (Fido/Rogers ruled out for many reasons)



what's wrong with the all-USD TD arrangement that onlyMO describes above though

Brim *might* be totally fee-free on FX; but all they said (your extracts above) is that they're not applying the CC network 2.50% fee.

sorry m3 i can't resist teasing you a bit. You're such a skilled & thorough worker that i know that, sooner or later, you'll be back with the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth re CC FX fees.


.


----------



## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

m3s said:


> In risk of going off my own topic, what's this? I'm with amazon prime and I haven't received any credit card offers


Well, they didn't send out offers! But on their site, if you look at your account page and then "more ways to pay" on right side, it has several Scotia cards. Click on each of them for the deals.


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

m3s said:


> Yea I'm considering that one as I have a dormant TD All Inclusive account with the min balance which has been mostly useless to me for 8 years now compared to free accounts like Tangerine
> 
> I'm still sour they killed the free Borderless account from "All Inclusive" when Tangerine has a USD account for free.. I find min balances really annoying as you have to buffer to avoid the piddly fees. I just don't like their annoying gotcha practices and find them antiquated and deceitful. But I like my big bank stocks



yea costs of maintaining a USD bank account do matter, although some folks have working non-dormant US accounts anyhow

this factoid might not interest you but it could be significant for other cmffers. BMO investorline routinely issues both CAD & USD chequing accounts with no fees to their clients. These accounts are used as the sole conduit for adding cash to or withdrawing cash from BOMIL investment accounts.

i should qualify that "no fee" statement above. Every client gets 2 free withdrawals per month. After that comes a $1 charge per withdrawal. As bank fees go, $1 is not too bad. There is no maintenance fee for these accounts.

i think it might be possible to set up a Bill Payment from one of these BOMIL bank accounts, directly to a credit card account at another institution. This would cancel the need for an expensive USD chequable account at that other institution. Haven't tried such a bill payment though. Might try as an experiment.

.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> what's wrong with the all-USD TD arrangement that onlyMO describes above though


Several things for me



The 0% FX cards typically have a base rewards program that kills my concern of the small underlying FX fee from Visa/Mastercard
This particular 0% FX card has additional travel insurance that would require you to use the card while travelling. Typically I use TD Visa Infinite with FX fees for purchases that are eligible for insurance
Canadian USD cards only work for USD and not other foreign currencies
Canadian USD cards have annual fees and no frills, whereas even most free cards give some freebies like Brim with free boingo wifi, limited insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection etc (rarely use any of these frills but still)
I will eventually get a USD card from a US denominated bank once I have established US credit. This could take years

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite (No-FX card) that was just announced Friday that I just only discovered when @agent99 mentioned Scotia Momentum is quite interesting though


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> i think it might be possible to set up a Bill Payment from one of these BOMIL bank accounts, directly to a credit card account at another institution. This would cancel the need for an expensive USD chequable account at that other institution. Haven't tried such a bill payment though. Might try as an experiment.


Tangerine free USD account has done everything for me so far but I never had a USD bill to pay with it (don't believe that works)



Deposit USD cheques (I've had several)
Transfer USD direct to/from Questrade USD accounts
Withdraw USD cash using Tangerine debit card

For these reasons I killed my TD Borderless when TD decided it was no longer included in the "All Inclusive"


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

agent99 said:


> Well, they didn't send out offers! But on their site, if you look at your account page and then "more ways to pay" on right side, it has several Scotia cards. Click on each of them for the deals.


This is interesting. It also applies to the new Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite (*No-FX card*)

Through amazon you immediately get a $75 amazon.ca gift certificate and 5k signup bonus vs 25k signup bonus elsewhere (after spending $1k in 3 months) No clue what the points are worth

Problem with these cards like my current TD Visa Infinite is you have to spend travel points through their own limited travel websites


----------



## BC Eddie (Feb 2, 2014)

I was starting to get interested in the Brim World Elite card even though it has a $120 annual fee. I was considering it to replace (1) my dead Amazon card because it claims no FX fee and (2) my Capital One World Elite because it pays 2% on everything. However, the devil is in the details as I see Brim only pays 2% on the first $25,000 each year. As I put virtually everything on my Cap One card (except using my Costco MasterCard for restaurants because it pays 3%) this would mean I would lose over $600 in extra Cap One rebate. Looks like I will be sticking with the Cap One Elite + Home Trust combo.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

BC Eddie said:


> I was considering it to replace (1) my dead Amazon card because it claims no FX fee and (2) my Capital One World Elite because it pays 2% on everything. However, the devil is in the details as I see Brim only pays 2% on the first $25,000 each year.


$25k limit for 2% is a kicker for some. Cap One Elite + Brim free might be an idea. Depends if you prefer roadside assistance or boingo wifi + amazon

They did confirm double pts for amazon on Twitter today. People are reporting credit hits and phone calls from Brim this week

https://twitter.com/BrimFinancial/status/974396236991098880


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I use the all TD setup, with a TD US Visa. Zero annual fee provided there's a minimum monthly balance of a few thousand $ in the USD bank account.

m3s: on the US side, you might want to look into the Chase Freedom Unlimited with $0 fee. I just got one, and it has looser requirements than the Sapphire one. I get 1.5% points for unlimited purchases and they also have a $150 bonus. Which is just crazy, and yes, they actually transferred $150 worth of points to me after a few months. Free money.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

james4beach said:


> I use the all TD setup, with a TD US Visa. Zero annual fee provided there's a minimum monthly balance of a few thousand $ in the USD bank account.


Can you pay US bills with that? I mean a US internet or post paid cell or taxes etc. Can you withdraw from US ATM? (it's unclear as TD says N/A for ATMs in Canada/US/Mexico *Banking via ATM and debit payment purchase is not available) Don't you find US billing address with zip is required for some online bills and gas stations

You should check the TD US side. My US TD Account is already showing in my TD Canada easyweb, just waiting for the debit card now. The min balance is either $100 or $2500 vs $3000, and their free cashback card looks better than what's available anywhere in Canada for free ($150 cash, amazon echo and dot for signup for a free card and 1-3% cashback probably with no caps, and NO FX SURCHARGE) I'll put my US pay there and try to link it to Tangerine USD or Questrade

From what I've read, I can't apply for Chase or anything else without at least 12 months US credit history. I can apply for the US TD Visa because they can pull my Canadian credit history (same for RBC, AMEX and HSBC) The requirement for the US TD Visa is a US residential address. I don't have a US SSN yet so I can't build US credit yet anyways

Brim World Elite still ticks a lot of the boxes for me. Where it shines is the travel insurance + NO FX combo because travel insurance is only useful if you charge travel to that card and travel is often in a foreign currency.. The amazon card was great for small FX purchases that wouldn't possibly require insurance like gas/restaurant but this card replaces 2 cards for me (travel and FX)

Plus it has double rewards at amazon and spotify, and boingo wifi.. looks like hints of amazon prime membership?


----------



## BC Eddie (Feb 2, 2014)

m3s said:


> $25k limit for 2% is a kicker for some. Cap One Elite + Brim free might be an idea. Depends if you prefer roadside assistance or boingo wifi + amazon
> 
> They did confirm double pts for amazon on Twitter today. People are reporting credit hits and phone calls from Brim this week
> 
> https://twitter.com/BrimFinancial/status/974396236991098880


Well choice is always good but so far Brim is not tempting enough. I would prefer good wifi access to roadside assistance (my car insurance already includes this) but on checking the Boingo wifi it is only available in a couple of the airports and airlines that I most frequently use so it is of limited appeal. And double Amazon points is no better than what I get with Cap One.


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

m3s said:


> Can you pay US bills with that? I mean a US internet or post paid cell or taxes etc. Can you withdraw from US ATM? (it's unclear as TD says N/A for ATMs in Canada/US/Mexico *Banking via ATM and debit payment purchase is not available) Don't you find US billing address with zip is required for some online bills and gas stations


As far as I know, the Canadian-issued TD US Dollar Visa card cannot be used to pay US bills. I also haven't found any way to pay US bills using the Canadian-based TD EasyWeb with Borderless/USD account. I ended up opening a US-based bank account to do all of that.

With respect to debit cards, no, you cannot withdraw USD cash at an ATM from the Canadian-domiciled "Borderless" USD account.



> You should check the TD US side.


TD has a good US presence on the east coast, for example Washington DC. However I'm on the west coast and there are no TD branches out west, so I didn't bother with it.



> From what I've read, I can't apply for Chase or anything else without at least 12 months US credit history.


That's probably true. Earlier I was denied for countless cards from Chase and Capital One. I think at the 1.5 to 2.0 year mark, I had sufficient US credit history. Until then I basically used my Canadian credit for everything.


----------



## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

james4beach said:


> TD has a good US presence on the east coast, for example Washington DC. However I'm on the west coast and there are no TD branches out west, so I didn't bother with it.


Yea that could technically be a problem for me using TD Bank (US). They ask for a residential address within their footprint to apply for credit but apparently they don't require a bill to prove it and the mailing address can be different



james4beach said:


> That's probably true. Earlier I was denied for countless cards from Chase and Capital One. I think at the 1.5 to 2.0 year mark, I had sufficient US credit history. Until then I basically used my Canadian credit for everything.


I guess Brim financial might end up my main card until then



Ag Driver said:


> Once Amazon Prime is confirmed, I will be all over this. Prime includes Video and Music. I was looking for an offline Music player, and amazon video is somewhat of a netflix, so this is a no brainer for me if it ends up being the case.


You mean online music player? I've used Spotify since before amazon music was added to prime. Amazon music UI lacks compared to Spotify but I'm sure it will improve and it's enough that I should cancel Spotify (which costs more than prime itself)

I got Prime for The Grand Tour but it has more than enough entertainment for me between amazon originals and obscure documentaries I'd never find otherwise. Even obscure Canadian content like The Hermit of Gully Lake

IMDB gives you an idea of what's good on amazon video movies and series. The next amazon original is based on a Tom Clancy story


----------



## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

> Hi XXXXX,
> We’re so glad that you decided to sign-up for Brim and want to give you a peek into what’s been going on at Brim HQ as we prep for launch.The countdown is on
> We’ve been hearing amazing feedback from beta testers already in market. We’re excited to welcome even more members into the Brim community as we gradually send out more cards in batches towards the end of March.
> Smarter Payments
> ...


Shame both BRIM card and TD Bank USA cards will probably sit in my frozen mailbox while I'm in the US for 2 months.. I guess I'll have pay a visit to one of these living history museums on Monday and pull out some dirty old USD paper.


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

alas, Brim is being less than honest when they claim *0%* foreign exchange fees as a leading enticement.

in the small print, right on their website, Brim clearly states that all they have eliminated are the 2.50% FX network fees. Other CC companies have also eliminated these fees & in the face of growing consumer resistance, it is likely that the trend to eliminate 2.50% network fees is going to accelerate. In reality, today, this is a minor accomplishment.

Brim continues to state that it will charge the standard Mastercard FX fee in effect for each transaction. From their website, in the small print:




> Brim will not charge any foreign transaction fees on purchases in another currency, online or abroad. Everyone else charges you 2.5%**.
> 
> * _For foreign currency transactions, the rate will be the exchange rate set by Mastercard and applied at the time of the conversion, without additional surcharge._
> 
> ** Avg. foreign exchange fee charged by Canadian banks.



https://brimfinancial.com/features/


my rough estimate is that the FX rate Brim will apply to USD/CAD transactions could range from 2 per mill - ie 20 basis points, the forex rate - up to 1%. This is similar to what the specialized Visa cards are charging. IMHO these are not punitive or unbearable fees & everyone can understand that a credit card company legitimately needs to cover its processing costs. However i feel that Brim should be more honest with its promotional advertising & should stop claiming that they have "zero" FX fees.


if cmffers using Brim cards in the US would be kind enough to reliably post back what, in reality, they do experience with US purchases on their Brim cards, this action would be helpful. Accurate reportage on what happens with Brim card withdrawals at US ATMs would also be helpful, as would accurate reportage on whether Brim cards are accepted & can be universally used at US gas stations, hotels, restaurants & stores.

it's a lot of work to document these tracks; but nobody ever said that pioneering is easy .each:


.


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

ms3, you can easily sign up for a td bank account from canada ... i am referring to _td bank usa_ the subsidiary of td canada trust

it all happens over the phone, they will send you papers to sign, you use your passport and all the identifying information (address/phone) is canadian

https://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/banking/cross-border-banking/index.jsp

i use the $100 minimum balance for my no fee chequing which i have linked to my usa card, a citibank mastercard (which you would like james since it offers virtual disposable numbers that i use when making many online purchases)

thanks for the brim link, this might work to replace my amazon card (good riddance chase, good luck living in the 1980's)


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Thanks that sounds interesting fatcat. I just went with a different bank in the US because I need occasional branch services, and there are no branches on the west coast. But this sounds pretty easy to sign up with the American TD and that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.


----------



## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

humble_pie said:


> alas, Brim is being less than honest when they claim *0%* foreign exchange fees as a leading enticement.
> 
> in the small print, right on their website, Brim clearly states that all they have eliminated are the 2.50% FX network fees. Other CC companies have also eliminated these fees & in the face of growing consumer resistance, it is likely that the trend to eliminate 2.50% network fees is going to accelerate. In reality, today, this is a minor accomplishment.
> 
> ...


I notice that you seem pessimistic on any of these "currency exchange" free type cards. I think everyone can accept the fact that they aren't going to get the spot rate. But my question is what do you suggest? Do a Norbert's gambit for a few thousand in foreign currency and carry cash? It's a serious question, as I am wondering what options there are. When it comes to foreign travel, you have credit cards, cash or traveler cheques, all of which involve some sort of conversion "fee" regardless on how you obtain, or use them. Plus, behind all of them are either a bank, or VISA or Mastercard adding some sort of cost. The question is what is the best of a bunch of bad options?


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

fatcat said:


> ms3, you can easily sign up for a td bank account from canada ... i am referring to _td bank usa_ the subsidiary of td canada trust
> 
> it all happens over the phone, they will send you papers to sign, you use your passport and all the identifying information (address/phone) is canadian


Thanks, I actually applied for this online a few weeks ago (took about 10 mins and required 2 pieces of Canadian ID) I didn't have to sign anything yet (scribbles as some kind of proof is so 1980s as well imo, might as well break out the wax seals) I can already see my US-based TD Bank account in my TD Canada Trust easy web, but unfortunately the debit card has yet to arrive. I think I need the debit card to be able to fund the account too.. Sadly I can't simply "transfer" money between accounts even though I see them both in the same TD Canada login, have to use Visa or wire transfer?


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

bgc_fan said:


> The question is what is the best of a bunch of bad options?


You kind of have to use a decent credit card to rent a vehicle or book a room in most countries. Most hotels and rental agencies put a temporary hold on credit cards for damage. Plus a decent card will provide you with various types of travel insurance which you need to use the card to be eligible for, so you will likely want to use said card in foreign currency to benefit from various travel insurance coverage

From my own tests and from some other reports I've seen online these cards have about 20-40 basis points exchange rate which is fine with me considering the convenience and insurance benefits. In some cases my Chase cards were beating the daily average, but in most cases it hovered around 30 pts in the US. I'd like to see some test in other currencies (I tend to use more cash in most other countries)


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

m3s said:


> Thanks, I actually applied for this online a few weeks ago (took about 10 mins and required 2 pieces of Canadian ID) I didn't have to sign anything yet (scribbles as some kind of proof is so 1980s as well imo, might as well break out the wax seals) I can already see my US-based TD Bank account in my TD Canada Trust easy web, but unfortunately the debit card has yet to arrive. I think I need the debit card to be able to fund the account too.. Sadly I can't simply "transfer" money between accounts even though I see them both in the same TD Canada login, have to use Visa or wire transfer?


i didn't know that you can see td usa through your td easy web portal ? ... how does that work ?

yes, i once had a usa rbc account and transferring could all be done online ... with td you must call in to transfer and there is a fee which is then rebated, why they haven't caught up and implemented online transfers is beyond me

i don't think you can put money into the south by debit though maybe you can take it out but it is probably pricey

you basically need to get a cheap td us dollar savings account and transfer money back and forth by phone


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

When I applied online it asked if I wanted to link TD Canada Trust easyweb. I can see the US-based TD Bank account and balance but I think it will just hyperlink to to TD Bank online banking

I just noticed Visa Direct costs $12.95 for +$1000 international transfer. What a sham.. I could just XE or Knightsbridge for much less it so the TD "cross border" seems like a joke so far


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

m3s said:


> I just noticed Visa Direct costs $12.95 for +$1000 international transfer. What a sham.. I could just XE or Knightsbridge for much less it so the TD "cross border" seems like a joke so far


m3s, see if you can transfer USD directly from the US side to Canadian. If you can get it into your TDDI account, then you can use the ShoGam method:
http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php/64970-ShoGam-short-first-gambit


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I might experiment with gambits later, but to activate my account with funds I just tried XE

I find it mildly entertaining that XE can take a normal free bill pay and transfer direct to US-based-TD-Bank yet TD-Canada-Trust which claims to have "cross border banking" requires slow expensive wire transfer. No reason why I can't do a free transfer between TD banks. Still wondering if anythings actually included in "all inclusive banking"

Buy the Canadian banks and prosper...


----------



## Joebaba (Jan 31, 2017)

m3s said:


> I just noticed Visa Direct costs $12.95 for +$1000 international transfer. What a sham.. I could just XE or Knightsbridge for much less it so the TD "cross border" seems like a joke so far


Hey M3S - if you have cross border banking, TD will rebate the Visa Direct fee - usually within 2 to 3 days. The Visa Direct transfers usually show up in the US side within a couple of hours.

Joe


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

m3s said:


> I might experiment with gambits later, but to activate my account with funds I just tried XE
> 
> I find it mildly entertaining that XE can take a normal free bill pay and transfer direct to US-based-TD-Bank yet TD-Canada-Trust which claims to have "cross border banking" requires slow expensive wire transfer. No reason why I can't do a free transfer between TD banks. Still wondering if anythings actually included in "all inclusive banking"
> 
> Buy the Canadian banks and prosper...


just to be clear, if i am understanding you ... if you have a td canada trust us dollar account (just a cheapo simple savings account) you only need pick up the phone to move money for free back and forth between the usa and canada

assuming you are dealing in all us dollars from one account to another

if you have a tdw us dollar account i had them transfer money from it directly into my td bank south

you can also transfer from a td canada trust canada dollar account to td bank south and of course incur the exchange fee

but there is no need to use visa if you don't want to ... though it is interesting that td will rebate if you do so

don't know why they haven't implemented this online ... rbc has done it beautifully and easily


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

bgc_fan said:


> I notice that you seem pessimistic on any of these "currency exchange" free type cards. I think everyone can accept the fact that they aren't going to get the spot rate. But my question is what do you suggest?




i'm begging to differ, sorry ... but i'm neither pessimistic nor optimistic. This thread & others like it are talking about specific quantifiable items such as dollars, cents, fees, exchange rates, percentages, mille rates. Where to find the best no-charge or low-charge USD credit card at a time when the TD is outrageously & greedily raising its basic fee for a USD transaction to 3.5% of the money involved after conversion.

in this thread we have folks with advanced experience posting about ways to bypass the high fees that are normally charged. It's a real community service imho.

there's no one-size-fits-all answer though. People's buying habits are too individuated. Folks have to add what they can, take away what they need, from this work-in-progress.


.


----------



## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

another low-cost-no-hassle way to work a 100% USD credit card entirely in USD - ie a zero-FX fee CC that is linked to a low-cost USD bank account - would be via BMO investorline.

the easy simplicity is because, alone among all canadian discount brokers, BOMIL automatically gives clients true bank accounts with real transit numbers, full e-access & even paper cheques for clients who need them.

how it works: the hypothetical BMO client has US securities plus US cash in his BOMIL account. He also has a BMO USD mastercard. Online, he transfers USD cash from broker to credit card, working via the broker/bank link.

the BMO USD mastercard is low cost. Annual fee of $35 will be fully refunded the following year if client has spent a minimum of USD $1000 over the entire year. 

transactions on this card are free; but there is a flat $5 fee per USD cash withdrawal at a US ATM. Apparently a client can preload a card for cash withdrawals & the system will be able to recognize the existing cash, will not charge interest for a cash advance. However, the system will still charge $5 for the withdrawal.

the BMO USD mastercard doesn't seem to include insurance for vehicle rental, access to airport VIP lounges, boingo wifi or spotify. It looks like it was designed for thrifty snowbirds some years back. Showing its age now but still looking good.


https://www.bmo.com/main/personal/credit-cards/us-dollar-mastercard/


.


----------



## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

humble_pie said:


> i'm begging to differ, sorry ... but i'm neither pessimistic nor optimistic. This thread & others like it are talking about specific quantifiable items such as dollars, cents, fees, exchange rates, percentages, mille rates.


Fair enough, but given the lack of choices, there isn't much to pick. While most of the discussion is about traveling to the US, that's not really my concern. I am looking for choices for Europe and Asia, meaning that th solution for the US don't work in my case.


----------



## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

m3s said:


> You kind of have to use a decent credit card to rent a vehicle or book a room in most countries. Most hotels and rental agencies put a temporary hold on credit cards for damage. Plus a decent card will provide you with various types of travel insurance which you need to use the card to be eligible for, so you will likely want to use said card in foreign currency to benefit from various travel insurance coverage


True enough, particularly when it comes to car rentals and waiver of CDW. I find that my insurance company doesn't work outside of Canada and US, but ny credit card waiver works.


----------



## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

this mastercard allows you to preload 7 different currencies - main ones being USD,EUR,GBP,JPY,AUD,MXN Peso
https://cashpassport.ca/en/

it has all kinds of costs but once you buy it and if you monitor your usage, you should be able to use it fairly cheaply
good for use if you want to take a european trip

also cibc has prepaid cards in 4 major currencies, GBP, EUR, USD and PESO, good if you are going only to a si gle country

https://www.cibc.com/en/personal-banking/prepaid/cibc-smart-prepaid-travel-visa-card.html


----------



## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

fatcat said:


> this mastercard allows you to preload 7 different currencies - main ones being USD,EUR,GBP,JPY,AUD,MXN Peso
> https://cashpassport.ca/en/
> 
> it has all kinds of costs but once you buy it and if you monitor your usage, you should be able to use it fairly cheaply
> ...


The MasterCard is interesting, but seems to be more trouble than it is worth given the fees to reload, as well inactivity fees, and fees for clearing out the account. Interesting that you can pick it up at Canada Post outlets. Of course, a kicker is that I suspect that one would not get good exchange rates.

The CIBC card kind of defeats the purpose as they charge 2.5% fee to load funds onto the card.


----------



## ragi (May 11, 2018)

m3s said:


> Any startup telecom in Canada faces the insurmountable wrath of the big 3. I never used Wind but I use the more recent startup Public and it was great until it was bought by Telus, but the end result is an exclusive offer from Telus
> 
> I've signed up for Brim today and I have a referral code if anyone is interested, at risk of the supermods wrath. This card sounds like something ING Direct would have done pre Scotiabank takover


Hello:

Yes, I am interested. Please send me the referral code, if it is still available. Thanks.


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Can't PM you. It's 40273 but Brim launch seems to be delayed


----------



## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

m3s said:


> Can't PM you. It's 40273 but Brim launch seems to be delayed





> There will also be a $100 referral program.


Do they really give you $100 every time someone you refer signs up? Or is it just a one time deal?


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

agent99 said:


> Do they really give you $100 every time someone you refer signs up? Or is it just a one time deal?


Not really

"Invite 5 friends to join Brim and earn 10,000 points ($100 value) after they activate their Brim cards."


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

You’ve been waiting patiently for updates on your Brim credit card application. It’s taken us a little longer than we initially planned - we haven’t forgotten about you.
While in early access, we have many cards in market and have been extensively testing our platform around the world to ensure the user experience is flawless; with testing being done in New Zealand, US, United Kingdom, Norway, India & many other places!
*We’ve also added more great features – here’s what we’ve been up to:*











*Custom security*

Instantly lock your card, block foreign and online transactions & setup purchase notifications. All in real-time. All in-app.













*Open Rewards*

Enjoy unlimited & uncapped points with our new partners in Brim Marketplace when you make purchases using your Brim card. Watch for our partner announcements soon.













*Smarter payments*

Pay for large purchases in smaller monthly payments at 0% interest* with Brim Installment Pay. Be among the first in the world to set up installments right in your credit card. Learn more.













*Brim Travel*

Earn 5X the points with Brim Travel! Book all of your flights, accommodation, rentals & more with our comprehensive travel search engine, built from the ground up – coming soon.


We’re thrilled that you’ve decided to join the credit card revolution with Brim. Hang tight as we prepare for our kickoff right around the corner! Stay tuned, share the love & watch for more regular updates.
If you need to get in touch with us, email [email protected].
The Brim Team 
brimfinancial.com


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Cancelled my Brim application

They added more benefits and increased the annual fee to $200 but grandfathered me to $120 for the first year. Card would have been useful when it was announced as amazon chase was killed off

At this point I will have US based credit cards soon and there's also a new Rogers World Elite card for Canadians (4% cash back in foreign currency - just don't make a return and get hit by FX twice..)


----------

