UK bank issuing credit card for US

HSBC has a string of US subsidiaries, and has its headquarters in London. sounds pretty much like the answer. the retail bank is not that wide, but you can operate your account directly from elsewhere in the US.

Regards

Ian

I think that will be difficult in the UK. For a start, you would usually need a UK address, as well as proof of it, and many banks (though certainly not all) will require a certain period of residency in the UK before you'll be considered. Then there is credit scoring etc.

As a US citizen, I assume there are reasons that you can't get a credit card there- and you don't have to go into them, of course. However, they do tend to throw them at you in the US- I was offered many while I lived there.

If there are credit issues, then look into the myriad 'deposit' credit cards, which many banks offer (albeit with often punitive charges ) for people with no, or bad, credit.

Oh no, there's no end to the US companies who are ready to come through my front door with some ridiculous credit card offer. I'm perfectly able to get a credit card from an American bank, but I'm very unhappy with the level of service and the amount of cross-corporate relationships that negate the value of competition. Also, I'm looking to make a backhanded political statement about the amount of debt in the United States which is held in foreign countries, and how that money is handled more logically and conservatively.

I do have a specific goal here. MBNA recently revised their credit agreement (for the fourth time in as many years) and I've told them that I'll reject it unless they make my membership more appealing. Now that they've called my bluff, I have to transfer my balance or risk feeling silly. :)

-KKC, who should find reasons other than personal grudges to make financial decisions...

So I take it an MBNA UK credit card is off the uh, cards, then! :)

OK- my point about the difficulty of getting a card still stands. It'll be really hard to get one unless you are resident in the UK.

If you are a high net-worth customer (e.g. minimum balance of 5,000 or more in a current account), many banks issue credit cards and offer account facilities to overseas residents through their off-shore subsidiaries. They are mainly based in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man and you can find contacts through their websites, such as

I dunno about the protest bit, but these off-shore subsidiaries can be quite flexible and can usually offer accounts and cards in sterling, US$ and euro, among others. They are very popular with international executives and nowadays can run their accounts by internet from anywhere in the world (as you can do with most UK domestic accounts). The OP can, for example, pay their off-shore card balance by transferring funds from their US account (there will be some charges, no doubt).

Alec

The Royal Bank of Scotland do have a subsidiary in the US. It is called Citizens Financial Group.

About my protest? In a free market, you can only provide goods or services as long as your customers are willing to stick around and pay for them. If you conspire with your competitors to confuse or to exploit your customers then you're violating the spirit of the free market. That's the main reason I want to go outside of the US to have a credit card, to remove my finances from that sort of abuse. The tradeoff is that a little bit more US debt will be owned by a foreign entity. It's one I can live with.

Based on what I've read here and the laws that I've reviewed, it looks like the best I can do is get a card with an American bank that's wholly owned by a UK or EU organization. The other branch of this thread shows that RBS does have an American card issuer subsidiary, RBS-NB which suits my needs perfectly. So, thanks all for your advise and assistance.

-KKC, who wonders which is a better motivation, nationalism or grudges...

It was odd that an American friend of mine was able to get a UK store card with no problems. But then considering the interest charged, I suppose it is not a great worry for the finance group.

Axel

And the person wasn't a UK resident at the time? I suppose it's possible, but I've been waiting in line at shops and seen people turned down when applying for store cards!

No. She was not a resident. And no proof of her current UK address either. It was the House of Fraser... I forget what company actually deals with their store cards.

Axel

In message , chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco writes

I applied for one once - at the time you got an extra 10% off for so doing and they application process seemed to be if your payment worked by existing credit card you were accepted.