chisue - It may have become easier for Canadians but a few years ago it was a nightmare. That said (and I worked in a bank at one time) my boss in an M & A company used to just write U.S. $ on his Cdn. cheque and mail it off and it always cleared, but then I know that the Bank cleared it "by hand" - he was extremely well to do, which can make quite a difference as opposed to being a fee-paying middle class person. I remember before GardenWeb was taken over and I was going to join and pay the $15 US I think it was and the hoops I was going to have to go through - so I only looked at the "free" forums - wasn't worth buying a U.S. $ money order and paying the fee for that. Many Cdns. now have U.S. $ bank accounts so that might be helpful as well - we don't. And it used to be to get a U.S. $ credit card you had to have an address in the U.S. to have the statement delivered to. We are so similar yet when it comes to anything involving buying something ("shopping") we become international! Just ask any Cdn. ordering or trying to order something on-line from the U.S. - even if it is allowed, versus an American ordering from Canada. Big difference. By the way, I don't like PayPal - maybe because I almost signed up one day then changed my mind and even though it has been 5 years I keep getting e-mails regarding hacking into my account - spam of course - but rather alarming since I didn't even complete half of the application and of course did not submit it. It used to be that there was a bank in Wilmington, Delaware that could clear Cdn. cheques. When we were in NY last month I did see lots of TD Banks - we bank at TD in Toronto - but to do anything with my debit card I would have had to use the ATM machine - which thankfully had a PLUS sign - the way my day had been going I was expecting it not to. (I had just been trampled by a gaggle of teens who saw Jennifer Aniston and wanted to get to her.)

DH & I also have several cards with no balance on them. We will be applying for a mortgage soon, so I asked my banker this question. He told me to cancel the majority of the cards, but to keep either a couple with fairly low limits or one card with a pretty decent limit. He said that banks like to see someone have $30,000-$40,000 worth open credit on cards (depending on your income). He says that lets them know that you have a source of available money that you can access quickly. He said they don't like to see huge amounts of open credit because that shows the potential for a problem. We pulled our own credit reports & they said that the amount of unused credit we have may actually be hurting our score. We have only a tiny fraction owed but a lot of open credit. Another thing my banker & the credit report mentioned was the ratio of how much you owe to the amount of open credit. Example: If you owe $5,000 & have two cards with a total credit limit of $20,000, cancelling one card that has a $10,000 limit can actually hurt you. Instead of having a balance that equals one quarter of your available credit, you will now owe an amt. equal to half of your available credit. If you want to cancel, make sure you write a letter to the credit card company & keep it & proof that you mailed it on file. Make sure to request that they note in your file that the card was cancelled at your request. Having a lender cancel your card can hurt your credit score. If you won't be applying for a loan any time soon, you can just leave them & they will drop off of your credit report after a few years.

TT a couple of answers and questions... First, A debit card is not a debt obligation no matter the name stamped on the front so no it does not assist your credit score nor cause a negative effect. Secondly, it's not a major carrier card that is an issue, it's something called "revolving debt" (all credit cards qualify equally as revolving debt). It does not need to be a card with a VISA on it, sears is equally the same in the world of credit, it's revolving debt. So what they're looking at is how you use your revolving debt and how you pay it. You want your total revolving debt to not be a huge number, and you never want to be extended past 50% of your allowable limits (so if you have ten grand in revolving debt available you want to average under 5). So if you have some and it's not over extended and you've paid on time you're ok there. I don't expect you to tell me what the bumps are so I want to give you a few examples of "ok bumps" to see if it helps and a couple of not ok bumps so you can get the lay of the land there as well. So ok bumps are a couple of late pays (30 day maybe 60 but preferably 30 day late). Another would be over limit during that time, but paid down now. Collection accounts that are explainable but are paid now. And not many of those (like two would be tops). OK so it's a business loan...first, I'm having some email problems (someone got my password and has been screwing up my account) so don't email me any answers to these questions or anything (just in case...I don't want anyone's personal info mussed up). So I'm going to ask hypothetical questions as if you were at my desk but I 'm not expecting answers...I just want to make you think before you go in for the loan. OK first pull up your credit info (both of yours) and see what your scores are. If they're in the 700 you're ok...if they're in the 300's you are going to have a great deal of trouble with the business loan. Or as Rickie would say...you got some splain'in to do. How's your equity situation in the house? Would this loan fit in an under 80% scenario (loan to appraised or tax assessed value). A business loan with personal collateral is easier to get than a straight loan especially if you don't borrow much. Please tell me you report all ofyour business income and keep decent financials! I can't tell you how many loans i turned down that probably could have been approved if they actually reported their real earnings. What you say you get verses what you report...well that's between you and the IRS....as a banker I only care about what you report. What's your collateral? If there are assets (aside from personal) that helps, but don't expect a huge LTV on them. Receivables can be taken on a line of credit or loan via UCC if they're formally tracked and under 30 days (unless you do business for a major company who pays slower and you can prove that). What are your receivables? I mean be able to explain who owes you money, who pays you, who's your client, so the banker can make a judgement about your ability to continue working. All business loans are judged to be paid back from cash flow. Does your business cash flow support the repayment on this loan or are you counting on future cash flow from business that will be happening because of this loan. That's an issue...banks own on past history, not so much future history unless it's under contract. Is there a future contract? Bring it with you because it's support for the loan. If you're buying assets, know that the bank wants you in the game too. Many times businesses come in and ask for 100% financing for whatever and the bank's position is that if you're (the business owner) not willing to take a risk on you, why should they? Do you have five years of good financials? Three? IF there are solid profits, consistant earnings, it's easier. If you have huge ups and downs, be sure to be able to explain them. The bank will average the three years or five to determine what your cash flow is really like. And last but not least...know what you do for a living and who your competition is. You'd be amazed how many people used to come and and say "I"m gonna be a XXX" and I'd ask why they were going to be so much better of an XXX than the other 40 XXX's in town. Sell your business to the bank...why is your X so hot? Is it the oldest X, the best client service? What and what keeps you in business in this economy? I hope that helps some? The type of credit you're applying for makes a difference as well. A line of credit is harder to get than a term loan. Collateral counts, and what's the biggest thing....who the heck are you dealing with at the bank? Don't go in and ask a freaking teller for a business loan app. Wait and speak with a business banker (make an appt) don't deal with the 24 year old hottie in new york too hot for her job...oh wait another subject, but actually the same, skip the brainless front desk and ask for a business banker! I approved more loans that had been turned down by branch staff than you can imagine in my career, just because they didn't know what to ask, so when the package when it, they didn't know how to sell it to credit.

Do NOT cancel it. Buy something with it...and then pay it off. Cancelling it...whether they do it or you do it, will lower your available credit amount, and raise your debt ratio if you have any debt or get any. Also...if the card is more than 3 years old, there is another ramification. The "older" your credit cards are, the more they count is your credit score. Old credit accounts show you have long standing records of paying your bills.