Bird Talk

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear Bird Talk, I have read with interest your previous exchanges on the difficulty of obtaining a U.S. $ bank credit card. Last summer, the solution seemed to be to get a U.S. tax ID number. That option won’t work anymore, as the IRS will not issue one unless you will be filing a U.S. […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear Bird Talk, When calculating days spent in the U.S. on the form 8840, if a person returns to Canada for two weeks at Christmastime and then returns to the U.S., or if a person is going on a cruise for two weeks on the Panama Canal while they are staying in the U.S., are […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear bird talk, This message is in reference to the lady trying to acquire U.S. credit cards at major shopping stores. As snowbirds, we have a home in an adult community in henderson, Nevada and this is what has worked for me when applying for a card with Macy’s, dillards, Kohls, etc. Once you have […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear bird talk, we currently have a U.S.$ account with bank of Montreal and now are being told by our camp owner in Edinburg, tX that, effective January 1, 2012, all cheques issued on Canadian banks will be subject to a handling fee of $20. We previously spent our winters in arizona and have not […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear bird talk, I have been unable to complete an application to get a Wal-Mart credit card because the computer insists on a Social Security Number and, of course, I only have a Canadian social insurance number. two weeks of trying to find some way around the computer and talking to senior staff at the […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear Bird Talk, Today, I spoke to a different person at Belk customer service regarding the bill with penalties which I received. This person agreed to drop $30.00 in penalties bringing my bill down to $42.00. I paid with MasterCard but this person tried to charge me $15.00 for using it. I said absolutely not. […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear Bird Talk, Like many snowbirds, I often get asked for my social security number (SSN) for financial purposes, such as applying for credit cards. In particular, AMEX will not provide a card unless I provide an SSN, and I particularly want an AMEX card because it is the only one Costco accepts. (I could […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear Bird Talk, Re: Form 8840 Is this form mandatory or a nice-to-do thing? F. Helmink Terrace Bay, ON Response: Ed: This is the second most-asked question. The IRA in the United States (that’s the tax department) wants to tax you on your worldwide income! If you spend three months a year in the U.S., […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Since I have a condo in Florida, I wonder if I can buy a car there and use it in Canada as my normal car, without having to make any transfer. This means that I would have to immatriculate my car in Florida and get insurance there. Would that be correct for the Canadian authorities? […]

Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.

Dear Bird Talk, Like many other people, I had the problem of not being able to use my credit card at the gas pumps in Florida because I did not have a U.S. zip code to punch into the pump. My solution was to phone MasterCard and temporarily change my billing address to my U.S. […]