Apply for a U.S. card without SSN/ITIN via Amex Credit Passport

U.S. no doubt has the best credit card offers in the world, and many people from overseas are very keen on applying for one. It’s tricky though, as unlike in the UK you usually need to provide a tax number (SSN or ITIN) when submitting an application, and you may not have one if you still live abroad or have recently moved.

There’s a well-known workaround though – if you are an Amex cardholder overseas, you could apply for a U.S. Amex card via its Global Transfer service. You don’t need an SSN / ITIN or any credit history in the U.S. – all you need is a U.S. residential address and a phone number, and Amex will use your internal credit record with them to evaluate the application.

It’s usually a very smooth process, and everyone I know who’ve tried succeeded, although some of them were asked for some sort of bank verification.

It’s not until recently that I became aware of another service that Amex U.S. offers – Credit Passport, provided by Nova Credit.

The idea is quite similar to Global Transfer, which aims to facilitate the application for people who don’t have a tax number yet in the country. However,

• You don’t need to be an existing Amex customer
• Your credit history in the current residential country will be used for the application

Currently nine countries are supported: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, India, Kenya, Nigeria and Dominican Republic.

Note that the application only triggers a soft pull in the United Kingdom as well as in Canada, Australia, India and Dominican Republic, which means it doesn’t negatively impact your credit score.

To be honest I don’t think it’s a very useful feature, as all listed countries issue their own Amex cards, with the exception of Dominican Republic. My speculation is that having an Amex card and doing the Global Transfer would have a much higher success rate.

However, if somehow you don’t have an Amex card, or the Global Transfer doesn’t work out, you may want to try Credit Passport to apply for your first U.S. credit card. A reader from Canada has just reported success so it’s a viable route.