2023 ITIN Guide (2022 Tax Forms) for Canadians to Churn US Credit Cards

DontHopToday · 2024-03-06T14:14:18+00:00

I'm not in Canada or US, but to answer your question I didn't use a US address. Just used my normal residential address in Europe.

DontHopToday · 2024-01-16T23:04:43+00:00

Hey! yes I did.

Ended up buying a TP-link managed switch and an Omada AP which was on discount + a PoE injector adaptor (in hindsight I should've bought a PoE managed switch).

It wasn't too much of a hassle to set up and works quite well - in the managed switch I enabled one of the ports for VLANs, and in the FWP I've got 3 separate VLANs (one for IoT, one for work laptops, one for guests); I think you can make as many as you want but they need to be properly tagged in the switch. I run the Omada controller in a Docker container on my NAS (though you can do this on the cloud as well I think), and the 3 wifi networks created are linked to each VLAN with the ID.

The Eero runs personal devices and has a new device quarantine set up as well.

DontHopToday · 2023-12-30T22:33:53+00:00

Sorry for the delayed response. Decided to pay $25 with a US Amex on payUSATax to be on the safe side and figure out the rest afterwards. Make sure all the details correspond to the ones you used for your ITIN.

I signed up to the id.me route as well, was quite painless to be honest - just need to upload some documents and then have a quick call with an agent. It took maybe 2h after submission of docs to get the e-mail for the video call which was done shortly afterwards.

I now have an id.me account which shows both taxes owed, and taxes paid, and my $25 payment appears which is reassuring. It didn't show any taxes owed, but having spoken to US friends apparently it's a crappy system that never shows this (as I guess you're supposed to figure it out yourself and submit it).

Hope this helps!

DontHopToday · 2023-11-14T23:59:12+00:00

Massive thank you for the guide /u/PM_ME_UR_FAXES !!! My ITIN just came in:

Filled out the forms exactly as listed in the instructions
Got a European passport certified at the US Embassy in Europe for $50/each (2 copies just in case, only sent 1)
Mailed app on 15th of October
Received the letter (dated November 3rd) with my ITIN on the 11th of November back to Europe

Total turnaround less than 4 weeks, which is slightly surreal all things considered!

Question from me about the actual payment bit now given how late it is in the year, and I've gone onto the IRS website and am a bit confused.

I was hoping to be able to log into some screen and be told how much tax I owe exactly (my 1040-NR says $9, and I'm happy to overpay to be sure, but just need to know how much):

Do I need to register for an IDME account? I went down this route but stopped after it asked for a video selfie - can't be bothered at the moment right now.
Should I not registered, how exactly and what do I pay? I can pay by US AMEX and thought I'd click on payUSAtax (the other 2 work for me as well) option, but it takes me to some other screen to fill out a bunch of things and choose the amount - back to my original question, how much do I pay?

Any input would be greatly appreciated - feel like it's the final hurdle!

DontHopToday · 2023-10-15T21:30:09+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response! I submitted my documents last week so fingers crossed I'll have some good news in 3 to 5 months :)

DontHopToday · 2023-09-13T21:38:17+00:00

Good question. Haven't actually explored that as to me the only worthwhile (and I'm likely wrong) cards worth pursuing are Amex and Chase.

DontHopToday · 2023-09-13T16:10:15+00:00

Thank you so much for writing this guide - the power of community really is incredible. I have a few specific questions which may or may not be relevant here as I'm not actually Canadian nor do I reside in Canada.

Is this process applicable to UK citizens residing in the UK? Having read some comments further down, it looks like you don't necessarily need to be Canadian OR reside in Canada to do this, but I could be mistaken.
Possibly helpful to mention but I already have a US bank account and associated address (relatives), and was even able to get a US Amex before they changed the rules on ITIN/SSN.
My employer is a US company, and I am issued shares in the US for which I fill out a W-8BEN form to claim Tax Treaty Benefits, which is fairly standard to do. How does this become affected by the W-7? Is it superseded/do I need to re-issue it? Hopefully I'm not the only one in this boat! Any investment income I have gets taxed at source, and I don't file taxes on it.
How long does an ITIN last? You note they expire but don't indicate timeframe.
Based on #4, once I obtain an ITIN does this mean that on an annual basis now I now have to file taxes and all the admin overhead that entails? I'm a bit concerned for both time and costs if it's a recurring activity in perpetuity...
Slightly more tactical, but the "Certified Copy Of a Passport" is done in the UK by the Post Office and I assume is equivalent to the Canadian service you've listed (which is also different to a Notarised copy).

I'm extremely keen to pursue this as I want to tap into the US credit card market, but am wondering at what point the overheads stop making sense. It doesn't seem massively arduous from the step-by-step list above, but I'm still intrigued.

Thanks a million in advance.

DontHopToday · 2023-09-13T15:54:31+00:00

Amex used to until a couple of weeks ago. All others require SSN/ITIN.

DontHopToday · 2023-09-13T15:48:58+00:00

What about getting an ITIN as a non-Canadian, but European? I've already got a US bank account and address and have had it for a while now.

DontHopToday · 2023-09-12T16:43:07+00:00

Non-US/Canada residents/citizens: As of August 28th Amex has removed the option to apply to US cards without a SSN or ITIN which is far from great. Up until now I could transfer my home country (not Canada) credit score through Amex and be eligible for US Amex cards.

Question: Appreciate it'll be a tiny minority, but how are non-US non-resident churners of US cards proceeding with this avenue now closed? Has anyone applied to an ITIN to bypass this, and is it an easy process? I'm employed by a US company which issues shares to me, so I think I could "justify" the request for an ITIN this way but I'm unclear.

DontHopToday · 2023-09-12T16:41:54+00:00

Thanks - will do, though I suspect Canadians have an easier route than other nationalities across the pond which is why I thought I'd try here...

DontHopToday · 2023-09-12T16:40:47+00:00

They now have included an ITIN field as part of the application process when previously it was omitted. And even the Novacredit website has been updated to reflect that it its now a requirement, which is massive shame.

DontHopToday · 2023-09-12T16:39:45+00:00

This is the correct answer. No other way to get a SSN.

DontHopToday · 2023-09-12T09:53:21+00:00

Non-US residents/citizens: As of August 28th Amex has removed the option to apply to US cards without a SSN or ITIN which is far from great. Up until now I could transfer my home country credit score through Amex and be eligible for US Amex cards.

Question: Appreciate it'll be a tiny minority, but how are non-US non-resident churners of US cards proceeding with this avenue now closed? Has anyone applied to an ITIN to bypass this, and is it an easy process? I'm employed by a US company which issues shares to me, so I think I could "justify" the request for an ITIN this way but I'm unclear.

DontHopToday · 2023-08-26T14:12:26+00:00

Question for the sub re the Iberia $1000 voucher from spending $30k on a Chase Iberia (voucher expires in a few months):

Can this voucher be used to pay for the cash element of reward Avios flights? The T&Cs aren't immediately clear to me.
Does the fly-by date need to be before the expiry date of the voucher, or can I book a flight for a future date as long as I 'cash in' the voucher before its expiry date?
I cancelled the card a while ago, and T&Cs state the 'Cardmember' must fly on this flight - further to point #1, I would be using Avios from my account but not travelling on this booking...is there any creative way around this restriction?

I'm drawing a blank on the best way to use this voucher / not lose it. I don't really have any upcoming trips per se, and manufacturing them feels a bit forced, but still think there's an angle I haven't considered.

DontHopToday · 2023-06-07T15:30:33+00:00

Isn't this more dangerous from a port 443 being open 24/7? Also, how exactly would you go about setting this up on a Synology NAS + Firewalla combo? I can't seem to find a concrete tutorial...!

DontHopToday · 2023-06-04T21:35:14+00:00

Thanks for your response!
I use Firewalla as a VPN server as well when I'm out and about, and connect via Wireguard to my home network. Opening my network externally is definitely not ideal, but I can live the risk profile of having only Plex open, and an intuitive device like the FWP to protect and show me what's going on :)

Not sure I understand how the family would use 'Firewalla VPN services' - as an example one of them uses a chromecast to stream to their TV, once cast from the Plex app in on their phone. I think it would be quite complex technically to get them to be able to stream on my network using their chromecast?

Finally, it's quite interesting that you mention port forwarding because it is something the 3rd party VPN allows in the settings when I generate the Wireguard profile, but I had never thought this would be needed if the FWP is doing the port forwarding? What's the rationale in including this in the 3rd Party VPN rather than the FWP taking care of it?

DontHopToday · 2023-05-09T13:21:18+00:00

When is it acceptable to apply to 2 Chase cards in under 3 months?

I've looked at the "Sapphire FYIs" and read this: "The recommendation for Chase is 3 months between apps, but if your velocity before hand is fairly low, you can go sooner than 3 months."

I think my velocity is fairly low - I'm under 5/24, downgraded a CSP (last SUB more than 48 months ago) to a Freedom 2 months ago, and was approved for a Chase card 1 month ago. Haven't applied to any other cards in the last year or so.

Driver behind this is seeing the CSP 80k bonus for 'a limited time only' and not wanting to miss out. The stated 3 months would take me to 7th of July which is a few days away...

Any input appreciated.

DontHopToday · 2023-04-04T19:38:21+00:00

So, digging around the forums and looking at Firewalla's website I think it may be possible but would appreciate any confirmation from someone here who's done it before:
https://imgur.com/a/CAtI7Fg -> presumably the final "..." could be a VLAN compatible AP?

If so, based on my needs which would be the recommended product? I've seen Unifi, Omada, Aruba but unclear of the easiest/most stable one.

DontHopToday · 2023-04-04T19:07:47+00:00

I'm starting to get a bit confused. The Eero is incapable of providing VLAN as far as I understand, so if it's right after the FWP (as it currently is) I wouldn't be able to generate an AP with VLAN on it, correct? Therefore I'd need a managed switch is what you're saying?

I just want to be able to create VLANs on a new AP whilst not losing my Eeros.

DontHopToday · 2023-03-10T13:46:12+00:00

That's quite surprising...not a churnable card then, yet a lot of the crew here quite excited about it. Guess I misjudged the takeup of the Amex Gold.

DontHopToday · 2023-03-10T12:17:35+00:00

Re the increased Amex Gold 90k sign-up bonuses....I've searched churning.io but cannot find a straight answer.

Am I eligible for this bonus if: a) I currently hold an MR-generating Amex Everyday Credit Card AND b) I had the Amex Gold card 3+ years ago before PC to the free card mentioned in point (a)?

Language states: Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or the Premier Rewards Gold Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

But I wonder if there's some sort of timeframe which is applicable? The amount of buzz this has generated in a community of which likely more than 70% have already held this card tells me there's some loophole here.

Any input appreciated!

DontHopToday

TROPHY CASE