Paying current US credit cards in UK

I'm trying to decide what to do about paying current credit card debt here in the US once I move to the UK.  Have you been able to pay your cards online through a UK bank account?  Have the credit card companies been ok with the US based account having a UK billing address?  Or would I need to transfer funds to the US bank account I plan on keeping open and pay as normal?

Has anyone just walked away from the US credit card debt once moving to the UK? I feel like a horrible person even having that thought go through my mind, but its almost like, if your credit doesnt follow you, then why bother? (except if you plan to move back to the US, of course)

I kept a bank account in the US which I use to pay my US credit cards.

That's what I do too since I use all my US credit cards when I travel in the US. I just do wire transfers between accounts when I need to.

And do you use Paypal to transfer funds or the expensive bank wire transfers?

If you decide on bank wire transfers try to do so say once a quarter into your US checking account to avoid paying frequent fees.

Luckily the exchange rate will be somewhat in your favor (UK to US).

And do you use Paypal to transfer funds or the expensive bank wire transfers?

a lot of folks use xe.com to transfer funds regularly- I keep saying I'm going to set it up but haven't got round to it yet so for now I use paypal.

If you can swing once per quarter wire transfers like Jules suggests, though, that would be a pretty no-hassle and relatively inexpensive way of doing it.

I kept a bank account in the US which I use to pay my US credit cards.

Same here.  A few credit cards wouldn't bill to an out-of-US address, so we have them sent to my dad's house.  We pay everything online from our US bank.

ETA:  specifically, Capital One said they would not bill to an international address.

Same here.  A few credit cards wouldn't bill to an out-of-US address, so we have them sent to my dad's house. 

My US credit card statements do come to my UK address. I  pay them online via a US bank account so I don't have to deal with currency exchange.

Hi there,

Quite a few options as you can see from the responses so far - indeed, a quick search through the posts in this section will show quite alot of posters here are doing exactly that - sending money back over to the USA to clear and reduce credit card debt.

Ensure that you don't go ahead with walking away from your debt and just leaving it, it's not a good idea at all.

I wouldn't be surprised with the international banking sector in such turmoil, that when things settle a little more that there's more 'communication' internationally between financial intitutions and records about individuals who've say done an international move.

I guess the OP hasn't 'meant' to indeed carry out this plan of walking away, but essentially this is exactly what's caused the 'credit crunch' - people borrowing and then unable to pay back.
Also, if you had to ever return to the USA for whatever reason, you're likely to have you collar felt about the said outstanding debt.

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Does anyone know if Chase will bill to the UK? I am still not sure whether to tell them I moved, as I don't it cancelled.

Citi agreed to bill me here in the UK, but when I told Washington Mutual I had moved, they cancelled my card.

Ensure that you don't go ahead with walking away from your debt and just leaving it, it's not a good idea at all.

mirrajay,

Please seek advice on this from a qualified professional. They'll be in best position to answer if walking away from your debt makes financial sense for you.

Bad idea all the way around, I am sure.   I think I've got a plan for paying out of my US account. ( I think)   Thanks everyone.

Does anyone know if Chase will bill to the UK?

Yes they will.

I plan on leaving behind at least 12 months worth of monthly payments in an account here in the States before I leave and just setup auto-pay, anything beyond that I'd use xe.com or paypal or any of the myriad other methods folks have suggested.

But that would be my biggest advice, leave at least 6 months of minimum payments for all your cards in a bank account, so that you won't have to worry about the hassle of getting money back to US until you are good and setup in the UK and know what your monthly expenses are over there.

I too have a US bank account, and arranged an auto-pay thing w my credit card that takes the right amount from my bank account.  I check in online once every few months just to make sure everything's good.

But I too echo the other question: about ADDRESSES.

Both my bank and credit card co (HSBC and Bank of America) said its fine to have my home address be in the UK.  But my problem is, I'm guessing that many US retailers (from amazon to anything else) etc will not accept payment from a credit card that has a foreign billing address, even if it is a US card. Has anyone had this problem?

What I've done is temporarily "change" my address to a local friend's address. But I dont want to be dependent on her good wishes forever.

I dont have any relatives that I can use their address, at least not in-state (and I really dont want to be changing my banking /credit address to another US state -- I've done that once before and the IRS came after me, and it took several months to prove to them it wasnt a problem). 

Any advice?