I found out the hard way so hope this helps newbies:

By Far Best Price Car Insurance: Costco/American Express http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?trg=Info%2Fexecutivemembership%2Fautohomeins%2Easp&log=Timeout takes into account Canadian Driving Record

Best Prices for Groceries: Costco, get a card in Canada for $45CND rather than $45US here and you can use it in both places

Best Credit Card: American Express, get an Amex card in Canada and transfer it here by calling 1-800-453-2639. Gives you equivalent US card with same limit as your CND card but in US funds. No application, no credit history needed! Do need SSN. No more crappy $1000 limit…

2^nd Best: TD US$ http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa/usd.htmlTransfer your existing TD Visa the US$ one without the hassle of an application and get same credit limit. $25 annual fee however.

Best Bank: TD Waterhouse Bank (tdwaterhousebank.com). Open free brokerage account at www.tdwaterhouse.ca (requires SIN) and it waives the monthly fees. Best part is it allows you move funds from a TD Canada Trust (CND$) account into your TD Waterhouse Brokerage account. Then you can use the TD Waterhouse Brokerage account and transfer using their exchange rates (which are the best). Then you can finally move money into your tdwaterhousebank.com account. This will save you literally hundreds to thousands on the exchange rate (if you’re buying a car). Also allows you to fund your stock account instantly for those good stock deals.

Best Savings Account: INGDirect.com 4% interest (compare to SFCU’s ~2%) and wires money electronically between your existing checking account. E-mail me and I’ll send you a link for a free $25 just for signing up (that’s >$37.50 CND!). No catches.

All the best,

Henry