Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

[BBCWatcher]

Interactive Brokers has introduced a new U.S.-based charge card that's available to some account holders even without a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) or ITIN. It's called the Karta Visa Infinite U.S. Charge Card. Here are the basic requirements:

• have an Interactive Brokers account (IB U.S. definitely, or possibly IB Singapore) with...
  • at least USD 50,000 worth of assets
  • at least USD 25,000 worth of liquid cash
• be a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Perú, Philippines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uganda, Uruguay, or Zambia (current list as of June 7, 2026)

And here are the basic card terms/benefits:

• USD 300 annual fee
• Visa Infinite benefits (but the advertised "travel insurance" is only travel accident insurance, which isn't worth anything except as a lottery ticket to your survivors)
• 10 complementary airport lounge visits per year (Priority Pass)
• zero foreign transaction fees on ordinary merchant spending (except for the standard Visa 1% markup; fees also apply to cash advances and ATM use)
• some sort of point program for spending (looks like a 1% rebate that's redeemable for flights and hotels)
• reporting to U.S. credit bureaus to build a U.S. credit history
• WhatsApp-based customer service

It's possible the travel insurance and airport lounge visits could be worth the USD 300 fee, but Karta doesn't provide the details on their Web site.

Hopefully Singaporeans will also be eligible for this card soon. It appears that Karta is progressively adding citizenships to that list.

In principle this card is also available if you have a U.S. bank account with at least USD 100,000 — not only to Interactive Brokers account holders.

 

[highsulphur]

Interactive Brokers has introduced a new U.S.-based charge card that's available to some account holders even without a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) or ITIN. It's called the Karta Visa Infinite U.S. Charge Card. Here are the basic requirements:

• have an Interactive Brokers account (IB U.S. definitely, or possibly IB Singapore) with...
  • at least USD 50,000 worth of assets
  • at least USD 25,000 worth of liquid cash
• be a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Perú, Philippines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uganda, Uruguay, or Zambia (current list as of June 7, 2026)

And here are the basic card terms/benefits:

• USD 300 annual fee
• Visa Infinite benefits (but the advertised "travel insurance" is only travel accident insurance, which isn't worth anything except as a lottery ticket to your survivors)
• 10 complementary airport lounge visits per year (Priority Pass)
• zero foreign transaction fees on ordinary merchant spending (except for the standard Visa 1% markup; fees also apply to cash advances and ATM use)
• some sort of point program for spending (looks like a 1% rebate that's redeemable for flights and hotels)
• reporting to U.S. credit bureaus to build a U.S. credit history
• WhatsApp-based customer service

It's possible the travel insurance and airport lounge visits could be worth the USD 300 fee, but Karta doesn't provide the details on their Web site.

Hopefully Singaporeans will also be eligible for this card soon. It appears that Karta is progressively adding citizenships to that list.

In principle this card is also available if you have a U.S. bank account with at least USD 100,000 — not only to Interactive Brokers account holders.

No thanks to 300 usd fees

 

[BBCWatcher]

No thanks to 300 usd fees

Yes, it basically boils down to whether you can use 10 airport lounge "tickets" at US$30 each. That's a decent price if you really want to get into Priority Pass lounges, but you might have better offers available.

 

[limster]

No thanks to 300 usd fees

I haven't been able to find any info on what a "Karta point" is worth.....in order to compare to SG cards which are either miles per dollar or % cashback.