Can I reasonably consider this "income?"

[always41319]

Hi all. I have been desperately wanting a Discover IT card for...a very long time now. I consistently get preapproval letters in the mail, with better and better interest rate offers (ie. they started offering me 18% and then 15% then 14%, then 12%). I just did the personalized offer thing on Discover's website and the offer was 0% intro for 15 months and then...10.99%...which is better than the rate my dad has on the Discover card he's held since 1998.

There's just one problem: the line on the application that states "you must make a yearly minimum income of $10,000 to be considered for any Discover card." I am a 24 year old college graduate, working part-time in retail for about $8,000 a year gross. I live at home, rent-free (a huge blessing), and my only expenses are $200 in student loan payments every month and whatever random purchases I make.

BUT, my parents do support me in many ways--paying for food, groceries, the gas to get me to and from work, gifts (both monetary and otherwise) that reasonably add up to $2,000 or so a year. (I'm so incredibly lucky to have them, since the job market in the area is so bleak). Is it reasonable for me to factor that support into my yearly income in order to make the minimum required $10,000 on the application? Or does my income have to be concrete monetary income that I can prove?

I'm a super responsible spender--you can see in my signature I do have a couple other cards with generous limits and I always PIF what I spend. I also have both a savings and a checking account with my college's credit union, and I have never bounced a check or overdrafted my account. It's just that the cards I have have terrible interest rates, and it would be nice to have a card where it would be affordable to float a balance every once in awhile. Plus, Discover's rewards structure is so much better and more beneficial to me, and even with a small balance that I could grow over time, getting my foot in the door with Discover would be worth it.

So is this feasible? Or should I just forget about it and hang my head in shame until the full-time position I've been bucking after finally comes to fruition?

[Creditaddict]

yes just add the income and don't ask questions or look back... quick before others see

[MoreRewards]

Just put 10k on the app. It's close to your wages.

[Anonymous]

Do you have any scholarships? Those count as income.

[Anonymous]

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@Creditaddict wrote:

yes just add the income and don't ask questions or look back... quick before others see

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I saw that!

OP, I think you're fine to put at least $10,000.

[Anonymous]

Just put 10k my brother did the same thing (put more than he made hes a college student)  they never asked him for anything and hes only 20.

[tcbofade]

If you are applying for a credit card, and you live with your parents, you can actually legally list THEIR income as well.  (Household Income is acceptable)

....just sayin.....

[CreditCuriosity]

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@tcbofade wrote:

If you are applying for a credit card, and you live with your parents, you can actually legally list THEIR income as well.  (Household Income is acceptable)

....just sayin.....

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I would disagree personally with this as your parents wouldnt be responsible for paying the bills if you are >18 and can get a CC on your own hence the CC laws that were passed years and years back.  You are deceiving the creditor.

On a side 10k from 8k isnt a huge diff.

[Anonymous]

Extra 2k can come from all different sources, like... selling stuff on ebay, craigslist, or etsy. your unofficial side job as a reseller.

[wHiTeSoL]

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@tcbofade wrote:

If you are applying for a credit card, and you live with your parents, you can actually legally list THEIR income as well.  (Household Income is acceptable)

....just sayin.....

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No, you can't. You need to have reasonable access to repay your debts. So unless you can just stroll over to the bank and pull out of their checking account at will it's not reasonable access. 

.....just saying.......