Credit Card Co-signer

[Anonymous]

My student loans have been paid timely and in full..but AFTER they went to collections.  As a result, my credit is ruined.  At 33 years old, am I eligible to have a cosigner on a credit card?  Which ones accect applicants OVER age 21?  Will that establish credit for me?  Or only affect the cosigner??

[SpeedingWheels]

Have you checked your scores so that you know what the reality is of your situation? 

If not, Sign up for the ScoreWatch trial as well as CreditKarma, CreditSesame and Quizzle just so you know the numbers before you run out apping for products you likely wont get OR are way over-qualified for. 

[firesoul453]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My student loans have been paid timely and in full..but AFTER they went to collections.  As a result, my credit is ruined.  At 33 years old, am I eligible to have a cosigner on a credit card?  Which ones accect applicants OVER age 21?  Will that establish credit for me?  Or only affect the cosigner??

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Of course you can apply for a card with a cosigner. And yes, it affects the credit of both people on the account.

What exctly is your question?

You will have to get credit to start building your score. A co signer can help you get a card.

[DaveSignal]

you might be able to build credit with a secured card without a cosigner.

[Wolf3]

I suggest you get a secured CC.    It would be a lot better for your cosigner to loan you the money for a deposit.  

I believe the cosigner is just a joint account and if they want out in the future, the account usually is closed.  

Either way builds your credit the same.

[CruzImperial]

Make sure you get in as the cosigner and let the person with better credit go as the first applicant.

[Anonymous]

From what I've read, it seemed like only persons UNDER age of 21 were eligible for a cosigner.
I wanted a "regular" CC (versus a secured CC), because I wanted to take advantage of card rewards (airline miles, etc).  Secured cards have very limited rewards, if any.
But if I am not the main card holder, will I be able to receive miles from purchases?

[jsucool76]

the boa secured card offers the 1-2-3 rewards on their secured card. 

[DaveSignal]

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NeedingAdvice wrote:

From what I've read, it seemed like only persons UNDER age of 21 were eligible for a cosigner.

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having a co-signer is effectively the same idea as having a joint-account, becuase it is the responsibility of both signers, it shows up on both credit reports, and both signers credit get damaged if you make a late payment.  I recently opened a joint-account with my wife and both of us are over 30 years old.

[Uborrow-Upay]

"But if I am not the main card holder, will I be able to receive miles from purchases?"

No, unless the primary account holder is willing to give them up to you. 

And rewards only make sense if the account is paid in full, each and every month, with no interest accruing.

Carrying a balance negates any "rewards".  The rewards will go to the corp execs of your card account.

**Can't believe my initial spelling/typing was so bad, I had to correct it.  Hate to say it, but I must be gettin' old (note, I didn't say "stupid")