How to get around AU SSN/ITIN?

[mo6579]

Because of various immigration issues, my wife/daughter/family are living abroad. Currently, I send them money via MoneyGram, which certainly isn't a deal @ $10/send (which is once/wk), plus their less-than-gracious exchange rates. I would LOVE to get my wife as an authorized user on my amex gold or cap1 quicksilver and have her push a majority of the purchases on the card. The foreign exchange fee is negated easily between the difference in exchange rate; plus I get points, and don't have the incovnenience of having to send MG. I asked both cap1 and Amex online chat about adding an AU w/o a SSN, as my wife is neither a US citizen nor taxpayer, but they both said online that she HAS to have some sort of tax ID. Has anyone gotten around this, and can you forward me a good contact to go through? I'm not sure if this is true policy or just script reading by the front line chat answerers.

Just in case anyone asks - I don't get an ITIN for her because I don't claim her as a dependant, which would subsequently knock me from Head of Household status to married filing separate or joint, and unable to take some credits that I take as she is a non-resident. All of this is perfectly legaly by the IRS, as a person with a non-resident alien spouse can be treated as Head of Household (with another HOH factor prevailing).

[Anonymous]

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@mo6579 wrote:

@Anonymous of various immigration issues, my wife/daughter/family are living abroad. Currently, I send them money via MoneyGram, which certainly isn't a deal @ $10/send (which is once/wk), plus their less-than-gracious exchange rates. I would LOVE to get my wife as an authorized user on my amex gold or cap1 quicksilver and have her push a majority of the purchases on the card. The foreign exchange fee is negated easily between the difference in exchange rate; plus I get points, and don't have the incovnenience of having to send MG. I asked both cap1 and Amex online chat about adding an AU w/o a SSN, as my wife is neither a US citizen nor taxpayer, but they both said online that she HAS to have some sort of tax ID. Has anyone gotten around this, and can you forward me a good contact to go through? I'm not sure if this is true policy or just script reading by the front line chat answerers.

Just in case anyone asks - I don't get an ITIN for her because I don't claim her as a dependant, which would subsequently knock me from Head of Household status to married filing separate or joint, and unable to take some credits that I take as she is a non-resident. All of this is perfectly legaly by the IRS, as a person with a non-resident alien spouse can be treated as Head of Household (with another HOH factor prevailing).

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If you had a CSP or other Chase card sans FTF it seems like it's easier to add someone vs messing with ITN/SSN with other issuers.

[Anonymous]

My wife does not have either a SSN or an ITIN, and I had no problem adding her as an authorized user on Amex, BoA, and an RBC Visa. Amex sent me a letter at one point saying I needed to tell them her SSN, but when I called in and said she didn't have one, they just noted it on the account. No problem. I added my wife while she was still living in Canada to two of those cards, and sent the cards to her before she arrived in the US, so that she'd be able to use them immediately upon arrival. 

I would just add your wife to your visa card. Don't tell them that she lives overseas -- just add her. Get the card mailed to you. Then mail it to her. Don't go out of your way to point out that she doesn't have a SSN or that she's living overseas. They probably won't ask. 

At the end of the day they have you on the hook with your SSN so it really shouldn't matter whether the AU's have a SSN or not.

p.s., look into US Forex and see if they offer a better deal on foreign exchange than what you're using. I save up until I have $5000 to send at which point there are no fees, but if you send less the fees may be more reasonable than that ridiculous moneygram rate, and their exchange rates are good.

[ibmrad7]

AMEX rep wasn't well informed. Both my parents are on my Platinum and other Amex CCs. They don't have SSN or ITIN.

Amex did ask for you their passport number.