How long after getting a job to apply?

[Anonymous]

Asking on behalf of my boyfriend. Beginning with zero credit score whatsoever, he's had a secured card (that will NEVER graduate) for nearly two years now, been using it and paying it off in full every month. Also an AU on three of my cards. He's been unemployed for over a year after a major car accident, and just landed a great job! Yay!

...how long should he wait before applying for a decent card?

[Anonymous]

Does he have credit scores and if so, what are they?

There are 2 variables here.  His credit scores and his income.  If he just got a job, as soon as he gets paid he has income and can state whatever that annual income is on an credit application.  His credit scores though need to be good enough to get the credit card.  Both of these variables need to be met.  The constraint to getting a card for him as soon as he gets paid will no longer be income (if that's what it has been while he's been out of work) but that doesn't mean that his credit scores haven't become the new constraint.

[Anonymous]

We only know his credit karma scores, which he said were something like 701 when he last checked. As I said he's an AU on three of my cards and he's had his own secured card for a while now so yes, he definitely has a credit score. We can't spare the money to check actual Ficos because the past few months I've been plunging into credit card debt just to keep us afloat on bare minimum necessities. All that's gonna start to change in 2 weeks and counting...

The reason I ask is because the other day I read someone on here was saying she couldn't get a loan because she had only had her current job for 2 months. So I thought the length of time at a job affects credit approval, but maybe not? Anyone have info on that?

[Anonymous]

You can get all of your FICO 08 credit scores for a dollar from CCT.  That would be the best dollar ever spent since those scores are far more valuable than anything CK will ever spit out and it will let you know exactly where you stand today rather than guessing.

Income has a bearing on the ability to obtain credit, but not length of time at current job.  When apply for loans, upon MR they may ask how long you've been with an employer, but that's a minimal factor compared to income.  If someone is making $100k in one career and then switches employers and is making $100k+ and happens to apply for a loan 2 months after this switch, they aren't going to be looked down upon because they recently switched employers. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your opinions! My primary focus is the answer to my question. Once he's earning money again, he can spend a dollar to get his scores if he wants. I'm not gonna do it when I'm walking into stores to pay for things with the pocket change I ransacked from the cracks in the seats.

I know all about CK scores not being accurate, but it's what's free so we personally find it useful to keep track of the factors affecting our scores. I've been around these forums for a couple years, I already know the basics lol.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Asking on behalf of my boyfriend. Beginning with zero credit score whatsoever, he's had a secured card (that will NEVER graduate) for nearly two years now, been using it and paying it off in full every month. Also an AU on three of my cards. He's been unemployed for over a year after a major car accident, and just landed a great job! Yay!

...how long should he wait before applying for a decent card?

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First, getting a Fico 8 credit score is fundamental before applying for a credit card. Get it - it is free through Discover credit scorecard so, no excuses. 

This is not a loan, it's a credit card application so duration of job is typically not a factor. However, yearly income is considered. it is ok to compute/list gross yearly income based on current salary. He should have at least 1 month's worth of pay stubs in the event income verification is requested. Also, they could ask to speak to the employer. Many jobs have a 90 day probationary period so I'd personally wait until after 90 days.

As mentioned above, he should get a Fico 8 score before applying. Why drop score further due to hard inquiries associated with failed applications. He should know odds of success based on current Fico 8 score before applying.

[Anonymous]

Great responses from the other folks.  One more thought:

Your scores and his will be changing a lot in the next few months due to the high balances on your credit cards.  So it is not quite as simple as "get his FICO" as if that was going to ge a fairly stable thing.  His FICO right now is likely to be far lower than it will be once the cards on which he is an AU are paid to $0.  So to piggyback on the advice of TT and BBS:

(1) He should sign up for his free monthly Experian report and score:

https://www.creditscore.com/

(2)  He should wait to get several paychecks under his belt -- the 90 days suggested by TT probably makes sense.

(3)  While he's waiting 90 days, the CC debt will be coming down and your can track the EX FICO 8 reaction to the lower CC debt. 

(4) After 90 days, grab all three scores at Credit Check Total, when they will be much higher due to the lower CC debt.

[Revelate]

AFAIK most lenders will accept an offer letter for a job you have started in lieu of the paycheck which may be 3 weeks or in some cases more later depending on state.

I would find out FICO 8 scores, free or $1, and see; that said, if he's an AU on your cards (and those AU's are counting) I'd be paying down the cards first as he doesn't need additional cards from a credit perspective.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Your scores and his will be changing a lot in the next few months due to the high balances on your credit cards.  So it is not quite as simple as "get his FICO" as if that was going to ge a fairly stable thing.  His FICO right now is likely to be far lower than it will be once the cards on which he is an AU are paid to $0.[/quote]

...

(3)  While he's waiting 90 days, the CC debt will be coming down and your can track the EX FICO 8 reaction to the lower CC debt. 

(4) After 90 days, grab all three scores at Credit Check Total, when they will be much higher due to the lower CC debt.

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Thanks for the free suggestions.

There is only one card with a high balance, approx. 1K on a $3500 cl card (it changes based on the week as I pay a little off and it bounces back with groceries). All others are paid to 0. Total utilization is 2%. One of the cards he's AU on has a 15K cl and is paid to 0. I track my Experian score through American Express, and it has gone down from 794 in January to a steady 770 reporting for February and March due to the utilization. Since that score is still pretty high I'm not terribly worried.

The other thing is due to being in SSI, paying off the credit debt is not so simple as my boyfriend helping me with the income from his new job. SSI does extensive audits and any amount of money given to me will reduce my income from them by the exact amount. Example: a friend gifts me $500 to help me out, SSI immediately deducts $500 from my next check. If my boyfriend gives me $100 to help pay off debt, I'll be receiving $100 less from SSI next month.

It's absolutely maddening, but that's the way it is. I'm doing everything I can to get independant of it. In the meantime, at least I'll no longer be keeping him afloat financially, which should give me enough wiggle room to slowly pay things down myself.

[Anonymous]

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@Revelate wrote:

if he's an AU on your cards (and those AU's are counting) I'd be paying down the cards first as he doesn't need additional cards from a credit perspective.

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(See what I posted above about him being unable to help me pay down the cards due to SSI restrictions.)

The reason we're thinking he should get a card is because his only card is a secured card with no rewards and a $300 limit. Living with that for two years is pretty lame. If he could get a good card, he could get a sign-up bonus and rewards on money he's already going to spend anyway, which saves us money.