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Getting Married & Credit Cards

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Omri
New Contributor

Getting Married & Credit Cards

Hello all! My first time posting on this forum, and I have some questions regarding my upcoming marriage and how we should handle credit cards. First, some quick background info to let you know where we are coming from:

  • My fiancée and I are getting married in January. We are both very frugal and money-saver types.
  • She has (I believe) one credit card that she uses sparingly. I have multiple credit cards and use them to maximize cash-back rewards.
  • She has student loans that we will be paying off in full as soon as they come due.
  • My credit score (last I checked it) is over 760. Her score should be in roughly the same range (I don't know it exactly), based on what I know about how credit scores are calculated and her credit history.
  • I hesitate to say this because I don't want to feel like I'm judging other people at all (I'm not), but it does affect what I seek in terms of advice, so here it is. My soon-to-be-wife and I are both devout Catholics, and due to our views on divorce, it is straight up not a factor to even think about in our financial plans.

My question is this: I'm big on maximizing cash back rewards (as I said). For this reason, I would like to get another card for my soon-to-be-wife on the same accounts as my own. For our first year of marriage, we will be moving into an apartment together, and I am hoping that we will have enough for a down payment on a house for next year. I would like to add my wife-to-be onto my accounts when we are married (would this be turning them into joint accounts?), but am concerned that if she gets a lot of inquiries against her account, her credit rating, and subsequently, the interest rate we get on a mortgage loan would be negatively affected. What advice to people have for me?

Edit: Didn't format nicely, so put in HTML so it would!

Recent FICO scores: TU - 755 (mortgage lender pull)
Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
MissExcellentCredit
Regular Contributor

Re: Getting Married & Credit Cards

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

 

I'm sure others have advice, but let me say that if you add her to your credit card, she will be an authorized user, not a joint owner.She is only a joint owner once the two of you open and sign something together...like your house.



Current 2013 Score: ScoreWatch Transunion: 737, ScoreWatch Equifax: 723, Nordstrom Equifax: 734
Goal Score for January 2014: 750-809 range



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Message 2 of 6
Omri
New Contributor

Re: Getting Married & Credit Cards

Thank you!

And thank you also for clarifying terminology for me as well Smiley Happy

Recent FICO scores: TU - 755 (mortgage lender pull)
Message 3 of 6
bettercreditguy1
Established Contributor

Re: Getting Married & Credit Cards

May I make a suggestion? Even though you are getting married, it is very wise to allow each party, especially the lady  to initiate,secure, and use some credit cards in her own name. My wife and I each have two prime cards individually (before our marriage)  and obtained joint credit cards after we were married. It is important for her file to have a payment record in the event of your early death or some catastrophic event. There also has been recent talk in Washington by some high ranking banking firms which want to make it unlikely that any person who does not have "earned wages/income" aka stay at home spouse(s) that they should NOT be able to acquire a credit card. Credit is something you do not need until you really need it. At that point you can not usually get it. Far better to be ahead of the game with as many feathers in your camp as possible. BTW, my wife came into our marriage with a true Fico Score of 819. I am playing catch up as I had some late payments. Good Luck to both of You.

Updated scores 3/7/21 TU 849, EQ 829, Ex 818 (all Fico scores) Remember the Three P's: Pay early in Full, Pay on Time, Patience
Message 4 of 6
MissExcellentCredit
Regular Contributor

Re: Getting Married & Credit Cards

+1. Sound advice. 



Current 2013 Score: ScoreWatch Transunion: 737, ScoreWatch Equifax: 723, Nordstrom Equifax: 734
Goal Score for January 2014: 750-809 range



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Message 5 of 6
Omri
New Contributor

Re: Getting Married & Credit Cards

Yeah, we already do plan on having her apply for a couple of cards to round out the full rewards card package (US Bank Cash+ and AmEx Blue Cash Preferred) in her name so that we can balance that out nicely. And that's a very good point about the difficulty of a stay-at-home spouse being unable to get credit in the event of some kind of catastophe. Thanks!

Recent FICO scores: TU - 755 (mortgage lender pull)
Message 6 of 6
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