Housewife apps - American Express. Income?

[Anonymous]

My daughter is a housewife and takes care of her three kids full time.

She was considering opening a new card. ...

1- Currently she has three old cards in her name (Shell 800, BofA 13K and Bank of the West 20k).  She is AU on 5 of her husband's cards and has a joint auto Loan with her husband to help her credit.

she was interested in applying for an American Express card and I didn't know what to tell her to put for her income?  She files jointly with her husband, but no income of her own.  

also, would she apply as "unemployed" with 160k (the income that is his that they jointly file)?  I thought that would look really weird.  I noticed "other" is an option too.

any advice would help

[Red1Blue]

She should put house hold income that would include her husband's income. Credit Card companies ask for house hold income. Never declare as unemployed. It will be a huge negative when applying for credit. 

[Anonymous]

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@Red1Blue wrote:

She should put house hold income that would include her husband's income. Credit Card companies ask for house hold income. Never declare as unemployed. It will be a huge negative when applying for credit. 

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From personal experience - my SO put "other" and they asked for POI - checkstubs - after approval and was shutdown. When he put "unemployed" he was approved, no questions, I assume the income was considered HHI or non-taxable.

Amex has been doing some 4506-T business lately for new apps, and since OP's DD is married, filing jointly, it may not matter, since 4506-T would show the spouse's income, anyway.

[Shooting-For-800]

Any reason for the husband to not apply and make her AU?

[FalconSteve]

She should put "other" and use household income

[Anonymous]

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@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

Any reason for the husband to not apply and make her AU?

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Yes...because its not the 1950s.  There are many valid reasons why spouses should not commingle credit.

The U.S. federal government specifically amended the Credit CARD Act (2009) to enable stay-at-home spouses/partners to acquire credit on their own using household income or income to which they have a "reasonable expectation of access."

@Anonymous Amex applications also include the option to claim "self employment" which is not is not an unreasonable assertion for a stay-at-home parent.

[FalconSteve]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Yes...because its not the 1950s.  There are many valid reasons why spouses should not commingle credit.

This made me laugh, hard. You are absolutely right, both people should establish their own credit.

[GatorGuy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

Any reason for the husband to not apply and make her AU?

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Yes...because its not the 1950s.  There are many valid reasons why spouses should not commingle credit.

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Well said 😂😂😂😂

[OmarGB9]

Let's keep it civil, please. As a reminder, posts must be FSR.

[Anonymous]

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@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

Any reason for the husband to not apply and make herAUU?

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Yes...because its not the1950ss.  There are many valid reasons why spouses should not commingle credit.

The U.S. federal government specifically amended the Credit CARD Act (2009) to enable stay-at-home spouses/partners to acquire credit on their own using household income or income to which they have a "reasonable expectation of access."

@AnonymousAmexx applications also include the option to claim "self employment" which is not is not an unreasonable assertion for a stay-at-home parent.

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Let's quote from the CFPB's press release:

"Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) updated existing regulations to make it easier for spouses or partners who do not work outside of the home to qualify for credit cards. Today’s amendment, first proposed by the Bureau in October 2012, allows credit card issuers to consider income that a stay-at-home applicant, who is 21 or older, shares with a spouse or partner when evaluating the applicant for a new account or increased credit limit."

So I suppose questions about "commingling income" should be addressed to your elected representatives who make the laws.

Credit unions like NASA FCU are non-profit financial institutions owned by their members through the purchase of shares of ownership. (That's why CU savings accounts are called "share" accounts).  Because their financial services are restricted to only members, CUs generally do not consider household income when making credit decisions unless both parties/spouses are members of the same credit union.  National lenders like Amex don't have membership requirements and are in fact permitted by law to use household income to evaluate a stay-at-home spouse's "ability to repay."

Post edited by moderator to remove quote since original post has been removed.