Joint applications

[Anonymous]

How are these underwritten? Whose scores/income do they use in determining apr, cl, etc.

Just curious

[Anonymous]

Afaik, both people's incomes and scores are taken into account.  That would explain the low BofA limit we got when I had absolutely zero credit and the CLI that came 4 months later and an actual  job.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. So would you say they are averaged?

[Anonymous]

Definitely.  For example, we got the relatively middle APR of 14.99%.  The APR range was 12.99% - 22.99% 

[Aahz]

When I apped for BofA BBR I included my daughter os a co-applicant. 

They granted me the card with a $9k line and the second lowest available APR (comparable to my other approvals at that time) but didn't actually include my daughter for some unknown reason.  When I called to get her added as a joint owner they approved adding her without changing any of the terms despite her having only a single AU account on her reports, a $10k annual income, and being only 18.

My situation may be relatively unique given she was added as joint after the fact, but that's the best insight I can give.

[redpat]

IDK, but why would anyone agree to a joint account app, IMO?  

You can take an AU off but IDK if you can take someone off a joint account is something happens.

Usually there is a weak link in a joint app, I assume.

That is why I would never co-sign a loan for the same reason.  AU is bad enough, but if you see abuse early on you can stop it.

Too risky for me.

[Aahz]

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@redpat wrote:

IDK, but why would anyone agree to a joint account app, IMO?  

You can take an AU off but IDK if you can take someone off a joint account is something happens.

Usually there is a weak link in a joint app, I assume.

That is why I would never co-sign a loan for the same reason.  AU is bad enough, but if you see abuse early on you can stop it.

Too risky for me.

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I did it to help my daughter establish credit.  

Joint accounts carry much more weight then AU accounts in both scoring and underwriting since both people are wholly responsible for the debts.

It's no more risky than giving her an AU card.  If she runs up either card without me noticing I'm responsible.  And just as I can un-AU her when I do notice I can also close (or at least remove myself from) the Joint account.

She knows that I will never co-sign for an apartment lease or car loan because then I'm fully responsible for the entire lease/loan from day one.  But a credit card (joint or AU) is easily monitored for detection of increasing balances.

[Anonymous]

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@Aahz wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

IDK, but why would anyone agree to a joint account app, IMO?  

You can take an AU off but IDK if you can take someone off a joint account is something happens.

Usually there is a weak link in a joint app, I assume.

That is why I would never co-sign a loan for the same reason.  AU is bad enough, but if you see abuse early on you can stop it.

Too risky for me.

---

I did it to help my daughter establish credit.  

Joint accounts carry much more weight then AU accounts in both scoring and underwriting since both people are wholly responsible for the debts.

It's no more risky than giving her an AU card.  If she runs up either card without me noticing I'm responsible.  And just as I can un-AU her when I do notice I can also close (or at least remove myself from) the Joint account.

She knows that I will never co-sign for an apartment lease or car loan because then I'm fully responsible for the entire lease/loan from day one.  But a credit card (joint or AU) is easily monitored for detection of increasing balances.

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Lovely points right there! Agreed.

But is it really that easy to remove yourself from a joint account, compared to removing AU, which is relatively simple? 

[Anonymous]

talking out my lower sphincter but...

AU is calling and boom...be gone.

Joint may require the remaining party to either:

A) Be re-evaluated to be credit worthy of retaining the account on their own

B) Close the whole thing down. 

[ddemari]

I gave up on discover because all they want to offer me is that joint account. I mean I clearly don't need a joint account but discover seems to think so lol. I agree with others said, it's a good option if you are rebuilding or just starting out.