Is it possible to get approved without a job?

[LS2982]

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@calihlove75 wrote:

I think the only way around it is by joint accounts unless you live in a state (think its Wisconsin) that specifically states to include household. I think its a good law though. I got married at 17 and at the time my husband was the 'breadwinner' and I didn't have a job. When we separated 10 years later and he stopped paying the CCs, my credit took a dive. I'm 36 now and finally reestablished my credit and if I were to ever remarry, doubt I will, but if I did, I'm keeping everything separate. If that relationship goes sour, I am taking my own debt and he can keep his. No joint accounts for me ever again!!

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Totally agree!!! Joint credit relationship almost always end sour.

[SwampSystems]

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@fuzzybean wrote:

Are there any credit cards left out there that allow for household income?  I know the laws changed a couple years ago so that spouses had to have their own income to apply.  I'm trying to get a card to build up my credit.  Hubby has one secured and one unsecured, both with very low credit limits.  He has been unsuccessful and getting anything else so we decided we'd try to see if I could get one on my own, but I do not work.  I'm thinking that's not even possible anymore.  Or, is it?

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I was approved for a Freedom card in late 2010 as a student with no (regular) job. I specified freelance earnings and federal grants as income. I applied in person at a Chase branch, so I'm not sure if this was due to sheer luck or some sort of dishonesty on the relationship banker's part.

[LS2982]

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@SwampSystems wrote:

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@fuzzybean wrote:

Are there any credit cards left out there that allow for household income?  I know the laws changed a couple years ago so that spouses had to have their own income to apply.  I'm trying to get a card to build up my credit.  Hubby has one secured and one unsecured, both with very low credit limits.  He has been unsuccessful and getting anything else so we decided we'd try to see if I could get one on my own, but I do not work.  I'm thinking that's not even possible anymore.  Or, is it?

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I was approved for a Freedom card in late 2010 as a student with no (regular) job. I specified freelance earnings and federal grants as income. I applied in person at a Chase branch, so I'm not sure if this was due to sheer luck or some sort of dishonesty on the relationship banker's part.

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Congrats on your chase card!!

Make sure you take care of it and do not miss any payments!

[SwampSystems]

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@LS2982 wrote:

Congrats on your chase card!!

Make sure you take care of it and do not miss any payments!

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Oh I definitely do; since then it's graduated from its initial $1500 CL to a $5000 Signature CAL. I have a "real" job now and 4x the income that was reported when I opened it.

I was in the >700 score range when it was opened, so they must have weighed that more than the employment. Income really isn't an indicator of creditworthiness.

[maiden_girl]

Yes! I knew someone who got PRE APPROVAL offers from companies all the time. She had literally every kind of card you could think of! She was unemployed! In fact, she had never worked a day in her life and got into so much credit card debt her husband was oblivious! Yes its completely possible b/c companies don't check your employment status that I know of...or the income you provide. Students with NO credit history get a higher CL than someone who's working...! Smh.

[fuzzybean]

Thank you for all of the input!  I do believe we've figured out the reason that hubby keeps getting denied for credit.  For some reason our bankruptcy (that was discharged in December of 2005) is showing as pending by Exquifax.  I really hope that once they fix that, we'll be in a much better place.  I just hope when they do fix it to show that it was discharged that they date it correctly.  I don't want it showing currently discharged.

[ShiningDown]

Report half of household income. Concern about stay-at-home spouses not being able to get a credit card might be overblown, Sherry said. One work-around for couples who file joint tax returns is for a nonearning spouse to claim half the household income, she said. If you get rejected, appeal to a card issuer's customer service manager and offer to allow access to an income tax return, if necessary.

"I just don't think they should take no for an answer," she said. "If they file jointly, half that income is theirs, legitimately."

Feddis, of the bankers association, said she's not sure that would work. It's an example of how details of the new regulation are still fuzzy as card issuers attempt to comply with a regulation that potentially hurts their business. After all, it's in the banks' interests to issue more credit cards.

Moreover, income isn't as good a predictor of whether someone will repay as their credit history is, Feddis said. As of now, banks are being required to verify income, although how they do that is a work in progress, Feddis said.

[fuzzybean]

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@ShiningDown wrote:

Report half of household income. Concern about stay-at-home spouses not being able to get a credit card might be overblown, Sherry said. One work-around for couples who file joint tax returns is for a nonearning spouse to claim half the household income, she said. If you get rejected, appeal to a card issuer's customer service manager and offer to allow access to an income tax return, if necessary.

"I just don't think they should take no for an answer," she said. "If they file jointly, half that income is theirs, legitimately."

Feddis, of the bankers association, said she's not sure that would work. It's an example of how details of the new regulation are still fuzzy as card issuers attempt to comply with a regulation that potentially hurts their business. After all, it's in the banks' interests to issue more credit cards.

Moreover, income isn't as good a predictor of whether someone will repay as their credit history is, Feddis said. As of now, banks are being required to verify income, although how they do that is a work in progress, Feddis said.

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That's an interesting thought, but I have no employer or employee number to put on the application.  I read something similar yesterday.  I need Equifax to fix that pending bankruptcy, first. 

[ShiningDown]

"If an applicant resides in a community property state, the applicant's income would generally include the income of the applicant's spouse," the regulation says, adding that card issuers could consider a spouse's income in that case. Other community property states include Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wisconsin, according to IRS Publication 555.        This was on there also.

[fuzzybean]

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@ShiningDown wrote:

"If an applicant resides in a community property state, the applicant's income would generally include the income of the applicant's spouse," the regulation says, adding that card issuers could consider a spouse's income in that case. Other community property states include Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wisconsin, according to IRS Publication 555.        This was on there also.

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Unfortunately I'm not in a community property state anymore.