New credit history - can stay-at-home spouse apply for an Amex card?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
New credit history - can stay-at-home spouse apply for an Amex card?
Quick background: I just moved to the US mid last year and got married. My husband has a job, but I'm still looking for a full-time job here. In the meantime, I've been continuing to work remotely for a company in my home country and I'm being paid in my home country's currency.
I've been pretty lucky so far and have unsecured cards from Capital One (in branch), Chase (Freedom -- in branch), and Discover (it -- online, recon) in a span of 5 months, where I applied using household income (aka my husband's income).
I hit a snag with Amex however. I tried to apply for their PRG yesterday (left employer's name blank because I didn't know what to fill up, and applied as Employed->Other) and I was asked to submit pay stubs, bank statement, etc. When I called their new accounts line, the rep told me (after consulting with the "relevant department" / "experts") that they won't accept pay stubs in a foreign currency -- it has to be in USD. I was also asked to fill up a 4506T form, but that doesn't make sense for me since I don't have past tax returns yet.
Am I out of luck? I'm just wondering if I should wait for another month (when I'll hit my 6-month milestone with Cap One) before trying to apply as "unemployed" (since I am technically unemployed in the US, in what seems to be Amex's definition), and use my husband's income as my household income. Would other stay-at-home spouses be able to apply for their own Amex card?
The only reason why I want an Amex card is to do backdating (through a technique listed elsewhere) so I can increase my overall AAoA, so I don't mind if I have one of their weaker cards as long as I'm able to get it. (I'm an AU on my husband's BoA that wouldn't report to my credit bureaus -- we've contacted them numerous times now, and Amex now doesn't backdate AUs in a conventional way.)
Just wondering if you guys have an insight to this.
I've been pretty lucky so far and have unsecured cards from Capital One (in branch), Chase (Freedom -- in branch), and Discover (it -- online, recon) in a span of 5 months, where I applied using household income (aka my husband's income).
I hit a snag with Amex however. I tried to apply for their PRG yesterday (left employer's name blank because I didn't know what to fill up, and applied as Employed->Other) and I was asked to submit pay stubs, bank statement, etc. When I called their new accounts line, the rep told me (after consulting with the "relevant department" / "experts") that they won't accept pay stubs in a foreign currency -- it has to be in USD. I was also asked to fill up a 4506T form, but that doesn't make sense for me since I don't have past tax returns yet.
Am I out of luck? I'm just wondering if I should wait for another month (when I'll hit my 6-month milestone with Cap One) before trying to apply as "unemployed" (since I am technically unemployed in the US, in what seems to be Amex's definition), and use my husband's income as my household income. Would other stay-at-home spouses be able to apply for their own Amex card?
The only reason why I want an Amex card is to do backdating (through a technique listed elsewhere) so I can increase my overall AAoA, so I don't mind if I have one of their weaker cards as long as I'm able to get it. (I'm an AU on my husband's BoA that wouldn't report to my credit bureaus -- we've contacted them numerous times now, and Amex now doesn't backdate AUs in a conventional way.)
Just wondering if you guys have an insight to this.
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
I know I have a co-branded Amex card from my home country that I have for years now and it's not eligible for Global Transfer because it's not issued directly by Amex. I wonder if I should just apply for an Amex card in my home country, ask my dad to use it once in a while, then 6 months later initiate Global Transfer. Kicking myself for not doing this earlier, but since it's too late to do that now, I'm just wondering whether applying as "unemployed" would have a good chance of approval or not. :/
#4
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: UK/USA
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 48
I know I have a co-branded Amex card from my home country that I have for years now and it's not eligible for Global Transfer because it's not issued directly by Amex. I wonder if I should just apply for an Amex card in my home country, ask my dad to use it once in a while, then 6 months later initiate Global Transfer. Kicking myself for not doing this earlier, but since it's too late to do that now, I'm just wondering whether applying as "unemployed" would have a good chance of approval or not. :/
#5
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SF
Programs: UA, VX, QF, EY, VA
Posts: 756
Just because you're employed somewhere else doesn't mean you're "unemployed" in the US. You're going to put foreign sourced income on your US return so it's income and you're employed.
Do you have a FICO yet? (generated after 6 months of 1 open trade line) -- if not, wait for that and then reapply with your actual employer in your home country listed and adding your income to your husbands for household income.
The auto approval system will work much better once you actually have a FICO.
Do you have a FICO yet? (generated after 6 months of 1 open trade line) -- if not, wait for that and then reapply with your actual employer in your home country listed and adding your income to your husbands for household income.
The auto approval system will work much better once you actually have a FICO.
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
You've had that one hard pull so I would just wait for another four to six months or so and apply for a home country AMEX in the interim which should be eligible for the Global Transfer (and there is no reason why you can't use it yourself - have your Dad courier it to the USA for small purchases to avoid paying too much in Foreign Transaction Fees). With three cards (+ the home country AMEX) just now that should be enough to get you started on the road to FICO greatness. And if you don't have a Social Security number yet do apply for one.
Just because you're employed somewhere else doesn't mean you're "unemployed" in the US. You're going to put foreign sourced income on your US return so it's income and you're employed.
Do you have a FICO yet? (generated after 6 months of 1 open trade line) -- if not, wait for that and then reapply with your actual employer in your home country listed and adding your income to your husbands for household income.
The auto approval system will work much better once you actually have a FICO.
Do you have a FICO yet? (generated after 6 months of 1 open trade line) -- if not, wait for that and then reapply with your actual employer in your home country listed and adding your income to your husbands for household income.
The auto approval system will work much better once you actually have a FICO.
You're probably onto something! I indeed don't have a FICO score yet according to Discover, I guess I'll wait till next month once I hit my 6-month mark with my first open trade line and find out. Thanks a lot!
#7
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 30
I'm a stay-at-home mom, been out of work for 10 years and I was approved for an Amex card recently. I've been married that long and I'm not new to the US and I have great credit with plenty of history, but to answer whether or not someone can get an Amex card by filling out the form "unemployed" the answer is yes. I did.
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
I'm a stay-at-home mom, been out of work for 10 years and I was approved for an Amex card recently. I've been married that long and I'm not new to the US and I have great credit with plenty of history, but to answer whether or not someone can get an Amex card by filling out the form "unemployed" the answer is yes. I did.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing that!
#10
Join Date: Sep 2007
Programs: AMEX Cent, VS G, CO G, US Plat, IC Plat Amb
Posts: 101
When my wife and I got married she had no credit history. I added her as a joint cardholder (not just authorized user) on one of my existing Chase accounts. Within about 3 months she had that card's 12 year history transferred onto her credit rating. Her score was higher than mine!
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
When my wife and I got married she had no credit history. I added her as a joint cardholder (not just authorized user) on one of my existing Chase accounts. Within about 3 months she had that card's 12 year history transferred onto her credit rating. Her score was higher than mine!
#12
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,772
When my wife and I got married she had no credit history. I added her as a joint cardholder (not just authorized user) on one of my existing Chase accounts. Within about 3 months she had that card's 12 year history transferred onto her credit rating. Her score was higher than mine!
Question: Add a joint account holder?
Answer: We're sorry, you can't add a joint name on your credit card account. Only one responsible party will be allowed on an account. However, you'll still be allowed to add authorized users. The account may show the user as a non-liable party on a credit bureau report. You'll still be able to have a primary/joint customer account if you requested to add a joint customer to your account before the new policy started.
Too bad -- wonder when they changed it. An Authorized User is not the same and has no effect (or possibly even an adverse effect) on the AU's credit report.
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
I just logged into my Chase account to see about doing this for my husband, couldn't find the option so searched the FAQ and found this:
Question: Add a joint account holder?
Answer: We're sorry, you can't add a joint name on your credit card account. Only one responsible party will be allowed on an account. However, you'll still be allowed to add authorized users. The account may show the user as a non-liable party on a credit bureau report. You'll still be able to have a primary/joint customer account if you requested to add a joint customer to your account before the new policy started.
Too bad -- wonder when they changed it. An Authorized User is not the same and has no effect (or possibly even an adverse effect) on the AU's credit report.
Question: Add a joint account holder?
Answer: We're sorry, you can't add a joint name on your credit card account. Only one responsible party will be allowed on an account. However, you'll still be allowed to add authorized users. The account may show the user as a non-liable party on a credit bureau report. You'll still be able to have a primary/joint customer account if you requested to add a joint customer to your account before the new policy started.
Too bad -- wonder when they changed it. An Authorized User is not the same and has no effect (or possibly even an adverse effect) on the AU's credit report.
#14
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,772
#15
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,772
I'm starting to do a bit of research into this entire subject as it's timely for me (my husband will soon have an SSN and I want to ensure he establishes his own credit rating) and find conflicting information online.
He is already the authorized user on several of my accounts, including my U.S. Centurion (has a secondary Cent card), but he currently only has an ITIN. Once he gets his SSN, I thought we needed to apply for and get a couple of cards in his own name / SNN, not just as a secondary cardholder or AU on my account.
But found this from Experian that implies an AU will still have the information carried to credit reports:
http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-ex...credit-scores/
And found a few more similar references stating that an AU can build a credit rating based on this.
Regarding the question of when Chase stopped the joint account holder accounts, I stumbled across this in my search:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/24/pf/joint-credit-cards/
It seems that when you do have the option for joint account holders, it has to be done upon opening the account and not added afterwards.
He is already the authorized user on several of my accounts, including my U.S. Centurion (has a secondary Cent card), but he currently only has an ITIN. Once he gets his SSN, I thought we needed to apply for and get a couple of cards in his own name / SNN, not just as a secondary cardholder or AU on my account.
But found this from Experian that implies an AU will still have the information carried to credit reports:
http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-ex...credit-scores/
And found a few more similar references stating that an AU can build a credit rating based on this.
Regarding the question of when Chase stopped the joint account holder accounts, I stumbled across this in my search:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/24/pf/joint-credit-cards/
It seems that when you do have the option for joint account holders, it has to be done upon opening the account and not added afterwards.