Do credit cards actually verify employment?

I am employed in Australia, not the USA but I do have a SSN, a USA address, bank account and one B of A Visa card. If I just pretend my employer is a USA one, do they actually call them to check? Or if the rest of your application looks good, do they just approve it?

Obviously I am after a nice bonus like the AA Citibank one or failing that the US Barclay card. The SPG Amex would be nice.

My credit history in both Australia and the USA is excellent, always pay on time.

I applied for both AA Citi and BA Chase cards from Australia and used my former US job on the application. The company owner said no one called to verify.

US card issuers generally have not verified employment for a couple decades, but recent experience is not necessarily indicative of future practice. Card issuers are now required to "consider" whether the applicant has sufficient income to support debt, and it's too soon to know how each bank will implement this requirement. They are permitted to use an estimate of income provided by a credit bureau, but they might also ask for electronic access to your US income tax returns. Some relevant discussion here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...lications.html

Is your BAEC account also linked to a USA address? BA enforces rules that prohibit (for example) a BAEC account registered in the UK from receiving miles from a USA-issued credit card.

Some do, some don't. Credit Unions almost always do.

I think rules are changing now and you might be required to provide copy of U.S. tax return... It gives them better idea if you are employed and have sufficient income.

Just because employment is not generally verified does not mean that it is smart to commit fraud. The legal consequences can be severe if you get caught.

It also does not seem very smart to post seeking advice on how to commit fraud.

I haven't known of anyone verifying directly, but several years ago Amex at first wouldn't issue a card because the phone number listed under employer could not be confirmed with directory assistance. They concluded that the employer did not exist.

I explained that it was unlisted because it's a federal government agency that has no interaction with the public and does not take calls from the public. The government agency is a large and well-known one, but the agent at Amex had never heard of it.

I said it was a bit odd Amex didn't believe this agency existed, yet provided 1000s of employees of the agency with cards for their government travel, and that I was holding one of those cards.

Of course, the personal card was issued. It appears they really only wanted to confirm through directory assistance the phone number provided belonged to the employer named instead of being some friend or something.

IMHO, not so. Rules have changed a bit, but, IME no banks are even trying to verify employment for credit card apps (it would be quite costly for them). I believe that self-reported income and employment will continue to be the norm.

And, of course, it is a crime to mis-state things on a credit application if the lender is federally insured--as essentially all are.

they generally don't check, IMHO

Although the FTers are correct that issuers do not check employment as a rule for credit card applications the DO always check credit references. if you've a US address and a US credit bureau reference plus US bank accounts and US income you'll have no problem, as long as you use the US address. Many, but not all, use databases to check on P O Boxes and outfits with private boxes such as UPS Stores as well as Prison and other institutional addresses. It is usually not a good idea to try this unless you have real connections to the US and are maintaining them., as in people who have dual residence. There are often unintended negative consequences if you make fraudulent statements on such applications.

Applied for Citi AA card this morning for DW and called to get the application processed. After looking through the application, the analyst who was helping us said that she will need to verify her employment and put us on hold while she called her employer who was unavailable on phone. She came back saying that unless she can verify the employment, she cannot approve the card. She tried calling again and luckily this time she got somebody on the phone who confirm the employment.

We have never had this kind of scrutiny done before. Have excellent credit history, no negative (other than occasional app-o-rama), solid spend and prompt payment history and also a long standing history with Citi.

Very interesting.

Was this a biz or personal card?

I'd just list your australian employer. Unless the name is something that indicates location they may never know.

Does your company have an office in the US also? If it does, how would they know you work at the Australian location?

Most apps also require a phone number for the employer. If the number is an "overseas" one, this could trigger a rejection.

As I own my company and am an employee of it, I have never received a call from a credit card company verifying my employment when I've applied for dozens of credit cards over the past 25 years. I put down my phone number, and I would be the one taking the reference/employment check call. It is a real business with a real phone number, just very small.