Hellobee Boards

I hope someone who is more knowledgable can respond. But I think you both should apply. I don't know who would be the main applicant tho. It would be good for your husband to start building up some credit. I got my first cc in college and it only had a $500 limit. I only got approved since it was for college students. It allowed me to build up some good credit tho.

You can do a joint account so that his income would be the household income and your credit history would provide some backing.

As for cards, there's a ton out there. Just make sure you pick one that doesn't charge you an annual fee just to have!

I would say both of you should apply for separate cards. You both need to build your credit history. You're doing it right already by using it and paying it off every month. Discover is pretty good. It was my first card. You can shop around and see what the best offers are. You both should be able to get a card but maybe not a high limit. A MasterCard or visa is accepted everywhere. Check out Chase's new card sapphire or citibank's rewards card.

We live discover, have had great customer service from them. I'd call them and explain your situation and see how they advise you. I agree that it would be of benefit for you both to build credit history, I'd probably do what you last mentioned as adding him on as an authorized user. My Inlaws did that with DH and his his credit history will always trump mine bc it shows his as starting when he was 2 (when his parents opened the card instead of when he was added on!).

@scg00387: How did adding him as an authorized user get their cards history to be part of his credit. As far as i know, an authorized user is not the owner of the account and that account would not show up on an user's credit. You can tell them you want a card for any authorized person, I could say I wanted one for Obama and I'd get a card that said his name, but that wouldn't effect his credit. The only credit that the card would effect is the actual account holder, so unless they could be joint account holders even when he was 2, I don't understand how being just a user could increase someones credit score. My husband is a authorized user on my account cause I requested one in his name, but my card definitely doesn't show up on his credit history.

@regberadaisy: Wow.. I've never seen that before. How do they know that its tied specifically to you? Cause when you add a user to your account, you dont have to give them any SSN or birthday info or anything, you just say you want a card for "whatever name" and they give it to you...

It's likely going to be hard for you guys to get a good cashback/points/miles card as your first card because they usually want very good credit scores/histories.

There are lots of cards for people starting out (or with bad credit), some charge annual fees, some don't. I would speak to your bank first, especially if you bank with a big institution like Bank of America. You can also start with a secured card, which is secured by your savings account, and which will build your credit. You can build that way (with a secured card with no annual fee) so you can bypass having to pay annual fees for cards.

Your score is hurt by a few points whenever companies pull your credit, which they do to approve/reject you, so you shouldn't just apply for lots of cards. It's also a potential red flag to companies if you apply for a bunch of credit within a short period of time.

In 2008 FICO changed the way that authorized users are counted, so that people cannot just piggyback onto their parent's (or spouses) good credit to quickly build their own. IMO, I would just try building my own rather than trying to build it through piggybacking as an authorized user. If you already have some good credit, it should be fairly easy to work your credit score upwards on your own.

There is a lot of good info on credit cards for all credit types and how to build positive history at the forums at myfico.com.

Hmm.. it sounds like we're doing two different things here. Maybe when you sign with SSN and stuff, you're actually adding yourself as an account holder, as if you has opened a joint card. When I think of authorized user, I'm thinking of just requesting a second card in another name. My dad has my mom as an authorized user under a name that doesn't even exists. Her legal name is her Chinese name, but she has an English name and her credit cards are in the English name.

@Arden: Will you always pay off the card in full each month? Or will there be times you need to carry a balance? Will you need to use the card overseas much?

Here's what I'm thinking:

-You both want to build your credit scores. If in the future, you come back to the US and want to buy a home, the difference in affordability is going to be huge if you have a good score.

-To the best of my knowledge, being an authorized card holder (e.g. NOT the primary card holder) does nothing to your credit score. So both you and your husband should open up individual accounts. If you find that it is too difficult to manage expenses, you can always get an additional card on one of your accounts and then put the other card away in a drawer.

-For the card you are applying for now, I would get a no fee card. This way you can keep it FOREVER (even if it's in your sock drawer). Length of credit history is very important to a good score. Never close your oldest card! You may not be able to get the best rewards card now, but in 1 year, you may be able to.

-I would look into credit union cards since they are the ones most likely to issue you a card if you have low/no credit. USAA is highly rated. I have a membership to BECU (Boeing Employee CU, but open to all residents of WA state). Not only is the service friendlier, they typically charge less in fees than big banks.

-As for specific credit card recommendations, here's ones that I think are good if you pay off your balance in full each month and never carry a balance:

* Fidelity Investment Rewards Card
https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/visa-signature-card
1.5% cash back on all purchases up to $15,000 then 2% cash back thereafter
no limit on cash back you can earn
cash back is deposited into your Fidelity brokerage account which you link to a bank account & can withdraw cash (account is free and I believe the only fees are to execute trades)
no annual fee
foreign transaction fee of 2-3%

* Chase Freedom Card
https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-freedom.aspx?CELL=682K
sign up bonus of $100 if you spend $500 in first 3 months
1% cash back on all purchases (I believe there is no limit on how much cash back you can earn)
5% cash back on rotating categories, but only up to $75 in cash back per quarter (e.g. $1500 in spend)
access to the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal (like Ebates but sometimes the earning % is better)
cash back is paid via check or you can redeem for specific gift cards at a 20% discount (e.g. instead of cashing out 10,000 points for a $100 check, you can occasionally redeem 8,000 points for a $100 Gap gift card)
no annual fee
foreign transaction fee of 2-3%

* Capital One Credit Card -- not sure which one
I don't know too much about Capital One other than many of their cards don't have annual fees and they don't charge foreign transaction fees. It looks like there is one for "newcomers" to the US, for people with no credit. Perhaps that one is worth looking into?
http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/rewards/?Log=1&EventType=Link&ComponentType=T&LOB=MTS::L0RT6ME8Z&SubLob=&PageName=Home%20Page%20C&ComponentName=primary_nav&ComponentStrategy=&ContentElement=6%3BView+Top+Reward+Cards&TargetLob=MTS%3A%3ALCTMMQC4S&TargetPageName=Credit+Cards+Rewards+Browse&linkid=&email_delivery_id=&referer=http://www.capitalone.com/homepage&external_id=

Bank of America -- not sure which one
I don't own any of the BoA cards so I don't really know of the details. But based on the descriptions on the website it looks like the BankAmericard Travel Rewards might be a good fit since it has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. It also has a chip which is useful in (some parts of) Europe. However, it looks like you can only redeem your rewards for a statement credit when you make a travel purchase. So if you don't make any travel purchases -- not sure if you can redeem those points.

If you occasionally need to carry a balance, find a card with a low APR. This will be far more valuable to you than any rewards you may earn. Again, look for a no fee card that you can keep open forever.

Sorry this is a bit of a novel... I'm quite passionate about this as you can tell

@PurplePumps: My husband is an authorized user/card holder on my account and it worked just like you describe - all I had to do was call Chase and request a card in his name. They didn't need his social security # or any info on him at all, because it's not a joint account, I take on all responsibility ultimately for his card as well as mine. So, it doesn't show up on his credit report since the account isn't really his.

@scg00387: ooh, ok, everything makes sense now. I think of 'authorized user' as someone who has a card and can make charges. They can't edit info or do anything to the account. If I log in discover's site, theres a link to "Add Authorized User". I just put in my husbands name and that's all. He can use it, but not edit any account info. He can also run up the bill and run, and not be responsible for it.

But I guess you're right in that "authorized user" typically means you can change account info and are response for it, so when you said authorized user, that was actually adding someone and being joint account holders both responsible for the payment of account, therefore effecting both your credit. I had no idea you could do that on credit cards!

@Arden: It sounds like that would work to boost both your credit. I've never had a joint credit card before though, so not sure. Personally, I'd open one great rewards one (my personal fave would be Bofa Cash Rewards:http://learn.bankofamerica.com/products/managing-credit/bankamericard-cash-rewards-credit-card.html). And then have him open a no foreign fee one, if you feel that would be a big savings during your travels. I think there's a Chase one that has no fee. If not, I vote any card with the 5% rotating cash back: discover, citi, chase freedom.

@Arden: I agree with @PurplePumps: and you and your hubby should apply for 2 different cards so you can reap the benefits of both!

I can't say which card you will likely be approved for, but if you are declined, try calling the reconsideration line. Many times people are able to get approved for a different card or lesser limit (with no additional credit pull) when you call the recon line.

@Arden: Low 700's doesnt sound low at all! When we were getting our mortgage they pretty much said anything about 740 or 750 was great and was enough to get the lowest rates. I have no idea about chances on getting approved though, sorry.

@Arden: Can you just go to your bank and talk to a banking officer without having to do it online? Our joint CC is through our Bank, we sat down with the guy in person, discussed our finances and he helps find the right card for us. I personally love talking to someone in person that can answer questions as they pop up, plus I love that all of our finances come through one insitution