Credit Card Question

[Lucky St. Louis]

My mother in law has never had credit in her own name; it was always in her husband's name. He passed away two years ago and every credit card that she had was closed (there were balances on them which she wasn't liable for as it wasn't in her name...burns me up that she "played" the system). She has no mortgage or car loan. She uses a debit card or cash for purchases. Anyway, she lives out of state and called us up frantically the other night because she had to have her car towed and didn't have a card available to pay for it. My DH paid for it with his card. She told him, "is there any way you can make me an authorized user on your card so that I have one for emergencies?" I am NOT thrilled with that prospect as I don't want to end up paying for her purchases or have our credit tied to hers in any way. So, I obtained her FICO score which is 635 (fair to low). Does anyone know if this is good enough to be approved for a card herself? Thanks!

 

[girli565]

There are several credit cards that are perfect for her score. When my husband was rebuilding his credit, after messing it up during his college years, he got cards from Capital One and HSBC. Check into those.

 

[cherylp3]

You need to have her look into a secured card. Basically you fund it and use it and then eventually they will return the original funded money back as credit.
The other option is a funded credit card like Serve or Paypal where you can fund her money.

 

[LJSquishy]

I'm sure she can qualify for a credit card. It will probably carry a higher interest rate and may have a low maximum balance, but it should be enough for emergencies. I am with you in that I wouldn't want her added to my own current cards.

 

[Kay1]

We can use our debit card as a credit card. Why can't she? Good luck to you.

 

[tar heel]

We can use our debit card as a credit card. Why can't she? Good luck to you.

I would guess that she didn't have enough money in her account, which is also why she couldn't write a check or pay cash.

 

[mistysue]

She should be able to get a card with that score if there is nothing negative on her report. You can definitely have a score in that range with nothing negative.

 

[bpesch]

He passed away two years ago and every credit card that she had was closed (there were balances on them which she wasn't liable for as it wasn't in her name...burns me up that she "played" the system).

Honestly that doesn't make any sense to me at all. His estate would still have been liable for charges. I can't see the liability just going away just because she wasn't on the cards.

That being said, if she's actually played the system before and had debts removed, I sure wouldn't want her attached to one of my cards. What's the chance that she would just try to do it all over again? Didn't seem like it bothered her very much the first time around.

 

[Lucky St. Louis]

Honestly that doesn't make any sense to me at all. His estate would still have been liable for charges. I can't see the liability just going away just because she wasn't on the cards.

That being said, if she's actually played the system before and had debts removed, I sure wouldn't want her attached to one of my cards. What's the chance that she would just try to do it all over again? Didn't seem like it bothered her very much the first time around.

Yep...it's true about 30K in credit card debt wiped out! The only estate he had was their condo which was held jointly and can't be touched under Florida's homestead laws. She lives on her modest social security check. So, she charged as an authorized user, racked up debt, and conveniently had it wiped out. Now you see why I'm nervous to add her to a card.

I did call our charge company and asked if there was a way to add her but with a super low limit. The answer was no BUT I can lower our overall limit to just a few hundred dollars. I have a charge card still opened that I never use ( stopped using it when I got my Southwest Visa two years ago) so AS A LAST RESORT I could just decrease the limit on that and get her a card. My credit and DH's is stellar and I don't want her to have an impact on it! I think having her piggyback on our card might actually raise her FICO score and allow her to get her own card eventually ( which she'll probably max out again). I could go on with stories about her irresponsibility but don't want to bore you.

 

[LilyWDW]

I would NOT, under any circumstances, put her on one of your cards. Trust your instincts.

If she wants a card she can get her own. I am rebuilding my credit and was able to get a card (Discover) without an issue with a very good deal.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think having her piggyback on our card might actually raise her FICO score and allow her to get her own card eventually/QUOTE]

No, I don't think it works that way anymore.

 

[creativeamanda]

She can get a Capital One card with that FICO score. If she can't then it's because she has already done it (gotten the card) and maxed out that card.

 

[ceecee]

How did the estate not have to pay the CC balances?? That's a new one on me. However if not paying them didn't effect her credit she may not have credit so she needs to start building it like everyone does, start out with store CC or a small min bal CC and pay it off every month.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Honestly that doesn't make any sense to me at all. His estate would still have been liable for charges. I can't see the liability just going away just because she wasn't on the cards.

Florida is not a community property state. Marital property is generally treated as Tenancy By The Entirety, which makes it immune to creditor action if only one spouse is the debtor.

The liability didn't go away, she just wasn't responsible for it if her husband was the cc holder. If there were any assets held by the estate, the cc companies could go after them. Apparently there weren't.

There is no way I'd let this person have a cc under my name.

 

[Hannathy]

Do not in any way shape or form put her on your credit card!

She has had a life time to think about this and do something about it. This isn't new or a surprise to her and she knows how to work the system so she can't even claim a total lack of any knowledge.

She can get a credit card or she can keep money in her account for emergencies.

 

[2disneyboys]

do not in any way shape or form put her on your credit card!

She has had a life time to think about this and do something about it. This isn't new or a surprise to her and she knows how to work the system so she can't even claim a total lack of any knowledge.

She can get a credit card or she can keep money in her account for emergencies.

this... Exactly....