Joint applications - better or worse?

batvink

Hi all,

my first post, looking forward to being part of a community that has saved me £600 and 2 months on my mortgage this year :beer:

Is it better or worse to have joint applicants on a credit card application? I'm trying to weigh up the advantages of having our own accounts to maximise interest free borrowing. Fear not! All the money spent is sat in a savings account attached to an offset mortgage, I'm not digging myself a hole!

If it makes a difference, our current account is a joint one.

YorkshireBoy

batvink wrote:

Is it better or worse to have joint applicants on a credit card application?

You can't have a credit card in "joint names". The applicant can allow a second cardholder to "share" the use of the card, but the primary cardholder will always be responsible for repaying any transactions put on the card.

batvink

OK...my wording was bad :rolleyes:
The question still stands though...is it better to have 2 cardholders, or each person have their own account. Does the credit rating of the second card holder affect the credit limit of a successful application?

lipidicman

To go off on a different tangent, is the offset mortgage the best idea? You do need to have a LOT of savings to 'offset' the high interest rate on these mortgages. Its all very well sitting back and saying 'I'm getting 6% on my savings' but you are also paying that same rate on a big debt!

hex2

There was a big thing in the times money bit a few years ago about only the main cardholder being covered by the insurance etc. Not sure if this is true of all cards, or true at all any more?

YorkshireBoy

batvink wrote:

The question still stands though...is it better to have 2 cardholders, or each person have their own account.

Better in what respect? I see from your other posts that you're running a "slow stooze" process with your cards. As long as you've each got available credit at 0% for purchases I don't think it matters whether you have joint or single cards. The fact that you have a second cardholder on your account is not registered on your CRA report.

batvink wrote:

Does the credit rating of the second card holder affect the credit limit of a successful application?

I'm not sure if it affects the "limit" as such, but anyone you have a financial association with (ie your joint current account/mortgage) is also searched when you apply for a credit card.

batvink

OK, so it looks like I might as well just put the credit card in my name. It makes sense, as I'm not actually using it as a credit card.

Its all very well sitting back and saying 'I'm getting 6% on my savings' but you are also paying that same rate on a big debt!

Nah...my offset accounts match my mortgage, so I effectively have an interest-free mortgage, for as long as I have a 0% credit card. If there's a better way to do this then I'm all ears! Please bear in mind though that I'm using a low-risk, peace-of-mind option.

lipidicman

Ah, OK. If the offset savings match the mortgage outstanding, then fine! Most peoples savings don't come close to doing that, and then the product is very expensive

Robert_Sterling_3

batvink wrote:

Nah...my offset accounts match my mortgage, so I effectively have an interest-free mortgage, for as long as I have a 0% credit card. If there's a better way to do this then I'm all ears! Please bear in mind though that I'm using a low-risk, peace-of-mind option.

My mortgage is only one pound so I do not really need to off set it.

batvink

Most peoples savings don't come close to doing that, and then the product is very expensive

That's something I didn't realise. I just assumed that a mortgae rate was a mortgae rate, whether it is simple repayment or an offset.

Thinking about it, when you use those offset calculators, they tell you how much you will save, but it's based on the interest rate of the same account. So the higher they make the rate, the better it looks to the uneducated consumer! Crafty, devious and other suitable adjectives.

lipidicman

Oh yeah, that's why I give lectures to anyone who tells me how great their offset is!