Credit card for spouse with no income

simonx

My wife had a holiday booked last year that got cancelled and the travel company would not refund. It was booked on my Capital One credit card for which she is an additional card holder.

She tried to get the money back from Capital One, but they refused on the basis that the primary card holder was not going on the holiday.

For this reason she wants a credit card as the primary/sole card holder. The issue is that she has no income, having retired as such but still a few years from receiving a pension.

An application for a Halifax card was just rejected.

Any suggestions for a credit card to apply for which accepts household income? The balance will be paid in full each month.

born_again

Should not have been a issue with a chargeback.

Carrot007

born_again said:

Should not have been a issue with a chargeback.

Why?

Surely chargeback or s75 (or whatever it was) are for the benefit of the card holder (as in the t&C).

This generally does not extend to anything on a secondary card. That they would even consider it if it was for the benefit of the main cardholder sounds better than most companies.

OP: I have not a clue here, are there any cards when you can guarantee the spending and say you will pay it of? And if there are would protection still be valid? While some do ask about partners income I doubt you would end up with a card with a limit to be able purchase a holiday anyway

Shakin_Steve

The application form would ask for her income and where it comes from. You can't really expect any provider to give credit on zero income, or income provided by a member of the same household.

ItsComingRome

simonx said:

Thanks all. This article suggests she can specify my income on her application.
https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/can-i-use-my-spouses-income-credit-card-applications/

That's an American site.

simonx

I quickly realised doh!

phillw

A quick google came up with this thread which might still be valid...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2453913/can-a-housewife-get-a-credit-card

Sandtree

There are some, like AmEx, that ask about household income in addition to person.

What is she living on at the moment? Savings? And if so the interest or actually erroding the saving themselves? or your income? or...

simonx

Thanks Sandtree, Amex not that widely accepted so wouldn't be a good choice, but suggestions of of which cards will consider this is good.

Our finances are all pooled, joint bank accounts etc. so off my income effectively.

WillPS

Shakin_Steve said:

The application form would ask for her income and where it comes from. You can't really expect any provider to give credit on zero income, or income provided by a member of the same household.

As others have posted Amex look at whole household income. My fiancée got her first credit card with Amex, who immediately offered a 5 figure credit limit (more than they'd ever given me!). It might have helped that she'd been an additional cardholder on my well-managed account for several years before applying.

Shakin_Steve

WillPS said:

Shakin_Steve said:

The application form would ask for her income and where it comes from. You can't really expect any provider to give credit on zero income, or income provided by a member of the same household.

As others have posted Amex look at whole household income. My fiancée got her first credit card with Amex, who immediately offered a 5 figure credit limit (more than they'd ever given me!). It might have helped that she'd been an additional cardholder on my well-managed account for several years before applying.

Amex is pretty useless for day to day spending. I was talking about uk cards.