Credit Card - lots of savings but not much monthly income

ChrisJRP

Hello

My father has recently died and the credit cards he had were in his name (albeit joint with my mum who had a separate card).  The banks have cancelled the cards because of his death and so my mum is now left without a credit card.  My parents (both in mid 80's) always paid this off every month from monies they have in accounts.  My Mum would like one just so she (1) gets a certain amount of insurance protection and (2) to save her getting little bits going out of her account as opposed to a one off payment monthly to pay off the total amount on the card.  They have NEVER had any outstanding balance at the end of a month.

Where can she get a credit card from please? They all want to know her monthly income which is OK and enough to live on but not much else and probably doesnt hit the criteria ....but she does have lots of savings which can be used easily

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks so much
Chris 

p00hsticks

I'd say the best bet to start with is who ever she does her current banking with and/or where those savings are....

eskbanker

She can use eligibility checkers such as https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/search/, but all credit providers will only take income into account rather than savings, so she needs to declare her income honestly and see if she's able to secure anything.

Her current account provider may be able to offer something if she starts there?

She should also check her credit files to see that what's recorded there is accurate, as that'll be what prospective lenders will see: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/check-free-credit-report/

On the subject of "a certain amount of insurance protection", it's important to understand that Section 75 isn't insurance as such, and paying by debit card will usually benefit from chargeback protection, which is often at least as effective as s75.

lr1277

When I looked at this last year, I think Santander had a minimum income requirement of £6k. Don’t know if that figure has changed. One potential advantage of Santander is you can setup voice recognition when calling their help desk. Might be useful if a password has been forgotten. I wouldn’t use voice recognition, but my mum is keen on that feature. To be clear my mum doesn’t have a credit card with Santander but a current account.
Edited to add: any state pension or widow’s private pension can be included in income.

eskbanker

lr1277 said:

When I looked at this last year, I think Santander had a minimum income requirement of £6k. Don’t know if that figure has changed.

Were you told that figure verbally or is it published anywhere?

adamp87

eskbanker said:

lr1277 said:

When I looked at this last year, I think Santander had a minimum income requirement of £6k. Don’t know if that figure has changed.

Were you told that figure verbally or is it published anywhere?

Says £10.5k on their website now

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/credit-cards

martinbainbridge1975

eskbanker said:

lr1277 said:

When I looked at this last year, I think Santander had a minimum income requirement of £6k. Don’t know if that figure has changed.

Were you told that figure verbally or is it published anywhere?

I recall seeing something similar with HSBC i think from memory wanted a minimum of £6800 income, but the chances are it will vary from one lender to another.

lr1277

eskbanker said:

lr1277 said:

When I looked at this last year, I think Santander had a minimum income requirement of £6k. Don’t know if that figure has changed.

Were you told that figure verbally or is it published anywhere?

Saw that figure on the website. And it is to the best of my recollection.

NoodleDoodleMan

For the OP - there is no such thing as a joint credit card, your Mum would have been an additional cardholder on your late Father's credit card account.

That status ended when he passed away.

As suggested above, it would be worth approaching that card issuer with an application in her own name.

SiliconChip

adamp87 said:

eskbanker said:

lr1277 said:

When I looked at this last year, I think Santander had a minimum income requirement of £6k. Don’t know if that figure has changed.

Were you told that figure verbally or is it published anywhere?

Says £10.5k on their website now

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/credit-cards

£10.5K is about the level of the New State Pension, and while the OP's mum is likely to be on the Old State Pension at a lower figure there could well be other income from additional pensions, father's pension, and/or pension credits, so she may be eligible on that count.

Kim_13

Given that OP’s mother has a limited income and limited credit history (as others have said, there is no such thing as a joint credit card and the credit cards would all have appeared on your father’s credit file with your mother being on those accounts as an additional cardholder - there would be no trace of this on her credit reports, as your father alone would have been responsible for paying the bill) I would suggest applying for a credit card that is aimed at those with bad credit and then working up from there once she has some credit history against her own name.

Limited credit history can be as bad as bad credit history to providers, so it makes sense to apply for something like the Capital One Classic, Aqua Classic or Barclaycard Forward aimed at credit building to ensure that she gets a card rather than a decline that would make it harder to be accepted for another card in the short term. Bad credit cards will also have lower income requirements, making it easier to get a credit card on a State Pension. I got a card from Capital One as a student, so my income would have been lower than your mother’s - but double check as providers in general seem to have become more stringent in their requirements since the pandemic.

The MSE Eligibility Calculator may be helpful: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/search/?goal=CC_CREDITBUILDER

Sorry for your loss.