Question about co scoring on credit checks

m4tth3wb

Hi, I have a joint account with my wife and currently have credit card, car finance and PayPal credit on my report. Never missed any payments and balance on the credit cards are low. 

My wife has no credit but a good score 

If she applies for a credit card could she be declined because of the credit I have or do they just go off our scores?

Just want a 0% credit card to spread the cost of a large payment. 

Thanks 

Gandalf644

m4tth3wb said:

Hi, I have a joint account with my wife and currently have credit card, car finance and PayPal credit on my report. Never missed any payments and balance on the credit cards are low. 

My wife has no credit but a good score 

If she applies for a credit card could she be declined because of the credit I have or do they just go off our scores?

Just want a 0% credit card to spread the cost of a large payment. 

Thanks 

Forget credit scores – they are made up numbers no one ever sees other than yourself.

Credit history, showing responsible usage is the important thing.

Also, credit cards in the UK are not ‘joint’. They are issued on an individual basis, so it is the credit history and affordability of the applicant which counts.

Many banks offer an eligibility check on their websites. So, try doing the eligibility checks on the individual bank’s websites (as opposed to generic ones such as the MSE one) to see what cards your wife maybe offered by them. It only does a ‘hard search’ at the actual application stage.

Brie

If wife has no credit then the best chance of getting a card will be with a bank she has an account with.  Other cards will look at her credit history but not see too much so won't know how much of a risk she is (or isn't).  

Don't be surprised if she's offered something with quite a low limit and with a limited 0% offer (if any).  Again because of the lack of credit history.