Joint bank account question

[venom123 32]

2 minutes ago, Ebunoluwa said:

Wherever you live should be the address. The more addresses the more you complicate your case.

Okay, our home address on the application is at her dads since we live there the most. However, our bank accounts are linked to her moms. I stated on our AOS that we reside at both addresses as one is her moms and one is her dads, but our primary address is her dads as we live there the most.

Just now, Ebunoluwa said:

Each bank has their own rules and regulations but that should work, look out for cheap interest rate !

We will be paying everything on time though so interest rates shouldn't effect us?

 

Thanks

Edited July 10, 2017 by venom123

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, venom123 said:

We will be paying everything on time though so interest rates shouldn't effect us?

 

Pay off the full balance owed each month and interest rates won't affect you. If you partially pay, then you accrue interest on the remaining balance. The best lesson you can learn is don't carry a balance over to the next month. Charge for convenience but no more than you can pay off when the bill comes.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

5 hours ago, venom123 said:

Okay, our home address on the application is at her dads since we live there the most. However, our bank accounts are linked to her moms. I stated on our AOS that we reside at both addresses as one is her moms and one is her dads, but our primary address is her dads as we live there the most.

We will be paying everything on time though so interest rates shouldn't effect us?

 

Thanks

The interest is set when you get the card approved so yes, interest rate or annual fees do matter.
Paying just the minimum amount due on time is not the best way to get excellent credit, instead like I said in the other thread,

pay the entire balance off each month or at least pay more than the minimum balance or you will find yourselves in a heap of debt for years to come.
Get online and ask google how best to increase your credit score, you need to do some research to understand what you get yourself into
and make informed decisions on your options. If you do not pay off  what you charged each months then the interest will bite you.
CC are tempting to "just charge" whatever you want and it is tempting to "just pay the minimum due" so you both have to be disciplined
to get the debt back down that you accumulate. It can be a trap for many who just spend and spend.
 

[venom123 32]

15 minutes ago, Ebunoluwa said:

The interest is set when you get the card approved so yes, interest rate or annual fees do matter.
Paying just the minimum amount due on time is not the best way to get excellent credit, instead like I said in the other thread,

pay the entire balance off each month or at least pay more than the minimum balance or you will find yourselves in a heap of debt for years to come.
Get online and ask google how best to increase your credit score, you need to do some research to understand what you get yourself into
and make informed decisions on your options. If you do not pay off  what you charged each months then the interest will bite you.
CC are tempting to "just charge" whatever you want and it is tempting to "just pay the minimum due" so you both have to be disciplined
to get the debt back down that you accumulate. It can be a trap for many who just spend and spend.
 

We're definitely paying off the full balance every month. The point of the credit card is to build our credit.

 

In the meantime before I get my SSN, can my wife apply for the credit card and add me as an authorised user? Will I improve my credit that way? 

 

Or do we need to open it as a joint credit card?

 

this part confuses me the most  

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

If she adds you to the her cc then it will help improve your score if she handles the payments responsibly.
Right now you have no score and won't be found so depending on what cc you use it should put you on the road to
a credit score. To really increase your score you should also get 1 or 2 in your name and add her as authorized user.
Banks have different "joint" cards, some just add authorized users, some allow to co sign and some are considered joint.
For AOS evidence being an authorized user is sufficient (she adding you or you adding her).

Read through this article and anything you want to know you can google, there is a lot of information on the internet

on how to build credit.
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/which-cards-joint-account-co-sign.php

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

If you enter "how to build credit" in the VJ search a lot of threads will pop up with more information from a lot of members.

[venom123 32]

10 minutes ago, Ebunoluwa said:

If you enter "how to build credit" in the VJ search a lot of threads will pop up with more information from a lot of members.

Great thanks. 

 

So you reckon my best bet is to first have my wife open a credit card account and add me as an authorised user? Also, after that I'll open a secured credit card and add her as a user too? 

 

Should we do this now? Or should we do it when I get my SSN in a month or so? 

 

Thanks again

Edited July 11, 2017 by venom123

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

32 minutes ago, venom123 said:

Great thanks. 

 

So you reckon my best bet is to first have my wife open a credit card account and add me as an authorised user? Also, after that I'll open a secured credit card and add her as a user too?  Yes.

 

Should we do this now? Or should we do it when I get my SSN in a month or so?  Depends what the bank you choose needs.

 

Thanks again

 

[venom123 32]

1 hour ago, Ebunoluwa said:

 

Okay I'm confused. Should I go for the joint credit card account or be an authorized user on my wifes? (if my goal is to build my credit)

 

This joint credit card account is only available with bank of america. I cannot find another credit card that offers a joint account - they're all authorized user only accounts.

 

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Doesn't matter much, whatever you decide is fine. Easier to start with authorized user and work yourself up to joint which would require more document criteria.

 

[venom123 32]

19 minutes ago, Ebunoluwa said:

Doesn't matter much, whatever you decide is fine. Easier to start with authorized user and work yourself up to joint which would require more document criteria.

 

Okay, as an authorized user I won't build much credit though? My wife will build a lot of credit while mine doesnt increase much?

[Wuozopo 4,293]

10 hours ago, venom123 said:

Okay, as an authorized user I won't build much credit though? My wife will build a lot of credit while mine doesnt increase much?

 

I was an authorized user on my wife's MasterCard (and a few others we didn't use much). My credit report built from that. When I applied for a Visa credit card in my own name, I was instantly approved for $9000.

 

 Yes, an authorized user builds their own credit report.

[venom123 32]

13 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

I was an authorized user on my wife's MasterCard (and a few others we didn't use much). My credit report built from that. When I applied for a Visa credit card in my own name, I was instantly approved for $9000.

 

 Yes, an authorized user builds their own credit report.

Wow really? That's great.

 

Which credit card was she on?

 

Also, how long were you an authorised user for?

 

thanks 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

2 hours ago, venom123 said:

Wow really? That's great.

 

Which credit card was she on?

 

Also, how long were you an authorised user for?

 

thanks 

 

It will depend on your individual circumstances. The primary card we used was a Chase MasterCard with a $20k+ limit. We charge and pay off several thousand each month.  It was probably 4 years before I even tried for a card as primary. Didn't see the need, but my wife suggested I try one of those offers that kept coming in the mail so I did. Then I looked at free credit report.com and discovered the MasterCard and others had been reporting to my name for some time.

 

We're old school and just pool our banking into joint checking, savings, and money market accounts at one bank. Concerning all this discussion, when you interview for AOS, just present your joint things. Your separate accounts don't hold water in my opinion and are not evidence of a marital commingling.

 

Further opinion-- I don't think you are going to get a SSN in a month. A NOA1 is not going to put you in the SAVE database that they use to see your USCIS status.That is going to hinder you getting a bank account or credit card. Many will require a SSN as their policy.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Wuozopo

[venom123 32]

On 10/07/2017 at 11:50 PM, Ebunoluwa said:

Doesn't matter much, whatever you decide is fine. Easier to start with authorized user and work yourself up to joint which would require more document criteria.

 

We were just approved for a chase freedom unlimited card with a starting credit line for $1,000. It's my wife's first card and I've added myself as an authorised user so we should start building some credit. It's a shame chase doesn't show authorised users on the account or on our statements.

 

We're going to get a joint checking account with chase next week. 

 

My lawyer told me I will be able to get a SSN from my NOA1 in the mail. It's worth a shot I suppose - the worst that could happen is being declined

Edited July 12, 2017 by venom123