Joint account

[Adventine 3,213]

4 hours ago, John & Rose said:

Agreed...it really upset my wife when she came here but an American needs a little debt to establish a decent credit score as most aren't able to pay cash for a house and cars.  A necessary evil.  Dangerous for many and the banks love them!

 

True, credit cards can be dangerous for people who don't manage their finances closely. I talked about it with my fiancé, and we agreed it's better to start building my own credit score now, to make things easier when I do move to the States. We're also paying off the cards in full every month, so in our situation, I don't see anything but advantages.

 

16 minutes ago, Jordan & Jenet said:

Personally I just setup a new checking account at the same bank my primary checking/savings is at and sent the debit card to my Fiance, then gave her the pin so that she can use the account to withdrawal cash at the ATM no questions asked.

 

Works well and I just setup an automatic transfer from my primary checking to the second account the 1st of every month.

Jordan

Thanks, this could work too.  

 

[top_secret 2,520]

A couple of years back I added my wife as an authorized user on a Citi credit card.  Nothing but a name and birthdate and I had the card sent to my house in the US.  Well that must have been enough to to trigger the creation of a credit report because a month or so later she started getting bombarded by pre-approved credit card offers from Capital One.  For a while she was getting them practically every other day.  Of course she couldn't accept any of them without a SS number but I get the impression if/when she ever does get here she good to go for getting credit cards in her own name.

[Adventine 3,213]

12 minutes ago, top_secret said:

A couple of years back I added my wife as an authorized user on a Citi credit card.  Nothing but a name and birthdate and I had the card sent to my house in the US.  Well that must have been enough to to trigger the creation of a credit report because a month or so later she started getting bombarded by pre-approved credit card offers from Capital One.  For a while she was getting them practically every other day.  Of course she couldn't accept any of them without a SS number but I get the impression if/when she ever does get here she good to go for getting credit cards in her own name.

 

This is exactly what we did. Thanks for the head's up - I'll be checking if my own credit report's been generated in a month or so.

Edited January 14, 2021 by Adventine

[Allovertheworld 355]

2 hours ago, top_secret said:

A couple of years back I added my wife as an authorized user on a Citi credit card.  Nothing but a name and birthdate and I had the card sent to my house in the US.  Well that must have been enough to to trigger the creation of a credit report because a month or so later she started getting bombarded by pre-approved credit card offers from Capital One.  For a while she was getting them practically every other day.  Of course she couldn't accept any of them without a SS number but I get the impression if/when she ever does get here she good to go for getting credit cards in her own name.

She will have no credit history and will not be approved.  Been there, done that.

[Allovertheworld 355]

2 hours ago, top_secret said:

A couple of years back I added my wife as an authorized user on a Citi credit card.  Nothing but a name and birthdate and I had the card sent to my house in the US.  Well that must have been enough to to trigger the creation of a credit report because a month or so later she started getting bombarded by pre-approved credit card offers from Capital One.  For a while she was getting them practically every other day.  Of course she couldn't accept any of them without a SS number but I get the impression if/when she ever does get here she good to go for getting credit cards in her own name.

ITIN will work in some cases in leiu of a Social Security #.   I know a handful of illegal aliens that have credit cards.

 

Best way to build up credit score and be able to qualify is to get a couple secured credit cards, and use them and pay off balance each month.  After about 6 months or so seems to be key to being able to qualify for a CC on ones own.  Being an authorized user will help the process.   

 

I would probably get a cell phone and make payment in the new immigrants account if possible to help speed up establishing credit history, but this isn't mandatory.  

 

 

[0NI 114]

Me and my Fiancee (US Citizen) opened a joint account the last time I visited her in the States (December 2020).

 

We used Bank of America. They only asked for 2 IDs from me (I gave them my Driver's License and Passport). And the lady assisting us said to just update our account when I get my SSN).

 

HTH.

[Adventine 3,213]

31 minutes ago, 0NI said:

Me and my Fiancee (US Citizen) opened a joint account the last time I visited her in the States (December 2020).

 

We used Bank of America. They only asked for 2 IDs from me (I gave them my Driver's License and Passport). And the lady assisting us said to just update our account when I get my SSN).

 

HTH.

 

Thanks In case I'm unable to open my own account remotely, I'll go this route on my next visit to the States.

[seekingthetruth 1,248]

1 hour ago, 0NI said:

Me and my Fiancee (US Citizen) opened a joint account the last time I visited her in the States (December 2020).

 

We used Bank of America. They only asked for 2 IDs from me (I gave them my Driver's License and Passport). And the lady assisting us said to just update our account when I get my SSN).

 

HTH.

Interesting.  Do you have an ITIN or you just had the IDs?

39 minutes ago, Adventine said:

 

Thanks In case I'm unable to open my own account remotely, I'll go this route on my next visit to the States.

The remote option is what I am interested in too.

 

Has anyone had any luck opening a joint account where the the U.S. citizen's spouse has an ITIN?  Especially, remotely?

 

I also need to open accounts for my USC kids, remotely, if possible.

[Allovertheworld 355]

1 hour ago, 0NI said:

Me and my Fiancee (US Citizen) opened a joint account the last time I visited her in the States (December 2020).

 

We used Bank of America. They only asked for 2 IDs from me (I gave them my Driver's License and Passport). And the lady assisting us said to just update our account when I get my SSN).

 

HTH.

SSN are not needed for a bank account.  Setting up a bank account is dependent upon which bank you use.  They all have thier own requirements and nothing is uniformed

[Allovertheworld 355]

1 hour ago, 0NI said:

Me and my Fiancee (US Citizen) opened a joint account the last time I visited her in the States (December 2020).

 

We used Bank of America. They only asked for 2 IDs from me (I gave them my Driver's License and Passport). And the lady assisting us said to just update our account when I get my SSN).

 

HTH.

If your fiance will go to Bank of America and be able to get a personal banker, then your fiance will be able to open accounts up over the phone with his/her personal banker.  

 

I can make a phone call to my BOA personal banker and get an account open with a phone call

[seekingthetruth 1,248]

On 1/14/2021 at 10:07 AM, Adventine said:

We're also paying off the cards in full every month, so in our situation, I don't see anything but advantages.

A credit card can be a huge win if you don't use it for credit!  I used to abuse them when I was young and it is so hard to pay them off when you go crazy over spending.  I think I paid them all off 20 years ago and never made that mistake again.  I use my one card but always pay it every month.

 

And there is an often unnoticed advantage to using them here in the Philippines, if you have the right card.  My Capital One Miles Mastercard has no fees for overseas usage.  I use it only if the merchant charges no fees.  I use it for a lot of our groceries and gasoline, and if always have the transaction sent in pesos.  Why?  Mastercard has a superior exchange rate, better than anything you can get here or online.  So when I charge in pesos, and pay with my U.S. dollar account in the U.S., I am actually doing a money exchange at a great rate!

 

I get travel credit on that card, but when I move to the U.S. I will probably get a rebate card.  3% rebate is great, and even though I could by new furniture for cash, why not get a 3% rebate by using the card?

[Adventine 3,213]

@seekingthetruth thanks a lot, that's a great idea to use the exchange rates to your advantage!

[MarryMe987654 245]

My banking and credit experience in the US since 2019:

 

Note that I got my SSN less than a month after arriving in the U.S.

 

1) Tried being added to my husband's credit union: got denied. They wanted to see greencard

2) Applied for Bank of America debit card online: got approved and card within few weeks. However, they deactivated my account and returned my money in a check after calling in to inquire where my PIN is.

3) Husband added me to his Capital One and Discover credit cards as authorized user over the phone and online: easy and quick process. Just asked for my SSN. This definitely started my credit history. I started getting pre-approved cards in the mail. My credit score started at 790+.

4) Applied for Capital One bank account online: quick and easy process too and I am very happy with them. I have added my spouse on it so it is a joint account with me as a primary.

5) Got an offer for a Walmart credit card: no annual fee and good rewards so I got it: easy and quick process online.

6) Got an offer for $200 sign up on American Express with no annual fee and good rewards: easy and quick online process too.

7) Finally got my greencard so I was added to my husband's credit union account.

 

The new cards put a ding on my credit score (which is expected) but as long as I pay them off each month, I am good.

[Adventine 3,213]

@MarryMe987654 thanks, I'll keep this in mind too. A bit strange for item #2, though. Did they give you any other reason for closing the account? 

[MarryMe987654 245]

11 minutes ago, Adventine said:

@MarryMe987654 thanks, I'll keep this in mind too. A bit strange for item #2, though. Did they give you any other reason for closing the account? 

No reason. (or maybe I don't remember)

I just know that after receiving my card, I was looking for the pin card and couldn't find it anywhere nor I remember setting up one. I asked if that's supposed to be sent later or if I need to set it up somewhere online but I did not get a good response from their customer service. After that, I cannot access my online account anymore. Few days after that, I received a check in the mail with all my money and a letter saying that it was closed.

 

They must have suspected fraud or compromised account.

 

It's fine as I prefer Capital One over them. Bank of America charges monthly fee just to have an account with them. Capital One doesn't charge any fee.

Edited January 18, 2021 by MarryMe987654