Applying for Credit Cards as a SAHM

I am a stay at home mom/college student and I have three unsecured cards that I obtained online. That's the key, apply for them online because they will ask you about your job information and I used my husbands income but they didn't require any further verification and I was able to receive them right away. I haven't worked in almost 5 years and I haven't had a problem getting credit cards. The one that I received that has really worked well for me is the one that you can receive if you attempt to purchase apple products online.

I wanted to buy a laptop for college and I didn't get a high credit limit. I may have received $500. But after using it for small purchases, in approximately two to three months, they increased it to $2000. The APR is a little higher than I'd like at 19% variable but it's what I want so I don't mind paying the interest if I have a revolving balance.

My second card is from a credit union, they are extremely strict so I had to get a secured card (back in 2007) and over a years time I was able to request an unsecured card. My only issue with that card is that after 3 years, I have never received an increase from them and I am looking to transfer the balance to a credit union here in Texas. The best part is that I have a fixed apr of 12% and I don't necessarily want to lose that but being a good customer, they should have increased it at least once.

The third card is a joint card with my husband through best buy but they informed my husband that they are no longer issuing credit line increases so what you have is what you have. That seems like too much of a risk to advise you to get one from them considering what they told my husband.

Saying all that to say, you can get one without having a job but you are going to have to fudge a little information since technically he's the one with the income. If you want to be completely honest on the application, it's not going to work for you to get a card with no income because they can't see how you will be able to pay it back. The only thing I fudged was where I was working at and how long I had been there. The income amount I used was my husbands. I haven't had a problem yet.

I hope I helped you make a decision and didn't confuse you. Good luck.

I would see if hubby's company can issue him a company credit card.

Yes. Start applying. It's a "joint" account.

If you are on the "Opt Out" list, Opt back in. This way, you will be allowing credit card companies to send you pre-selected offers. www.ftc.gov is the official site. You will receive competitive offers based on your score and you are simply verifying the information when you go online to the bank's site.

I would think that you can because I think they use household income as a determining factor, not your individual income. I believe with most credit cards however, they charge a fee to use them out of the country. Make sure you check with the credit card company first to make sure there isn't an additional fee for using it outside the country. I know we paid a fee when we were in Austria. I don't remember what it was, but I want to say it was 3% of our purchase. Since you are doing so well, I would stick with paying cash and going to AAA to convert money to foreign currency. From what I hear AAA has the cheapest fee for converting money.