Chasing Sapphire
It looks like Ping is in the credit bureaus now. We opened a savings account in her name at our credit union a few months ago. Then she borrowed a few thousand dollars, secured by the shares she owned in the credit union through her savings account. This way she was able to borrow just in her name. The idea was to create a credit history for her. She didn't need the money, so the interest she is paying is really just the cost of creating a credit history.
Today Ping scored, assuming the card is actually issued to her. She received one of those "preapproved" credit card offers in the mail, addressed to her without my name on it. We all know that preapproved doesn't really mean anything; it is just a solicitation to apply. It is nevertheless an indication that she is in the credit bureaus with a good credit history. We made sure of that by having the monthly payments automatically deducted from our checking account.
The invitation is rather interesting, as it is for the new Sapphire card that Chase just came out with to compete in the affluent market against American Express. Since it asks for household income rather than just her income, she just might get the card. On the other hand, perhaps it is just a mass mailing without regard to credit history, though I doubt that the bank would do it that way.
But I don't need another credit card, Ping told me. I have American Express and Visa cards already with my name on them. Yes, but they are issued to you as an additional card holder on my accounts, I explained. You need your own credit history in America, and getting a credit card issued in your name is a key step in that process. But I have you, she said. But what happens when I die? I asked her. She stroked my cheek with a pout and a frown on her face, gave me a big hug, and said she understood what I was thinking.
The whole idea of credit is foreign to her. The idea of having any kind of debt is foreign to her. Welcome to America, I told her. Credit is a fact of life here. You want to be sure it is available even if you don't use it. It is difficult or more expensive to do many things without an established credit history. For now she is taking my word for it, but I bet she does some reading about it.
If nothing else, it is a pretty color.
Today Ping scored, assuming the card is actually issued to her. She received one of those "preapproved" credit card offers in the mail, addressed to her without my name on it. We all know that preapproved doesn't really mean anything; it is just a solicitation to apply. It is nevertheless an indication that she is in the credit bureaus with a good credit history. We made sure of that by having the monthly payments automatically deducted from our checking account.
The invitation is rather interesting, as it is for the new Sapphire card that Chase just came out with to compete in the affluent market against American Express. Since it asks for household income rather than just her income, she just might get the card. On the other hand, perhaps it is just a mass mailing without regard to credit history, though I doubt that the bank would do it that way.
But I don't need another credit card, Ping told me. I have American Express and Visa cards already with my name on them. Yes, but they are issued to you as an additional card holder on my accounts, I explained. You need your own credit history in America, and getting a credit card issued in your name is a key step in that process. But I have you, she said. But what happens when I die? I asked her. She stroked my cheek with a pout and a frown on her face, gave me a big hug, and said she understood what I was thinking.
The whole idea of credit is foreign to her. The idea of having any kind of debt is foreign to her. Welcome to America, I told her. Credit is a fact of life here. You want to be sure it is available even if you don't use it. It is difficult or more expensive to do many things without an established credit history. For now she is taking my word for it, but I bet she does some reading about it.
If nothing else, it is a pretty color.
It's not just for credit that you need credit, but since just about everything else you might want to do is based on your credit score, it's important to get a good score.
As for the Chase card? I'm guessing it is a mass mailing. I'm certain that Chase(or any credit business) doesn't really care if you can afford to pay or not. Actually, they prefer the 'not.' People like Ping are considered to be deadbeats in the credit world, because the company isn't making any money off of the interest.
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You have a point there, Smitty.
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