Difficulty for Greys applying for a credit card.

Brodie Allen · Guru

Difficulty for Greys applying for a credit card.

granite53 · Member

BA yep

I'm going to Japan next year and dreading applying for a zero transaction fee OS card.

Like you, I'm an self funded retiree and I've investiagted getting one and the absolute BS that you have to supply is over the top.

Les

yobarr · Guru

Brodie Allen wrote:
In the middle of a merry-go-round to establish my creditworthiness to have a credit card.

Since I live off a self-managed fund and don't have a 'regular' income, the amount
of paperwork, stat decs, Annual Reports, and on and on to the enth degree like
you wouldn't believe and visits to the bank, interviews with personnel - never
ending and rudely probing my every financial matter. Extremely intrusive!!!

Just to quiet the pundits - I fully own all my estates of which there are numerous,
have never been late paying a bill, have an impeccable credit report over whole
of life, and to top it all I did all the advertising, graphics and stationery for one
of the banks with whom I was applying in their early years of formation!
Some of the older employees would even remember me!

They said "Its all Givernment legislation!" (not a misspell)

When a snotty nosed young adult can rock up and without much adoo get a card
with a $5000 limit when earning $600/week at Maccas, I find it BLOODY DISCRIMINATORY
that they are putting me thru the wringer. There's no way my credentials aren't
patently obvious from the first basic meeting with the nobs!!

I hate having to give them so much information that I consider PRIVATE!

My accountant says "It's a common and real problem for self sustaining elderly"

Whats the go - has anybody else come up against this stonewalling?

B

Certainly I can sympathise with you. Currently I have credit cards with about $60,000 limit, and always they have a 'positive' balance of about $3000 in case I neglect to zero them at the end of the month.

However, because I have started buying stuff on-line I decided to get a new credit card with a very small limit, maybe $1000, to minimise the chances of being ripped off.

Despite my flawless credit history, and a fair amount of cash in the bank, neither of my credit card providers was even remotely interested in helping me, even though I personally visited their offices.

Strange world. Cheers.

spida · Guru

I just use a debit card and just load as required.

IanSch · Member

spida wrote:
I just use a debit card and just load as required.

Same with me.

Bicyclecamper · Guru

I was told recently, whilst talking to my broker about why I got a loan this year, he said it was my recent AAA credit rating over the last 10 years, as to why I got it again, but he said if I come back in 5 years time ( when I am 70yo), I will be too old to service the loan and I won't get one. So anymore loans I may need, to do it within the next 5 yrs.

dogbox · Guru

spida wrote:

I just use a debit card and just load as required.

some credit cards have travel insurance insurance benefits.

BT50 Dave · Member

If you have a SMSF, that sits under a company structure, put your occupation down as 'Company Director'. That will get you past the most significant hurdle in the assessment algorithms. i.e. 'what is your occupation?'

Brodie Allen · Guru

BT50 Dave wrote:
If you have a SMSF, that sits under a company structure, put your occupation down as 'Company Director'. That will get you past the most significant hurdle in the assessment algorithms. i.e. 'what is your occupation?'

Can you be a "Company Director" of a SMSF?

B

BT50 Dave · Member

Short answer is no a SMSF doesn't have a 'director', but if your SMSF is 'owned' by a company eg. "Jane and John Doe Pty Ltd As Trustee For the Doe Super Fund" then Jane and John Doe would be the directors of "Jane and John Doe Pty Ltd". The asset of the company is the SMSF and the trustee 'pensions' paid out of the SMSF are income for the directors. It only works if the directors of the 'holding' company, and the trustees of the SMSF, are the same. NB: This is not financial advice but this is how our fund is structured and I know that it works, it does pay to check around though, some banks understand SMSF income streams, most don't.

Tony LEE · Guru

Just get a debit card. Then you can have whatever limit you like.

BT50 Dave · Member

Down side with a debit card is that if you get 'scammed' e.g. on line retailer doesn't deliver promised goods, then you are trying to get the bank to recover your money. With a credit card they are trying to recover their money, want to have a guess on which one they are more 'invested' in?

Whenarewethere · Guru

But then you don't buy things you don't need, don't want, don't waste cash on. Then one is better off.

Easier to save a dollar than earn a dollar.

BT50 Dave · Member

I can't quite understand that comment, are you saying that everybody who uses a credit card to make a purchase is financially irresponsible?

Gundog · Guru

I think you have the same protection with a Visa/MasterCard Debit Card as a credit card. But as an additional layer of protection li transfer funds to my visa debit card at the time I need to use the card. In effect it has less than $5 availability in between transactions hard to scam a card with a little money on it. The good thing about it is I have zero fees on my cards.

BT50 Dave · Member

The charge back rules are slightly different between debit and credit cards, and are administered differently.

Cuppa · Guru

Gundog wrote:
I think you have the same protection with a Visa/MasterCard Debit Card as a credit card. But as an additional layer of protection li transfer funds to my visa debit card at the time I need to use the card. In effect it has less than $5 availability in between transactions hard to scam a card with a little money on it. The good thing about it is I have zero fees on my cards.

I've done the same for a number of years, using the debit card only for online transactions, & via Paypal by preference.

BT50 Dave · Member

It will depend on which scheme, I.e. Visa, Mastercard or eftpos processes the transaction. e.g. If you use a terminal and press savings then the transaction is not processed through either Visa or Mastercard. PayPal is different again as they have their own charge back rules.