Princess Visa card - notified my wife that I applied?

[Loonbeam]

The way it works is that if the credit bureau identifies a joint current account between spouses AND you are in a state that requires it, the spouse is notified of the new line of credit.

 

The idea is that it will help prevent estranged spouses, etc from running up debt prior to divorce, because in those states the debt can be shared even if both parties did not technically agree to it.

[Colo Cruiser]

"Is there some law that you can't apply for a credit card without your spouse knowing?"

 

Why would a husband or wife wish to open any kind of bank account without the spouse's knowledge ?

 

I am sure there are people all over the world that may want to do this not just in the US.

 

That suggests something to hide does it not ?

 

No there is no law.

Just the notifications required in certain states.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[WeeCountyMan]

I really had no plans to apply - I just was checking it out and something popped up regarding applying. I thought the process would take a while but as I said, was surprised that I was approved in one minute. I really don't remember anything about adding a second card for spouse. This was late one night and my wife had already gone to bed. My wife has been so busy getting ready for a cruise and running around like a chicken trying to get everything done at home and so have I so I completely forgot about the card. Since we cruise Princess so much, figured the card was a good match and when I showed her the letter, she just laughed and asked if there was an annual fee. We don't hide anything from each other - maybe that happens in bad marriages but no issues here.

 

Maybe some spouses shouldn't open an account without telling the other but we take advantage of a good deal when we have a chance.

 

Apologies, my comment was not aimed at you - just a general observation.

 

I have a single current account which I use for Ebay, the card is linked to PayPal.

[Akaicb]

"Is there some law that you can't apply for a credit card without your spouse knowing?"

 

Why would a husband or wife wish to open any kind of bank account without the spouse's knowledge ?

 

That suggests something to hide does it not ?

 

I know that pablo222 suggested only good thoughts about why a spouse would want to open a card without their spouses knowledge, but what if they needed to get out of an abusive marriage.

 

I understand what people have said regarding the notification is to make sure a spouse does not run up thousands in debt before a divorce, but there could be hundreds of reasons good or bad.

 

Hiding is not always a bad thing.

[Tedferg]

Also in California and no notification for us either. We put all our charges on one United Mileage card in DW name. I had 17,000 United miles in my name that would time out. So I opened a second card in my name to get 20,000 sign up bonus and 10,000 after spending $1,000. Then cancelled the card - card company said no problem when I told them we prefer to concentrate on one card.

 

No notification to DW when I opened my card.

[mysaddlebred000]

Card came today. There was also a card for my wife so I guess I did sign her up. Funny - that letter just said I signed up for and was approved - nothing about one for her.

 

I thought it said $5000 credit but it says $12,500.

[AZbeachboy]

We live in California, a community property state, and have never been notified when a spouse opened a credit card account. In fact, I just opened a Hyatt Visa in my name only last month and no notification to DH.:confused:

 

 

 

We live in Arizona and have never had this happen. The only time this is happened is when I turned over my 403B at retirement and I had to have her signature.

[Loonbeam]

Did a little more research, and its actually a lot more complicated.

 

It looks like only 1 or 2 states (Nevada maybe) require notification of all debt to a spouse. Tough to read the statute.

 

Some states require notification of debt secured by an asset in common such as a car, house or bank account. Depending on the state, an asset can be in common even if the spouse's name is on it. An unsecured card would not trigger this rule but a secured card might (this seems to be the case for CA).

 

And it looks like Missouri requires notice of anything that may affect credit, but only when the parties have different legal addresses of residence.

[VibeGuy]

Internal compliance can require spousal notification beyond the law's requirements if they feel a jurisdiction presents an increased risk of "unwitting spouse" disavowal of joint debt.

 

Note on the credit line: if it's a Visa Signature card, it's technically No Preset Spending Limit - they just won't let you *revolve* over 12.5K.

[Colo Cruiser]

Card came today. There was also a card for my wife so I guess I did sign her up. Funny - that letter just said I signed up for and was approved - nothing about one for her.

 

I thought it said $5000 credit but it says $12,500.

 

 

What state are you in?