Credit Card Application- What Your Personal Information Says to Creditors

Credit Card Application- What Your Personal Information Says to Creditors

Anytime we fill out a credit card application, we are giving creditors a financial life story, of sorts. They want names, addresses, social security numbers, and income information so that they can determine whether or not you’re ‘fit’ for their credit card. Your name and address won’t provide a lot of insight, and they’re really just used for identity verification. However, your income, place of employment, and credit history can tell a whole different story, depending on how you’ve lived your life to this point.

It never ceases to amaze me that credit card companies simply want you to fill out their credit card application and tell them how much you make annually. It doesn’t matter what you put down, because they don’t check it. Now, this IS credit card fraud, so you shouldn’t do it. It’s just interesting that they expect so many people to be so trustworthy. Of course, providing proof of income or giving employer information so they can contact them is not a popular choice because it makes the process a bigger hassle.

When you fill out a credit card application, you are required to list your industry and job title. Those who are self-employed or who do contract work will likely find approval much harder to get. Why? Well, it’s not necessarily seen as steady pay when you work for yourself or in a contract position. In most cases, you’ll have to have 2-3 years of experience in your job before you will be seen as a safe investment for creditors. That doesn’t mean that you should lie on your application, it’s just something that needed to be pointed out.

Credit card application processes are usually pretty basic and simple. Personal information, contact information, social security numbers, and employment information are all that is collected. You can even find many online credit card applications that take less than five minutes to fill out. If you prefer to fill out the forms by hand and mail them in, that’s your choice to make. Just know that any personal information that you give could be used to deny you for a credit card. The main point of focus, though, is credit score and history, and debt-to-income ratio. That means that if you already have $1100 in debts each month, and you only make $1300, you’re probably not going to get approved. These are just a few things to keep in mind when it comes to filling out a credit card application.