No More Co-signers for Credit Cards

Discover Card recently announced that they will no longer allow applicants to use a co-signer to qualify for a new credit card. The company joins other major issuers in ruling out the co-signer option, including American Express, Citibank, Capital One, and Chase.

Why co-signers matter

When you don’t have much credit history or the history you have is not exactly stellar, it can be hard to get approved for a credit card. Issuers don’t want to take a chance that you’ll run into problems paying back what you owe. Asking a family member or a friend with strong credit to co-sign for you can make a big difference.

Even if you don’t need a co-signer to get approved, some couples prefer to have equal standing on their credit accounts. With co-signed accounts, both parties are equally responsible for paying the bills. Good stewardship of the account will benefit both people’s credit equally. And, yes, mistakes made on the account will also damage both people’s credit, no matter who was “supposed” to pay the bill.

But among the largest credit card issuers, fewer and fewer allow co-signers. Discover was one of the last big ones to still allow co-signing.

If you have a large amount of credit card debt and it is causing a problem, consider having a consultation with Caroline Secor. Carolyn Secor P.A. focuses its practice in the areas of Bankruptcy and Foreclosure Defense in Clearwater, Florida. For more information, go to our web site www.BankruptcyforTampa.com or call 727-254-1704.