Married primary card holder
I opened my first credit card, Master Card as a single woman in 1967, I got married in 1970 to a military man who had no credit cards, I put him on my account, now at 80 I find out he is the primary and have no rights to the card if he passes away first, how did this happen, no one at the credit card company told us of this change, we have both held jobs until our retirement in 2013, we both have IRA’s, indiviual and together, our home and car are joint as well as all our accounts, banking and financial, we pay all our credits cards in full when due. How do we change this before one of us is deceased and can’t it be changed? Why does the woman have to start over?
Where is the equality in todays world? I have just as much money in financial accounts as my husband of 56 years. Can you direct us to someone who can solve this situation.
Terry Says
Whew — I’m glad you caught that now. First go to AnnualCreditReport.com to get each of your separate credit reports from at least one bureau. You’ll want to check to see how this credit is being reported.
You can write to the company that issued your current card, if you see that you are listed as other than the primary holder. I don’t know how far you’ll get with asking them to change that, once it’s in their system.
Instead, I recommend applying for your own credit card from another bank. There are so many great offers out there — whether you want to accumulate points or miles or cash back. Do not list your spouse on your application. If your credit score is good, you’ll have your own card. Here’s where to check for offers:
https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/best-credit-cards/
