SC applying supplementary credit card for foreigner spouse

[MOCHS]

Just want to ask, has any Singaporean successfully applied a supplementary credit card for their foreigner spouse before?

I’m a SC, my husband is American but his income isn’t high enough for him to apply for a credit card by himself so I was thinking to apply a supp card for him. He only has a debit card tied to his own bank account.

The first time I tried to apply a supp card for him was two years ago and it was rejected. I realised I did not update my marital status with the bank from single to married.

So, I updated my marital status but I have not tried applying for a supp card for him again.

However, I did apply for the same supp card for my SC mother (a homemaker) last year and it was approved.

Was wondering if I should try applying a supp card for my husband again? I have a couple of CCs and I always pay them in full monthly so I don’t think my credit score is an issue.

[PNGMK]

American's come under FATCA which causes banks headaches. Stanchart, Citi, HSBC or maybe UOB will be able to help.

American express is also good IME for supp cards for American spouses as I got my American wife one with no issues as an emergency card for travel. I was not able to get my American wife a supp master card under Maybank as Maybank are not interested in US customers (I think).

[MOCHS]

Ah, I did try to apply a Maybank supp card for him as it did not have any annual fees. Didn’t know his nationality was a reason for rejection.

[PNGMK]

Yes it would be the reason.

[malcontent]

Ah, I did try to apply a Maybank supp card for him as it did not have any annual fees. Didn’t know his nationality was a reason for rejection.

Oh, Maybank... I can tell you with 100% certainty they don’t accept an American customers. They have always rejected my cc applications, and I’ve got sterling credit here going back decades.

I currently have 3 cards, Citi SMRT (also my transit link card), DBS Esso (also my ATM/NETS card) and StanChart Unlimited, each with at least $60k limit.

If your husband is over 55, the following regulations from MAS applies:

https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/expla ... edit-Cards

[MOCHS]

^ We aren’t that old.

And it’s a supplementary card so they’ll be looking at my income, not his, isn’t it? Credit limit will be shared with mine too.

Guess I’ll look at my other cards (OCBC & POSB) to see if it’s worth to get a supp card from them or apply for a HSBC Revolution card.

[malcontent]

Ah, I did try to apply a Maybank supp card for him as it did not have any annual fees. Didn’t know his nationality was a reason for rejection.

One other point on annual fees — I’ve never paid an annual fee, virtually all cc issuers here will refund it after it’s charged. Very few card issuers here have no annual fee. Personally, I think it’s worth the small hassle to request the annual fee refund given all the cash back I’m getting.

But, if you just don’t want the hassle, you could consider the UOB SingTel card. If you have a monthly SingTel bill that can be paid with this credit card, the annual fee is automatically waived.

Note also, StanChart Unlimited is supposed to have an annual fee, but I’ve never been charged one during the 5 years I’ve been a cardholder. I use it as my fall back card, if nothing else, I’ll at least get 1.5% cash back. Things like healthcare for example — no card offers a bonus rate for stuff like that.

[MOCHS]

I am aware it’s easy to get fee waivers but OCBC is notorious for rejecting fee waiver requests and my first & main CC came from this bank so I have some sort of loyalty to them.

I have to spend a certain amount yearly in order to have OCBC auto fee waiver which I can do no problem since it’s my main card. Though I have been thinking to cancel this card in the future for a better card with hassle-free fee waivers.

My POSB is the only MasterCard I have as MasterCard has some specials from time to time.

My Maybank card has no annual fees if it’s used every quarterly. I have retiree friends that like this card ‘cos you just need to use this card once every 3 months.

I am looking at a miles card since hubby is a foreigner and would wanna fly home annually.

[malcontent]

I am aware it’s easy to get fee waivers but OCBC is notorious for rejecting fee waiver requests and my first & main CC came from this bank so I have some sort of loyalty to them.

I have to spend a certain amount yearly in order to have OCBC auto fee waiver which I can do no problem since it’s my main card. Though I have been thinking to cancel this card in the future for a better card with hassle-free fee waivers.

My POSB is the only MasterCard I have as MasterCard has some specials from time to time.

My Maybank card has no annual fees if it’s used every quarterly. I have retiree friends that like this card ‘cos you just need to use this card once every 3 months.

I am looking at a miles card since hubby is a foreigner and would wanna fly home annually.

If your hubby is from the US, he should apply for US cards, especially before a trip back!

During our last trip to the US, I got 80k worth of miles as a sign up bonus on Delta Amex Gold, plus double miles on Delta purchases, plus free lounge access, plus a free extra bag domestically and free status upgrade… all told we earned 120k miles just with this one credit card, excluding the miles we earned by flying!

We also got the Capital One Venture with a $500 sign up bonus. We just cancelled after a year to avoid the annual fee. I can usually get at least $1000 worth of sign up bonuses each time we go back to the US, just our flights alone usually cover the spend requirements for the bonus. Amazon purchases help too!

Many US cards, especially ones intended for travel, have zero foreign transaction fees. We always use US cards when we travel outside or Singapore. All Singapore cards charge foreign transaction fees, typically in the 2.8-3% range.

[MOCHS]

Got a couple of questions:

1. An applicant can apply for US credit card when they’re not physically in the US? The card will be mailed to the overseas address?

2. I thought Delta no longer has flights from SG?

[malcontent]

Got a couple of questions:

1. An applicant can apply for US credit card when they’re not physically in the US? The card will be mailed to the overseas address?

Yes, you can apply from overseas without any issue (no VPN required), and the cool thing is, they usually approve it online within a minute or two. Sometimes they even give you the card details on the spot so you can start using the card immediately. That is what happened with our Delta Amex Gold.

However, you should use a US mailing address (a family or friend in the US… I have always used my parents address). Some cards make you tick a box to say you are a US resident — in fact, a US citizen is always a US resident for tax purposes - a US citizen can never be considered a nonresident alien. There is no escape!

That said, if you really want to use a Singapore address, you’d need to work with a financial institution that is set up for that. SDFCU for example, their primary customer base is embassy staff from around the world, they will FedEx any cards to your overseas address for free. I have an account with them. If you are interested, I can tell you how to get an account set up with them for free. They also have a fantastic credit card with 2% cash back and no foreign transaction fees. It’s hard to beat!

2. I thought Delta no longer has flights from SG?

Sadly this is true. We racked up all those miles in 2019 and will have to use them on domestic flights when we get to the US.

However, it’s still better than Krisflyer miles which expire after 3 years. Anytime we fly SQ we credit miles to United, which never expire. We just don’t fly enough to earn and burn miles fast enough on Krisflyer anymore.

I believe United still flies to the US from here, and they also have credit card deals to rack up bonus miles. I used up all of our United miles on a family trip to the Canadian Rockies in 2018. Pro tip: sign up for their promo mailings and you might get an exclusive credit card bonus offer that is not publicly available. This is how we got the crazy good deal with Delta!

[MOCHS]

Successfully got a HSBC CC for myself and a supp card for hubby. Gotta blame Maybank for giving me anxiety on whether foreigner spouses can hold a supp card.

[malcontent]

Successfully got a HSBC CC for myself and a supp card for hubby. Gotta blame Maybank for giving me anxiety on whether foreigner spouses can hold a supp card.

Foreigners should just avoid Maybank completely. It’s a lesson I learned long ago. Not sure if they are myopic, xenophobic or both, but they only want local customers.

[MOCHS]

My friends were wondering if there’s any historic bad blood between Maybank and Americans?

Are M’sians considered foreigners since Maybank serves M’sia too?

[malcontent]

My friends were wondering if there’s any historic bad blood between Maybank and Americans?

Are M’sians considered foreigners since Maybank serves M’sia too?

Many financial institutions are wary of Americans (or anyone considered a U.S. Person for that matter) because of the compliance hassles with FATCA among other things.

However, this issue with Maybank predates FATCA. I know the issue existed even back in the early 2000’s. I honestly don’t know what prompted them to have this policy, and I also don’t think it’s just Americans. If you notice, some of their applications forms even state that only SC/PR may apply. I have to believe they make exceptions for Malaysians on EP here, but I don’t know for certain.