New Credit Card When Retired

[GoYouBlues53]

In the last few years of my working life, I was able to amass nearly one million miles of QFF points mainly through credit card sign-up bonuses. Year after year, I had no difficulty turning these cards over and getting new ones - together with the QFF points. However, since I retired 18 months ago, I have been knocked back for new cards. I currently have two cards, cards I have had when I was working - a CBA Diamond Awards Mastercard as part of a 'wealth package' and a 28 Degrees Mastercard. I think my problem is that I'm 'income poor'. Although I have a property worth approximately $1.5million, superannuation in excess of $.5 million and two newish cars, all paid off, and $6k in the bank, it appears to me that my relatively low income from pension super and aged pension hampers my ability to gain new credit cards and the QFF points that flow from them.

Does any one have advice to get around this problem?

Thanks.

 

[Franky]

Being a Carlton supporter, I think you have enough problems as it is.

 

[cgichard]

Although I'm very far from being in the same league as you regarding assets, I had the same problem in trying to obtain a new credit card after retirement, with no pay-slip evidence of income. My advice is to hold firmly to whatever cards you have and keep them in good standing, as all the banks seem to take the same line on this.

 

[DC3]

Although I'm very far from being in the same league as you regarding assets, I had the same problem in trying to obtain a new credit card after retirement, with no pay-slip evidence of income. My advice is to hold firmly to whatever cards you have and keep them in good standing, as all the banks seem to take the same line on this.

I agree with that. The trick is to obtain, and hold, those credit cards before retirement, as part of a retirement plan.

Edit: Short of re-entering the workforce, the banks probably aren’t going to play ball.

 

[VPS]

Self funded retiree Credit card applications?

Hi all, Is there a link\thread for Self Funded retiree application info\process? If you receiving the annual income(requirement) in retirement how do credit card application process view you?

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

There are some other threads on here about this. It depends what your income is as a retiree and which bank. If you get an income stream for a pension you can change that to say you want enough to give you an income of $100K pa for three pay periods and then if you get approved you change it back to what it was before.

 

[Seat0B]

Mre Seat 0A and I are semi-retired, and make our living from self managed super, some government (military) super and the occasional contract for work (self employed through our own company). We re-negotiated the interest rate on an investment property loan in late 2018. We learnt that, at least for that purpose, the bank marked down self employed income to 70% of face value, marked down self managed super to 60% of face value and the government super to 90% of face value. I was astounded at this, particularly the government super. If they apply the same approach to credit card assessments, then .....ouch.

Luckily we have a few cards still running from when we were fully employed, including an AMEX charge card (no credit limit ). So no need to apply for new ones. However, it does mean we miss out on most of the "sign on bonus' offers, which is very annoying. I wish some of the cards would offer a "longevity/loyalty bonus". I know it will never happen as nothing in it for the, but you can always hope.

 

[love_the_life]

Mre Seat 0A and I are semi-retired, and make our living from self managed super, some government (military) super and the occasional contract for work (self employed through our own company). We re-negotiated the interest rate on an investment property loan in late 2018. We learnt that, at least for that purpose, the bank marked down self employed income to 70% of face value, marked down self managed super to 60% of face value and the government super to 90% of face value. I was astounded at this, particularly the government super. If they apply the same approach to credit card assessments, then .....ouch.

Luckily we have a few cards still running from when we were fully employed, including an AMEX charge card (no credit limit ). So no need to apply for new ones. However, it does mean we miss out on most of the "sign on bonus' offers, which is very annoying. I wish some of the cards would offer a "longevity/loyalty bonus". I know it will never happen as nothing in it for the, but you can always hope.

And it seems that this is the problem for the OP - whilst they do have current credit cards to use, it is the sign on bonuses through churning that they miss. There are a few other threads on the same topic if the OP wants to do a search.

 

[PLM]

Take a temporary job with a friend so you have some pay slips?

 

[Brissy1]

I churn cards for sign on points but lightweight, 1 or 2 per year. I'm retired. I applied for " Qantas Premium AMEX 75k QFF Points " (search forums) this morning, not as many points as usual but there haven't been any higher "free" ones recently.

Anyway, you might be interested in it, I was surprised that many of the questions seem very relevant to retired applicants, super balances etc, so they might give you a fair go. But only good for 1st year, unless you like paying for a credit card!
Offer expires on 15th, don't delay

 

[Jacques Vert]

Does any one have advice to get around this problem?

What are the credit limits on your existing cards? Reduce them to the minimum allowed before your next application.

Also, be aware that premium cards (such as the "black" cards) generally require an income north of $75k, while the next tier is usually around $40k.

Good luck.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

What are the credit limits on your existing cards? Reduce them to the minimum allowed before your next application.

Can you get the limit back, if needed? Or do the new rules then apply to the credit limit increase as well?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Can you get the limit back, if needed? Or do the new rules then apply to the credit limit increase as well?

With most cards you would need to go through the standard process for a credit limit increase, but the OP may have few alternatives if they want to be approved for a new card with a decent sign-on bonus.

 

[11sjw]

In the last few years of my working life, I was able to amass nearly one million miles of QFF points mainly through credit card sign-up bonuses. Year after year, I had no difficulty turning these cards over and getting new ones - together with the QFF points. However, since I retired 18 months ago, I have been knocked back for new cards. I currently have two cards, cards I have had when I was working - a CBA Diamond Awards Mastercard as part of a 'wealth package' and a 28 Degrees Mastercard. I think my problem is that I'm 'income poor'. Although I have a property worth approximately $1.5million, superannuation in excess of $.5 million and two newish cars, all paid off, and $6k in the bank, it appears to me that my relatively low income from pension super and aged pension hampers my ability to gain new credit cards and the QFF points that flow from them.

Does any one have advice to get around this problem?

Thanks.

May or may not be related as I'm still employed. It seems once I was down to one Credit Card I was able to successfully apply for another (ANZ Black Visa). Once it was in my hot little hand i cancelled the WBC Black M'card and was able to get the QF Platinum Premier.

Perhaps already having two cards is adding to your problems. Another poster had mentioned this issue in another cc thread (Maybe St George Amplify thread).

 

[MR61]

My best advice from my own experience is to obtain value-added cards a year or two before you retire. I kept my American Express platinum charge card, and lucked out on a Citibank Signature Rewards no-fee-for-life card with a very high borrowing limit, before I left the workforce full-time. It is possible to obtain fee-free cards which have no foreign currency commission - like Bankwest - but you won't get points, and you will need to go through some hoops to show proof of retirement income.

 

[suki]

In the last few years of my working life, I was able to amass nearly one million miles of QFF points mainly through credit card sign-up bonuses. Year after year, I had no difficulty turning these cards over and getting new ones - together with the QFF points. However, since I retired 18 months ago, I have been knocked back for new cards. I currently have two cards, cards I have had when I was working - a CBA Diamond Awards Mastercard as part of a 'wealth package' and a 28 Degrees Mastercard. I think my problem is that I'm 'income poor'. Although I have a property worth approximately $1.5million, superannuation in excess of $.5 million and two newish cars, all paid off, and $6k in the bank, it appears to me that my relatively low income from pension super and aged pension hampers my ability to gain new credit cards and the QFF points that flow from them.

Does any one have advice to get around this problem?

Thanks.

 

[suki]

Unfortunately this is the case for almost all retirees. I have a$1.2 million property and $1 million in super with no dependents, and excellent credit rating, no debt of any sort and minimal outgoings (mainly travel). I couldn’t get any new cards except the most basic and with a ver low credit limit. I couldn’t even get a $7000 advance to pay for a flight over a 3 month payment schedule. Essentially you are a non person and your only hope is to talk to your bank’s relationship manager in person, I managed to get a Qantas Platinum card but it took several attempts by my bank person to push it through.

 

[Seat0B]

One thought that my accountant suggested is to see if they will accept a tax return as proof of income rather than asking for pay slips etc. That picks up a much wider range of your income, as even tax free pensions have to be noted in the return, just no tax charged. Still, if the banks do the discounting for credit cards like I mentioned upthread, and you have more than one card, especially with a high credit limit, it can be very hard to get a new card approved under the current credit regimes.
Maybe things will loosen up a bit as corona virus bites the economy harder and the banks get more interested in gaining new customers/taking customers from competitors?

 

[suki]

Another tip, as advised to me by my banker: after you have retired, do not cancel any cards or reduce your credit limit on your cards unless you really have no intention of using them, it’s almost impossible to get them back.

 

[suki]

One thought that my accountant suggested is to see if they will accept a tax return as proof of income rather than asking for pay slips etc. That picks up a much wider range of your income, as even tax free pensions have to be noted in the return, just no tax charged. Still, if the banks do the discounting for credit cards like I mentioned upthread, and you have more than one card, especially with a high credit limit, it can be very hard to get a new card approved under the current credit regimes.
Maybe things will loosen up a bit as corona virus bites the economy harder and the banks get more interested in gaining new customers/taking customers from competitors?

Nope, I did this, my problem is that I have an SMSF and have chosen to only take the minimum monthly pension from the fund. Those assessing my creditworthiness could not be convinced that I could increase the amount payable at any time, as I am the trustee of my own fund. As the amount pops up in my tax returns, my income appears to be very low, so no amount of discussion about what I am actually worth holds any sway.

 

[Seat0B]

I feel your pain @suki - we are in the same position with most of our retirement income from and SMSF that we are the trustees for. It is infuriating when the people making decisions that affect you actually do not understand what you are telling them.