Credit Card for Older Adult with High Income but Lack of Credit History
I am 56F & just had a shock. I applied for three credit cards - Wells Fargo active cash, Chase Freedom, and Apple - and I was immediately denied for all three. I thought maybe I had frozen my credit but it turns out I just don’t have any. One agency listed me as unscorable; another rated me as fair. I couldn’t believe it. My combined household income is $400,000/yr and I make $135k. For years, I’ve used a debit card to pay for everything thinking I was being responsible but it hurt me. My spouse and I have a nice house and two cars but while I’m listed on the deeds/registrations, the financing was done in his name. This was just an oversight on our part - we didn’t need my income to qualify so we just used his info each time. I used to have excellent credit, I pay our bills on time, I figured we were linked through marriage. But now my file is detrimentally thin. Lesson learned.
Where I need advice — I need a credit card in my name. I need to build credit but also need it for easier car rentals, foreign travel when my debit had issues, etc. Any recommendations? I can’t keep randomly applying - I’m hurting my score worse so I’d appreciate helpful advice. TYIA.