Being jobless is a financially difficult period for everyone especially when the person is the sole breadwinner of the family. This is the time, when an individual is in dire need of money. And in order to meet the day to day expenses or any other money requirement individual has to:

1. Depend on own savings
2. Liquidate/sell investments or assets
3. Lend money from friends or relatives
4. Apply for credit card
5. Apply for personal loan

However no income is a biggest hurdle when applying for a credit card or personal loan. Because regular income is the only way to prove credit worthiness apart from credit score. However when you are out of job, the chances of rejection will naturally be high as chances of payment default are high, since you won’t money to pay them back.

So is there a way to get credit card without job?

The answer is YES. In India, there are following three easy ways to get credit card when a person is unemployed.

1) Apply for card against Fixed Deposit when you are without job

FD is considered to be the safest and zero risk investment product because of the guaranteed return. Investor can get good night sleep as his/her money will continue to earn money without risk. Although the interest earned is small compared to high risk – high return products, it is still a favorite avenue amongst risk averse investors.

However not many of us are not aware of getting a card against FD (i.e. secured card) is the most easiest way to get a card in India, especially when person is without job. All you need is certain amount of money in the FD and apply to get a card against it. Also, the deposit amount is not very huge. You can open a new account or use existing account to get secured card.

Below table shows list of banks offering secured cards against FD and the deposit amount required:

The money kept in the FD account acts as a collateral and the credit limit is certain percentage (80%  – 85%) of the total amount. Other highly beneficial features are:

• None of these cards required applicant to produce income proof and related documents. So even if you are out of job, getting a credit card is easy.
• There are very minimal documents required.
• There is no credit score check done at credit rating agencies.
• Depositor continues to earn interest on the FD.
• Credit score can be built up or improved
• Card user gets cashback, reward points, airport lounge access, etc. similar to a regular card.

2) Add-On Card – Another option for jobless individuals

Also called as supplementary card, it is another way to get credit card without job. If any of your family member (spouse, children, father, mother) has a credit card and has been a regular payer with no default/usage within the limit, and has a good score. Then primary card owner can apply for a add-on card for other family members i.e. they become secondary card owner.

No income or job details of the supplementary card owners are requested by the issuer.

Following are the add-on cards that are easy to get:

• PremierMiles – CitiBank
• Regalia First – HDFC Bank
• Aqua – Kotak Mahindra Bank
• Urbane – Kotak Mahindra Bank
• PVR Platinum – Kotak Mahindra Bank
• Sapphiro – ICICI Bank
• Signature – ICICI Bank

3) Pre-approved card

There is also a possibility that at the time of application individual is jobless but was working previously. In such a case, depending on your financial transaction history, bank may also pre-approve credit card. Check with your bank, whether they can offer pre-approved card.

Apart from individuals without job, the three options listed above are also best for following individuals:

• Students
• Housewives
• Senior citizens
• Who are in their first job
• With poor credit score
• No credit score