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to pay" provision. It stated that credit card issuers generally could only consider an applicant's independent income or assets before issuing a new card or increasing a credit limit, not his or her access to the household's overall income.
• An unintended consequence soon emerged: As a result of the ability-to-pay rule, many spouses or partners over age 21 who don't work outside the home suddenly found they were unable to open separate credit accounts in their own name, regardless of whether or not they had access to their working spouse/partner's income.
• Establishing one's own credit history is crucial to gaining favorable interest rates and access to credit, especially when non-working spouses get divorced or their spouse dies unexpectedly. Thus many consumers (and their Congressional representatives) were upset. Their displeasure reached the ears of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
• Fast forward to October 2012, when the CFPB released a proposal that was expected to ease credit rules for stay-at-home spouses or partners. After six months of public review, the CFPB issued a formal amendment to the ability-to-pay rule that essentially says credit card applicants who are at least 21 can factor in a third party's income or assets when applying for credit card accounts if there's a reasonable expectation they'll be able to access those funds to make payments. (This includes income of a spouse or partner, although the rule applies to all applicants, regardless of marital status.)

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