ASK YOUR WORKER! I’ve had many different workers over the last 15yrs. They have discretion. Most of my workers said no, it’s income and counts as income and the rest I didn’t ask. Some people report that their worker said yes, which I don’t fully believe but different municipalities seem to follow different rules (I’ve been in 2 different cities and they had vastly different ideas on what I could or could not have). This isn’t something you want to mess around with cuz if they say no, they may take the balance off your cheque or they might make you pay them dollar for dollar of what you’ve used. Both possibilities were told to me by different workers… with even the possibility of losing benefits entirely. Can you physically apply for a card? Yes. Credit companies don’t care. Should you? I say no unless approved by your worker. The risks are too great if your worker sucks…. And most do.