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Main cardholders can assign secondary cardholders to their account, which are known as authorized users. Depending on the card provider, their reporting policies and the main cardholder’s activity, authorized users can see an impact on their credit score.
Adding and removing authorized users is easy, often done via the main cardholder’s online credit card account. However, some card providers may not report authorized user activity to the credit bureaus if the authorized user is under a certain age or if the authorized user doesn’t live at the same address.
Yes. But only if the primary cardholder keeps the credit utilization rate low and always pays the full balance on time. This is a common credit-building strategy, especially if you’re looking to help your kids or family members build credit.
However, if the primary cardholder misses payments or only pays the minimum balance, you won’t see your credit improve. It could actually hurt your credit.
If the authorized user has no prior credit history, it may take up to six months for the credit score to appear. But again, for this to work, the card provider must report authorized users to credit bureaus and the main cardholder should always pay their balance on time.
For example, here’s what one Reddit user experienced when they added their sibling as an authorized user to their credit card.
You can easily add and remove authorized users from your credit card account. Here’s how:
You can remove authorized users the same way you add them, or you can do so by calling the number on the back of your credit card.
Credit card provider | Reporting to credit bureaus |
---|---|
American Express | Yes, if the authorized user is at least 18 |
Chase | Yes |
Wells Fargo | Yes, if the authorized user is at least 18 |
Bank of America | Yes |
Discover | Yes, if the authorized user is at least 15 |
Capital One | Yes |
Citi | Yes |
Barclaycard US | Yes, if the authorized user is at least 16 |
US Bank | Yes, if the authorized user is at least 16 |
TD Bank | Yes |
The authorized user will see their credit score improve when the main cardholder pays the credit card balance on time and the card provider reports authorized users to credit bureaus.
If the main cardholder fails to pay off the credit card balance on time or keeps piling up debt, and the card provider reports that to the credit bureaus — the authorized user will see a drop in their credit score. Luckily, some card providers like American Express report only positive card activity to protect authorized users.
The main risk in having an authorized user to your account is if you don’t set spending limits and the authorized user spends more than you can pay off. Unless you can pay off your balance on time and lower your debt, you will take a hit on your account.
But if you keep paying your balance on time and keeping your utilization ratio below 30%, you will see a positive impact on your credit score, regardless of if you have an authorized user on your account or not.
There are some cases when the primary cardholder’s activity won’t be reported to the authorized user’s credit report. Here are a few reasons why that might happen:
Some credit card providers don’t have a minimum age requirement for authorized users. But others, such as American Express, require the authorized user to be at least 13 years old. Learn more about authorized user options for teens.
It’s possible to build your credit as an authorized user, but it can take time. If you’re looking to quickly build your credit, consider applying for a secured credit card.
Secured credit cards and student credit cards are also excellent ways to build credit. In this case, you the cardholder is fully responsible for the credit card use and can build credit without depending on anyone else.
You’ll find most major credit card issuers report authorized users to credit bureaus. But to be on the safe side, reach out to customer service and ask about how it reports and the info it needs from you.
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