Adding Spouse to Credit Card | Chase (2024)

FAQs

Does adding a spouse to a credit card help their credit? ›

You don't have bad financial habits, per se, but you're penalized because you haven't had the opportunity to build credit yet, Kuderna says. Sharing a credit card can help the partner with the lower credit score start to build their credit and raise their score.

When you add an authorized user to your credit card account, information from the account — like the credit limit, payment history and card balance — can show up on that person's credit reports. That means their credit can improve as a result of being added to a credit account you keep in good standing.

Once you move in with a partner or get married, it may make sense for you to get a shared credit card. Charging household expenses to one card and paying the bill out of one banking account can streamline your household money management — until one of you makes a credit card mistake, that is.

Yes, Chase allows you to add authorized users. You can do so online in your Chase account or over the phone by calling the number on the back of your card.

If there's a history of late or missed payments on the account you've been added to, or if that account has a balance that exceeds about 30% of its credit limit, it will tend to lower the credit scores of the primary account holder—and potentially yours, as an authorized user.

Make your spouse an authorized user.

Moderate regular usage of the card and, ideally, payment of the balance in full each month, will add beneficial on-time payments to both your credit history and your spouse's, promoting improvement in both of your credit scores.

Cons of becoming an authorized user

The primary account holder is ultimately responsible for repaying all charges made with the credit card. So if you charge a substantial amount and struggle to pay your portion of the bill, the primary cardholder will have to cover it.

Authorized user accounts must show up on your credit report to affect your credit score. As for how long it takes for authorized user to show on credit report, you might see your score change as soon as the lender starts reporting that information to the credit bureaus, which can take as little as 30 days.

Your score may drop a bit when you are removed as an authorized user, but you can improve it over time by using your own credit accounts responsibly.

Joint credit cards may make good financial sense in these situations: both spouses have good credit scores, good incomes, and responsible financial habits, and they want the higher limit of a joint credit card based on both incomes.

Can my wife use my credit card for lounge access? ›

Can I use my husband's credit card for lounge access? Lounge access policies vary by credit card issuer and lounge provider. Generally, lounge access is tied to the primary cardholder, but some credit cards allow a spouse or guest to accompany the primary cardholder into the lounge.

You are generally not responsible for your spouse's credit card debt unless you are a co-signer for the card or you're a joint cardholder on the account.

The bottom line. Adding your partner as an authorized user on your credit card can help them build credit, and sharing a line of credit can help you both balance the household budget.

Being added as an authorized user on another person's card may help you establish a credit history or build your credit. Yet cardholders and authorized users' on-time, late or missed payments will be added to both parties' credit reports, so it's important that cardholders and authorized users see eye to eye.

With a joint credit card account, both people open the account together and are equally and separately liable for all charges on the account. With an authorized user on an account, only the primary cardholder is responsible for the charges.

If you keep the account in good standing by making monthly, on-time payments, a joint account can help improve the credit score of a cardholder who could benefit from a positive credit history. It can also be a useful way to establish credit for someone who needs it. There are fewer bills to manage.

Credit histories and scores don't combine when you get married. Your credit history and scores are yours and yours alone, and your marital status is not included in your credit reports. But if you have a shared account or you're an authorized user of your spouse's account, you could affect each other's scores.

FALSE. Unless you add your spouse as an authorized user on a credit card account or the two of you jointly apply for a loan or open a joint credit card account, your individual accounts will not merge. 5. My poor credit won't impact my spouse's credit reports and credit scores.

The pros of adding an authorized user to a credit card outweigh the cons in most cases. The primary pro of adding an authorized user to an account is that it allows the authorized user to build credit, while the biggest con is that you are responsible for any purchases the authorized user makes.