MJLouise

Chase's United card has a 5K premium for adding an auth user.

worldiswide

You are welcome, and you are right that it should only be done with someone you trust.

workandski

My dog used to have his own credit card. I don't think it ever showed up on his credit report.

LarzMN

What is the current consensus around whether or not being an authorized user affects hard credit pulls and/or future card eligibility?

My specific situation is this: my wife and I both jumped on the Sapphire deal recently. I'm a little concerned about hitting the spend for both of us unless I enlist my wife to spend on my card as well as hers since she does most of the household spending. I'm considering adding her to my account as an authorized user. I do NOT want either of the following to happen, however:
1) a new hard credit pull hitting her report thus restarting the approx 90 day timer before I do another churn in her name
2) for Chase to consider that a "card in her name" when they do their "too many cards already" calculation for future applications

Any info would be most appreciated.

philemer

I would call Chase and ask them. Most banks do not pull a credit report on an additional user. You can try to do it online first & if they don't ask for a SS# you're golden.

Flyer737

Or another approach is to make one trip to a store she shops at a lot (e.g. Walmart) and buy a lot of gift cards on your credit card. Then your wife could spend those instead of spending as an authorized user on your account.

MDtR-Chicago

Or just ignore the name on the card. Works especially well in places with a self-checkout or other swiping method. And even in other places, clerks rarely check the name anymore. And usually accept the explanation "oh, it's my husband's card".

I routinely do this with my wife's cards and can think of only a handful of times it was an issue (just used one of my cards then).

shanshan

If you go that route, I would go with the AMEX GC via Big Crumbs.. gives more universality to spending options vs. just the grocery..

guitman03

Most of my family has pretty poor credit. Mines really good. Can I add them as authorized users to help them out? Does it hurt me at all?...I probably wouldn't give them the cards.

Oh, also, if I cancel the account all the cards are canceled right? I don't need to worry about annual fees or anything right?

Mary2e

Being an authorized user does not help their credit score - at least the last time I checked.

I believe they have to be co-owners on the card with you. Therefore, you'd be linking your credit history to theirs. If they have none, they get the benefit from you, if you have a good score. If they have a bad score, it will impact you negatively.

It also hurts you if they go on a shopping spree and don't pay up

dweick

Helping people who have poor credit habits get more credit is probably not really helping them.

The credit bureaus used to report authorized user accounts as though the account directly belonged to the AU. Due to the rampant use of AU accounts to manipulate credit history and scores the credit bureaus now note which accounts are just AU accounts and they don't have the positive impact they used to have.

As for your concerns, people don't need the physical credit card to make purchases and it is always possible, as an AU, for them to call the bank and request another card.

LongviewTX

Some banks (Citi first comes to mind) gives you an option whether to issue a credit card to an authorized user. If you (an account owner) indicate to Citi when adding an authorized user you don't want an actual card to be issued, I doubt the bank will issue one even if AU calls the bank.

Another type of protection some banks apply (I don't remember exactly which banks - for some reason Chase comes to mind but don't my word for it) is always mailing AU cards to the address of the primary owner. So unless your family leaves at the same address or otherwise has access to your mail, calling the bank will not help them either as any card they request to be issued will be mailed to you and you will have control whether to give it to an AU or not.

RedLancer

I have used the AU trick to establish very good credit history for two of my family members. Just make sure you attach their SSN to the AU account. Also make sure they don't get the card if they can't use it responsibly. Otherwise it will hurt your credit history. Some card do charge extra fee for AU.

TheNoobTraveler

I have a good credit score, but my credit history is lacking from the churning of my cards. Also, Chase is forcing me close certain cards to open new accounts, very frustrating. My wife has had a credit card that has been open forever, but she never uses it. Would it help my c.c. history and overall my credit score if she added me on as an authorized user? I appreciate any knowledge on the matter, thanks!

mia

gwhit21's question has been merged with a half-dozen recent discussions of related questions. Reviewing the older posts should provide some guidance.