An authorized user is a person who has been granted permission by the primary cardholder to use their credit card account.
The authorized user can make purchases with the card and may receive a card in their name, but they are also responsible for paying the credit card bill.
The primary cardholder is responsible for all charges made on the card, including those made by the authorized user.
To become an authorized user, you will need to:
Ask the primary cardholder to add you to their credit card account as an authorized user. They will need to contact their credit card issuer to make this request.
Provide your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, and social security number, to the primary cardholder.
Wait for the credit card issuer to process the request and issue a card in your name, if applicable.
It's important to note that becoming an authorized user can have both positive and negative effects on your credit score.
If the primary cardholder has a good credit history with this credit card and makes on-time payments this will benefit your credit score.
If the primary cardholder makes a couple of late payments on this card it will have a negative impact on your credit and theirs.
If you are added as an authorized user can help you establish credit and improve your credit score.
It's important to communicate with the primary cardholder and use the card responsibly in order to avoid any negative impacts on your credit.
The age of the credit card you are added to makes a difference also. The amount of available credit on the card and the age of the card will have an effect.
The older the card the better as long as all payments on the card have been made on time.
If the balance on the card is over half the available credit on the card it will not help a lot also. For instance if the card has a credit limit of $5,000 and it has an outstanding balance of $3,000 it will not help your credit score much.