To add someone to your credit card, log in to your issuer’s website or app, find the option to add an authorized user, and enter the person’s full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and mailing address. You can also do this by phone using the number on the back of your card. The whole process takes a few minutes, and a card in the new user’s name usually arrives within 7 to 10 business days.1USAA. Credit Card Authorized User Before you do it, understand what you’re agreeing to: every charge that person makes is legally yours to pay.
Information You’ll Need
Have four things ready for the person you’re adding:
- Full legal name, matching their government-issued ID.
- Date of birth.
- Social Security number, or ITIN.
- Mailing address where the card will be sent.
Issuers collect these details to verify identity and report the account accurately to the credit bureaus. Federal banking rules require financial institutions to obtain a customer’s name, date of birth, address, and identification number when opening accounts, and issuers apply similar verification practices when adding authorized users.2FFIEC. Assessing Compliance with BSA Regulatory Requirements – Customer Identification Program Some issuers will add an authorized user without a Social Security number, but the account may not appear on that person’s credit report. If credit building is the reason you’re adding them, that defeats the purpose.
Three Ways to Submit the Request
- Online. Log in, look under account settings for “Add Authorized User” or “Manage Users,” enter the information, and submit.
- Mobile app. Same flow as the website — navigate to account management and follow the prompts.
- Phone. Call the number on the back of your card. You’ll verify your identity, then give the representative the authorized user’s details.
Online and app submissions typically process within minutes. The card arrives in 7 to 10 business days, and some issuers offer expedited shipping that cuts that to one or two. The card has to be activated through the issuer’s website or activation number before it can be used.
Issuer Rules That Vary
There is no federal minimum age for authorized users. The CARD Act’s under-21 restrictions apply only to people opening their own accounts, not to authorized users on someone else’s.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1637 – Open End Consumer Credit Plans That’s why a parent can add a young child as an authorized user even though the child couldn’t qualify for a card independently.
Each issuer then sets its own floor. American Express and Barclays require authorized users to be at least 13. Discover sets 15. Wells Fargo requires 18. Chase, Capital One, and Bank of America publish no minimum age.
Issuers also cap how many authorized users you can add. Fidelity, for example, allows up to seven authorized users plus one joint owner.4Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card – Authorized Users Most issuers land somewhere between five and ten.
Standard cards generally don’t charge to add an authorized user. Premium cards often do. The American Express Platinum charges $195 per authorized user per year. The American Express Gold is free for the first five and $35 each after that. Any fees post to the primary cardholder’s balance.
What It Does to the Other Person’s Credit
Once the account appears on the authorized user’s credit report, usually within one to two billing cycles, its payment history, credit limit, and age all factor into their credit profile.5Experian. Will Being an Authorized User Help My Credit? For someone with a thin file or no credit history, that can make a real difference.
The effect cuts both ways. A long record of on-time payments and low balances helps the authorized user. Missed payments or a high balance relative to the credit limit can drag their score down. Newer versions of the FICO scoring model give authorized user accounts less weight than primary accounts, though older versions treat them the same.6myFICO. How Do Authorized User Accounts Impact the FICO Score?
One catch for parents adding minors: some issuers only report authorized user activity when the user is 18 or older. Chase, American Express, and Wells Fargo all follow that practice. If you’re adding a minor specifically to build credit, confirm your issuer reports for people under 18 before you count on it.
You’re Liable for Every Charge They Make
The primary cardholder is legally responsible for the entire balance, including anything the authorized user charges. The authorized user has no legal obligation to the issuer. If you add someone who runs up charges and refuses to pay you back, the issuer will still expect you to pay in full, and you’d have to pursue reimbursement from the authorized user directly, potentially in small claims court. Card issuers do not mediate disputes between you and the person you added.
The same structure applies to business cards. The primary account holder remains liable for charges made by any employee added as an authorized user.7Capital One. Adding an Authorized User on a Business Card
Billing disputes and fraud claims also fall to you. Under federal rules, the right to dispute a billing error belongs to the person who opened the account, not to an authorized user.8eCFR. 12 CFR Part 226 – Truth in Lending (Regulation Z) If the authorized user spots a bad charge, you’ll be the one filing the dispute.
Controlling and Monitoring Their Spending
Some issuers let you cap what an authorized user can charge. American Express allows a limit as low as $200 per user, and Capital One offers a similar feature. Chase does not offer per-user spending limits on personal cards, though it does on business cards; instead, Chase lets you lock and unlock an authorized user’s card from your online account.9Chase. Setting a Spending Limit for Authorized Users Bank of America, Citi, and Discover don’t offer per-user limits on personal cards at all.
Most issuers let you set text or email alerts for transactions, and you can review the authorized user’s spending separately in your online account. Purchases they make earn rewards at the same rate as yours, but the primary cardholder controls redemption. Authorized users generally cannot redeem points or miles on their own.
Authorized User vs. Joint Account Holder
These look similar and are not the same. Most major issuers no longer offer joint credit card accounts, which makes authorized user status the standard way to share a card, but the distinction still matters where joint accounts exist.
- Payment responsibility. An authorized user owes the issuer nothing. A joint account holder shares full responsibility for the debt, and the issuer can pursue either party.
- Adding and removing. An authorized user can be added or removed quickly. A joint account holder can only come off by closing the account.
- Credit check. Adding an authorized user triggers no credit inquiry. Applying as a joint account holder produces a hard inquiry that stays on the applicant’s report for two years.
- After removal. An authorized user’s report drops the account immediately. For a joint account holder, negative information stays on the credit report for seven years even after the account closes.
Removing Someone Later
You can remove an authorized user at any time through the issuer’s website, app, or customer service line. In most online systems, you go to account management, select the user, and choose remove or deactivate. The card is deactivated right away, and the account stops appearing on that person’s credit report.10Experian. Removing Yourself as an Authorized User Could Help Your Credit
The authorized user can also remove themselves by contacting the issuer directly. They don’t need the primary cardholder’s permission. That’s useful to know if you’re an authorized user on someone else’s account and their habits are pulling your credit down. Some issuers recommend destroying the old card once it’s deactivated to prevent any attempted use.