Hi all

Does anybody know if being an authorized user on your spouse's credit card account improves your credit rating? I'm talking about a situation when an authorized user has very very bad credit

Thank you!

Authorized users are based on the primary users credit - there is no checking of the authorized user's credit or impact on theri credt rating. If the authorized user makes a bunch of charges and you as the primary cardholder don't pay the bill, it's your credit that's affected. Likewise, if you pay your bill in full every month, it doesn't do any good for the authorized user's credit. To the credit card company, you are taking 100% responsibility for the authorized user's card usage and it's only your credit rating that comes into play.

Thanks, Kitkat!

That must depend on the company. I added David to my credit card that I had had for quite some time (Capital One, I think?) as an authorized user in 2004 and the card appeared on his credit report shortly thereafter with the same info shown on my credit report.

But it reflected YOUR credit, not his, correct?

It does have some impact but depends on the number of other accounts the person has. However, since the credit reporting agencies refuse to explain their rating process, it is difficult to say accurately just how much impact the account has on each person's score.

I stand corrected - might not be a bad way to build someone's credit rating!

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Colle...reditScore.aspx

"you may not be able to piggyback on his or her credit. Some credit issuers won't report authorized users to the credit bureaus, particularly if the user is not married to the original card holder. If the point is to give you a credit history, the person who's adding you as an authorized user should call the issuer and ask how (or if) your status as a user will be reported.

http://www.bcsalliance.com/z_authorizedusers.html

What most people don't realize is that being listed as an authorized user on someone else's credit card account results in that person's payment history being reported to the authorized user's credit report as well. This is a good thing if you have no credit, because you can actually build up your credit if the main accountholder has good credit and pays her bills on time.

wait are we saying that credit crosses the ocean?

It reflected on both of ours. I had the card orignally from several years ago (before I met David) and added him as an authorized user.

ETA: It still reflects on both of our credit reports, since we still have the same card (reflected made it sound past tense).

Dunno. But since he had no credit cards until he became an authorized user off of mine, it definitely helped build his credit and score.

He has had no problems obtaining credit cards (now has 2 others in his name) since and has a score in the low-excellent range and is explained on the credit report that it's in the low-excellent range because of the 1) length of time of credit, and 2) no mortgage under his name.

What also impacts the score is the debt-to-credit-limit ratio (as well as how many cards are on the report). It's important to ask the card company if they report the amount of credit allowed on the card...if they don't it can bring the score down because there is no way to compare the ratio. Some companies report it, and some don't.

Well, I guess the only way for us to find out is to get hubby's actual credit report!

However, when I added him as an authorized user, I only had to give them his name. They didn't ask for his SS number. That's why I think it's unlikely to show up on his credit report.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I would think there is no way to affect his credit score in this situation, without having given his SSN, but please report back - it will be very interesting to know! I suppose the credit card issuer would also have some insight.

Strangely enough, it just might!

One of the cards that David obtained (from Chase), he requested a card in my name, as an authorized user. He didn't know my SS# so didn't provide it, nor was he asked. A month or so later...that card appeared on my credit report also! That kinda freaked me out since they didn't have my SS#, so you never know!

But they had your SSN from your original credit card application so they put it together with the card number, right?

No, that's what was strange! It was David's application and it was approved for him. I don't even have a Chase card.
I was added at his request just as an authorized user, by just giving them my name. They didn't have my SSN at all, and I know David didn't have it to give to them.

i work for a US credit card issuing bank- technically authorized users do not report to credit bureaus. The auth user has a card in their name and is not financially responsible for the charges. if 2 people on account are co-applicants they both report to the bureau. However there is gray area cause a lot of auth users names end up on the credit reports, some banks are now reporting auth user spouse to the credit bureau.

Adding him as an authorized user most definitely worked for my spouse; he got a killer credit score in a short time and he did nothing additional. Just added him as an auth. user.
(citibank visa card)

Yes, my husband added me as an authorized user on his capital one card and he asked if this would eventually increase my own credit score and they said that it definetly would. So I guess capital one does it.

Same for me. My husband added me as authorized user on his credit cards and they all showed up in my credit report. After just one year of being an authorized user, I started getting credit card offers in my own name.

Same here! WE added him to mine and his credit is AWESOME. ALSO...I strongly recommend a SECURED credit card. You put down 500 bucks...and that's your limit...but as long as you use it, and pay it off each time, it REALLY helped stew's credit! He now has an Amex with a higher limit than my cards!

Marlene and I were married in December 2005. I added her as an authorized user on my credit card in January 2006. We went to buy a new car jointly in September 2006 and they did credit checks on both of us. Marlenes credit score was even higher than mine based solely on being authorized on that card.

I added my hubby as an authorized user before he even moved to the US. I think they woulda given a card to my dog if I asked. They did call to confirm though.