You may have read about authorized users before and possibly endless information about it, but you’ve probably come up short and haven’t fully discovered the benefits of not only being an authorized user, but also adding someone as one.
Before we go any deeper, know that an authorized user is a person who has been added to a primary credit card holder’s account. An authorized user receives a credit card with their name on it, linked to the primary cardholder’s account.
Adding authorized users can be very beneficial to both the primary cardholder and the authorized user. The primary cardholder can recruit an authorized user to help meet spending requirements. Meanwhile, the authorized user can establish a credit history and take advantage of various card benefits offered for authorized users.
But, as there are always pros and cons, this time is no exception and even less so when we talk about credit and credit building. There is a downside to adding authorized users and that is that it can be more difficult to track spending when two people use the same card.
Also, the primary cardholder is responsible for all charges to the account. So it is recommended that if you are going to add someone as an authorized user, be a trustworthy person and if that user will be you, be a responsible person and live up to the trust you have been given.
If you are wondering who can be an authorized user, the answer is; anyone with whom you have a fair partnership conversation and you both agree. Since, both of you will have access to the same tradeline or card, which is any account that appears on a person’s credit report.
Once you have both obtained the desired benefit and wish to end the partnership to remove an authorized user just call your credit card issuer. Some banks even allow you to do this online. Once the user has been removed from the account, which is usually done in a matter of minutes, the credit card becomes inactive.
