An authorized user is a person who has permission to use another person’s credit and, therefore, to make purchases and charge them to the credit card of the person who has granted him/her this right. However, you should know that as an authorized user you are not responsible for the payments charged to the card. Therefore, people who become authorized users must be close and trustworthy people.
Authorized users generally pay for their card purchases, and payment arrangements are made between cardholders and authorized users. An authorized user is considered a secondary cardholder with access to an account but no ownership.
An authorized user can benefit by restoring credit and generating credit if the account is well managed. This record will be reflected in your credit history, from time to time as the credit bureaus make such a publication.
The authorized user can access credit without applying for a card, and his or her on-time payment history will appear on the user’s credit report, as long as the card reports to the credit bureaus.
The cardholder and authorized user.
The cardholder and the authorized user must work hand in hand in their credit partnership, both to maintain good credit, build credit, increase their Fico score and their responsibility to the bill.
Joint cardholders share responsibility for managing their card, even if one person pays the bills. One cardholder missing a payment or carrying a balance can damage the credit scores of both cardholders. Similarly, credit errors by an authorized user or a primary cardholder can affect both people.
Benefits of being an authorized user.
Becoming an authorized user can help someone who has little or no credit build a very good credit score because many credit bureaus report on the authorized user’s credit history.
For a person with a low credit profile or credit score, it is impossible to acquire or receive credit card or loan offers, but becoming an authorized user can provide those benefits.
The importance of the cardholder and the authorized user working together.
It is generally recommended that the cardholder and the authorized user are trustworthy and can work wisely, otherwise the relationship could end badly between the two. They should agree on the charges on the card and establish rules that will lead them to eliminate future disagreements, such as if the authorized user accumulates a large amount of debt on the card, it could negatively affect their credit.
