A little while back I added my fiance as a user on my credit card. As I remember, I did this just by giving them her name and address, and they definitely never even spoke with her. I could have given her social, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. So no big deal, but she went to check her credit report the other day and it shows up there. Again, we're both ok with her having it, but when I charge up this card, since she's in school with almost no income, doesn't it negatively affect her credit? Oh, by the way, she was ok with me adding her, I didn't just do it on my own

And more than that, it's seems like it's easy to add someone to your credit card without them having much say-so. If all it takes is a name and address, if someone got ahold of your credit card, it seems like it would be easy to add themselves as a user on your card and then just return the card to you (on the sly, of course). I'm sure there are some safeguards against this, but the whole thing just seemed a bit too easy to me. I figured that she would be been added to be able to use the card, but that it really wouldn't have anything to do with her credit. Because what if I started skipping payments? Since that account shows on her credit report, would it not reflect on her?

What do you guys think about this?

 

It's suppose to show up on her credit report, you added her as an authorized users. A lot of people do this with their spouses, children, etc. to help them build/rebuild their credit. I.E., if you add your 18 year old son as an authorized user on your Visa card with a $30K limit and you've had it for 15 years, you'll see his credit score shoot through the roof.

And yes, if you start skipping payments it will negatively effect BOTH of your credit reports. It's just like if she co-signed on a car with you and missed payments.. they would come after both of you to collect the debt..

And about the "easiness" of adding her to your card. If someone illegally added themselves as an AU to your credit card and you noticed unauthorized purchases then you would just notify your CC company, they would credit your account and go after the person who illegally used the card.

Josh

 

I can confirm that being a added as a user may cause the card to show up on your credit. I'm currently listed as an authorized user for the office's AmEx. I had to provide a letter of explanation when I applied for a mortgage. No harm, no foul.

I think, in general, it's a bad idea to add anyone to your accounts. But if it works for you guys, then

 

It just seems like it was too easy to do. Like I could have done it without her even knowing. Not that there is a great motivation for someone to do that to someone, but it seems odd that someone can essentially open a credit line to another person.