Credit Advice

It'll help if you and your wife manage the card well, which means paying monthly payments on time and in full, keeping your credit utilization rate under 30%, not accruing too much debt on it, and generally use credit responsibly.

When the credit card is added to your credit report, its possible your score will raise because it will add more available credit to your credit file.

However, since both yours and your wife's name is on the card, every negative action either of you take will impact both of your credit scores. That means if your wife forgets to pay on time, your credit score suffers along with hers, and vice versa.

The golden rule is always to pay on-time and use responsibly, and your credit score will improve over time.

I'm not sure I agree with iwantcookies. I used a card as an authorized user for the first few years of college. The use of this card didn't seem to influence my credit score / report at all. My credit report mentions that this card was at one point in time affiliated with me, but all it says is, as an authorized user, I "pay as directed". My credit didn't improve as a result of my being tied to that card.

I stand corrected:

"Being added as an authorized user to a credit card will no longer help you build a credit history. After credit-repair companies took advantage of the system and lenders protested, score-keeping companies are ignoring authorized-user information."
(http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/MoneyInYour20s/9waysToBuildAKillerCreditScore.aspx)

I'm going to guess if your credit score can't be improved as an authorized user, it can't be damaged either.

Thanks for help @johnqtaxpaye!

I Went To See A Mortgage Lender 2 Months Ago, And She Said A Quick Way To Get Credit (Like Within 2 Months) Is To Get Three Relatives With Good Credit, And Have Then Add You As A User On Their Credit Card, And Your Credit Will Go Up. But It Needs To Be Three People Or It Wont Work. I Can't Say If It Has, Becuase I Only Have 2 People, But She Swore By It.

Hey there.  Being an authorized user does absolutely nothing for your credit rating.  It still shows up on your report, but due to the recent law changes, and that fact that legally you are not responsible for the debt on the card, you are not reaping any credit improvement benifit from this.  The only thing you are able to get from this is the ability to use the card.  If you would like to become a <joint-account> holder with your wife, that will then make you legally responsible for any debt on the card, thus applying the credit to your score.  However, companies can be strange about this.  Sometimes, they will let you add a joint member without any kind of credit check.  However, this is very rare.  They usually will pull a hard inquiry (meaning it will show a credit check on your report) and possibly deny you if your credit is not where it needs to be in their eyes.  My suggestion is that if you want this card to influence your score, call the company and ask them three questions:

1. Can she add a joint-account holder to the account without closing and reopening the account?

       If they close and reopen, all history is lost for you wife which may slam her credit score.

2. Do they do a soft or hard inquiry into the person being added's credit score?

       If they do a hard inquiry, this will show on your report for up to 2 years. Also, if your credit is         lousy and they do require a hard inquiry, evaluate what your chances are that you will be approved.  If not try something else.

3. Is there any negative impact on your wife's credit as a result of this change?

       Just to be the sweet husband I know you want to be. :)~

I hope this helps.

I need to correct myself on a post I made earlier.  I was misinformed myself.  The attempt by FICO to end a people from "piggybacking" off others credit was stopped with 2009's legislation...  Meaning authorized users gain good and bad aspects of the primary users credit.