Does "Authorized User" status on a credit card contribute to your credit score?

Question

I have a couple of joint credit card accounts with my spouse and I only have authorized user responsibility on both. I'm wondering if our good payment history on those accounts will help boost my credit score, or will it only impact my spouses score since I am not the primary account holder?

Answer 1

An "Authorized User" can affect the owner of the account. You are fully responsible for it and both positives and negatives will affect you, as well as the authorized user.

Answer 2

It may or may not improve your score.  Credit bureaus are phasing out counting authorized user accounts.  If it is being counted now, it won't be for much longer.  Authorized user accounts will still show up on your credit file but won't be included in your score calculation.

An actual joint account will count on both credit scores.

Answer 3

It will boost both, since it is a joint account.  

Answer 4

Yes, authorized users can still get credit boosts from being on accounts in good standing. Fico 08 was supposed to change this, but to date Fico 08 has not gone into effect and there is some serious doubt as to whether it will happen at all.

So for now, the answer is yes. That may change in the future though.  

Answer 5

yes, just like a co-signer.

they ruin their credit with it, so will yours!

Answer 6

It should affect both your credit. I know a friend whose wife  had outstanding debt on a credit card and when she added him as an authorized user her debt showed up on his credit report and his credit was dinged. So I believe the opposite should happen in your case...good payment history on those cards will boost your credit. Check your credit report and those cards should appear on your record too.

Answer 7

There is a big difference between being a joint user and being an authorized user (AU).

Being a joint user means that you can be held responsible for the debt should the primary user default.

Being an AU means that you cannot be held responsible for the debt.

If you are a joint user, it should report on your credit reports and you will gain the positive benefit of the account, or the negative benefit if the account is not kept in good standing. To be removed as a joint user, the account would have to paid and closed.

If you are an AU, it should report on your credit reports and if it doesn't your spouse should contact the creditor and request that it does.

To be removed as an AU, either you or the primary can request it (whether the account is in good standing or not)

You should gain the same positive, negative benefits I mentioned above.

FICO '08 has "not" been put into action and FICO has decided to NOT implement FICO '08. As a result AU's "have been and will still" be counted in their scoring models.

Answer 8

The old FICO scores counted authorized users as the original account holder.

FICO 08 was supposed to get rid of the authorized user "piggybacking" loophole.

But Fair Isaac just released a statement a few days ago saying that they will be re-implementing "legitimate" piggybacking authorized users instead of just doing away with them totally.

Many people still don't know that Fair Isaac is planning on changing back and allowing piggybacking.

So, to answer your question, in a few weeks, being an authorized user on your husband's credit cards WILL COUNT for your FICO score...since you are a "legitimate" authorized user.