Authorized user or joint owner

[Anonymous]

I have a good credit score (740 last time I checked) and I have a credit card with a high limit ($17,000) and have had it for many years (10+). I have never been late with a payment and when I got married several years ago I put my wife on the account as an authorized user. Her cedit score is lower than mine (630) and I want to know if I put her on the account as a joint owner will she get "a boost" to her score and will it affect my score adversely. Also, I can and have had monthly balances doe of up to $5000-$6000. I have always paid the full amount of the balance due during the entire time I have owned this card. 

[Anonymous]

FICO8 will not help her scores out at all if she continues to be an AU. THe only way it would adversely affect your scores is if she overspends or something like that. Make sure you keep up with the bills and pay on time like you have been and everything should be fine for you. Yes it could possibly boost her score especially in the history and payment department. 

[MidnightVoice]

Ruralguy123 wrote:

when I got married several years ago I put my wife on the account as an authorized user. Her cedit score is lower than mine (630) and I want to know if I put her on the account as a joint owner will she get "a boost" to her score and will it affect my score adversely.

If she has been an AU for several years, she should be getting any boost she is going to get as an AU under the current sysytem.  It seems when the scoring model changes to ignore AU, she will get a decrease.  If she becomes joint it should stay the same.

If her score is that low, there might be some simple cleaning up that can be done to improve her score.  Have you pulled both of your reports?

[Anonymous]

We had our credit scores checked recently for a line-of-credit request and the official told us our scores. I am going to request my free credit reports in December, but before I request my wife's credit reports I thought I might change her record on the credit card from authorized user to joint owner (if it will help her score). She has been an authorized user for a couple of years and I was thinking that every little bit might help. 

[MidnightVoice]

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Ruralguy123 wrote:

We had our credit scores checked recently for a line-of-credit request and the official told us our scores. I am going to request my free credit reports in December, but before I request my wife's credit reports I thought I might change her record on the credit card from authorized user to joint owner (if it will help her score). She has been an authorized user for a couple of years and I was thinking that every little bit might help. 

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Your free credit report does not give scores (see the Credit Scoring 101 thread for FICOs, FAKOs and other useful info)

Currently, the scoreing model used does give a boost to an AU.  This will start going away next year.  So your wife's scores will currently get that boost.  If she becomes joint, she keep this good information

It can take several weeks for the change from AU to Joint to be reflected in all three CRs.

[fused]

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Ruralguy123 wrote:

I have a good credit score (740 last time I checked) and I have a credit card with a high limit ($17,000) and have had it for many years (10+). I have never been late with a payment and when I got married several years ago I put my wife on the account as an authorized user. Her cedit score is lower than mine (630) and I want to know if I put her on the account as a joint owner will she get "a boost" to her score and will it affect my score adversely. Also, I can and have had monthly balances doe of up to $5000-$6000. I have always paid the full amount of the balance due during the entire time I have owned this card. 

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Which company do you have this CC with? Not all CCCs offer joint accounts.