A lot of doom and gloom in this thread. One has to assume if you are considering adding an AU, you've already thought it through and deemed them responsible and trustworthy. My wife and I apply for cards and make each other AUs. No problem. No need for us to each apply for our own same cards. e.g. the Discover and the Chase Amazon cards you see in my sig are my wife's account with me as an AU. Conversely for most of the other cards in my sig. No problem. I made my 14yo an AU on my citi DC and Cap1 Savor. No issues. If you want to add an AU, go for it. You obviously trust them if you've even made it this far in the decision making process.
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@ptatohed wrote:A lot of doom and gloom in this thread. One has to assume if you are considering adding an AU, you've already thought it through and deemed them responsible and trustworthy. My wife and I apply for cards and make each other AUs. No problem. No need for us to each apply for our own same cards. e.g. the Discover and the Chase Amazon cards you see in my sig are my wife's account with me as an AU. Conversely for most of the other cards in my sig. No problem. I made my 14yo an AU on my citi DC and Cap1 Savor. No issues. If you want to add an AU, go for it. You obviously trust them if you've even made it this far in the decision making process.
No need to have applied for your own card in most cases anyways? Unless it's a common instance for you to need to have a physical card IN YOUR OWN NAME (such as Platinum Lounge access) it just makes your credit profile inaccurate and lowers your Average Age of Accounts (if it's new credit) . Your credit limit isn't your actual credit limit, it's a little wonky for calculating AZEO, and if something happens to them (death or divorce) you just lost all that credit anyways, and it could get tied up in legalities even if you're the primary. The moment there's no NEED for P2 to be an AU on a card, or vica versa, I have made sure we get removed.
In some cases, such as Amazon, you can attach the same card to all Household accounts for the 5% just fine. A friend of mine's partner added their name for an Amazon recently without asking, and it immediately lowered the friend's age of accounts. Now my friend is going through getting that pointless AU removed and it off their credit reports, since they weren't even consulted and Chase didn't ask for the SSN. The partner didn't even think about it, since having cards in both names just seemed like "what you do" in their eyes🤦♀️
In most cases, you can use Digital Wallet, which you can certainly add a card to multiple different ones. Even the ones you call in for and TELL them you need it approved in your partner's wallet.
All the cards that P2 and I are currently AUs on of each other are Travel Cards (also, these are the only cards that charge a fee for an AU of those in our wallets, so we're not escaping any AU fees and that's not a factor here), because that is the most likely scenario to need a physical card in your own name (namely for various lounge access, including things like Priority Pass membershps being for each AU). Previously, P2 was an AU on two of my original credit cards (BofA and AmEx Blue/EDP because their credit sucked, and we thought they needed their own card for usage... and they're the reason my original 3 CCs sat at maxed out for several years), and I was AU on their Savor when we first got it and it was seeing heavy usage. I removed P2 as AU as soon as those cards were no longer daily drivers, and had them remove me as AU on the Savor likewise (both TransUnion and Equifax removed the Savor from my credit reports, however I had to open a dispute for Experian to do so... but as soon as it was off my account, my Average Age of Accounts went up and that crossed the threshold into "Excellent" for me at the time.)
Currently P2 is AU on my Platinum and CSP (previously CSR) cards, and I'm AU on the Ritz-Carlton and the AAdvantage Biz (which does not show on my credit report, since it's a business card). Everything else is handled via digital wallet, a duplicate card that DOES NOT need to be in the person's name for most use (chip payments don't care) such as a rotating category or the few cards that don't allow digital wallets (such as SYW, Best Buy, and Macy's), or handing them the card for a specific purchase.
Since P2 has been known to carry more cards then are needed when they travel "just in case" (including ones with FTFs out of the country, even when specifically told not to), I find it limits each of our exposure to only have what we are each responsible for in our physical wallets and on our credit reports as much as possible.
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@ptatohed wrote:A lot of doom and gloom in this thread. One has to assume if you are considering adding an AU, you've already thought it through and deemed them responsible and trustworthy. My wife and I apply for cards and make each other AUs. No problem. No need for us to each apply for our own same cards. e.g. the Discover and the Chase Amazon cards you see in my sig are my wife's account with me as an AU. Conversely for most of the other cards in my sig. No problem. I made my 14yo an AU on my citi DC and Cap1 Savor. No issues. If you want to add an AU, go for it. You obviously trust them if you've even made it this far in the decision making process.
I think adding DW or DH as an AU is the most common method, and yes I agree that is mostly a no-brainer. Most people trust their spouse, discuss money decisions, and work together for the common good of the household. Even adding a parent or child is most likely a fairly safe option. I think this was more directed at adding other people, and I've seen it go to some extremes. Trying to help friends or distant family members who don't even live in the same household is done more often than you might think. It's opening a can of worms when it goes outside the marriage or household. It's completely different from adding a spouse.
@Aim_High wrote:
@ptatohed wrote:A lot of doom and gloom in this thread. One has to assume if you are considering adding an AU, you've already thought it through and deemed them responsible and trustworthy. My wife and I apply for cards and make each other AUs. No problem. No need for us to each apply for our own same cards. e.g. the Discover and the Chase Amazon cards you see in my sig are my wife's account with me as an AU. Conversely for most of the other cards in my sig. No problem. I made my 14yo an AU on my citi DC and Cap1 Savor. No issues. If you want to add an AU, go for it. You obviously trust them if you've even made it this far in the decision making process.
I think adding DW or DH as an AU is the most common method, and yes I agree that is mostly a no-brainer. Most people trust their spouse, discuss money decisions, and work together for the common good of the household. Even adding a parent or child is most likely a fairly safe option. I think this was more directed at adding other people, and I've seen it go to some extremes. Trying to help friends or distant family members who don't even live in the same household is done more often than you might think. It's opening a can of worms when it goes outside the marriage or household. It's completely different from adding a spouse.
I hear you, I just think a lot of the answers swayed from the OP's question which I think was aimed mostly at financial/credit negatives to adding an AU as far as applying for future credit, etc. Not so much 'what if I don't pick a trustworthy AU?'.