Probably a dumb question...but

[Anonymous]

Do you have to be legally married to be added as an AU on a CC?  If so, do domestic partnerships count?

If this is a dumb question, I apologize.  I promise I searched it and couldn't find a clear answer on anything other than marriage/parents.

Thanks!  

[Anonymous]

Anyone you want can be a AU. 

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Do you have to be legally married to be added as an AU on a CC?  If so, do domestic partnerships count?

If this is a dumb question, I apologize.  I promise I searched it and couldn't find a clear answer on anything other than marriage/parents.

Thanks!  

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Nope, not at all. (As in, not a dumb question.) Anyone can be added, as long as the lender is happy: husbands, wives, domestic partners (both legally recognized and otherwise), BF's, GF's, BFF's, snugglebunnies, roommates, total strangers who pay you for the privilege.

HOWEVER, it can be tricky as to which ones report. Some CC's don't report AU's at all, no matter what. Others do.

Otherwise, it seems to depend on the credit bureaus. If you have the same address, it will probably report. If you have the same last name, it will probably report. (If you have both, no worries, unless the card itself doesn't report AU's.) It gets trickier with different last names and different addresses. If you both share an old address (as in siblings who used to live under the same roof), that might be enough. And so on.

But if all you want is a card, and you're not worrying about whether it will or will not report, you should be able to get an AU card.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Anyone you want can be a AU. 

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That seems a little scary.  Lol!

[steve23111]

You can add most anyone as an AU, with very few exceptions (such as--in some cases-- prospective AU's who have IIB'd the card issuer).

My DP is an AU on two of my AMEX cards.

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Do you have to be legally married to be added as an AU on a CC?  If so, do domestic partnerships count?

If this is a dumb question, I apologize.  I promise I searched it and couldn't find a clear answer on anything other than marriage/parents.

Thanks!  

---

Nope, not at all. (As in, not a dumb question.) Anyone can be added, as long as the lender is happy: husbands, wives, domestic partners (both legally recognized and otherwise), BF's, GF's, BFF's, snugglebunnies, roommates, total strangers who pay you for the privilege.

HOWEVER, it can be tricky as to which ones report. Some CC's don't report AU's at all, no matter what. Others do.

Otherwise, it seems to depend on the credit bureaus. If you have the same address, it will probably report. If you have the same last name, it will probably report. (If you have both, no worries, unless the card itself doesn't report AU's.) It gets trickier with different last names and different addresses. If you both share an old address (as in siblings who used to live under the same roof), that might be enough. And so on.

But if all you want is a card, and you're not worrying about whether it will or will not report, you should be able to get an AU card.

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Thanks for the detailed response.  We don't have the same last names (not exactly an option) but same address for 5+ years.  I just wanted it for the CL space until my CL's had grown.  I do a majority of the spending (groceries, gas, car maintenance, errands and travel planning) and manage the finances (ironic considering I am the one rebuilding here) so it just seemed easier to use the higher limit and pay the card off once instead of three to five times a month.  I wasn't even thinking of it in terms of boosting my FICO, I guess I thought AU's wouldn't count or something.

Thanks again for the helpful info!  

[Anonymous]

Thanks Steve.  

[kjm79]

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@steve23111 wrote:

You can add most anyone as an AU, with very few exceptions (such as--in some cases-- prospective AU's who have IIB'd the card issuer).

My DP is an AU on two of my AMEX cards.

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Not necessarily true.  Being an AU is one way many BK'd individuals rebuild their credit.  Most often, you don't even need to provide a SSN to the lender when adding an AU.  AU's aren't liable for the account, only the account holder is.  So it's a risk vs. reward type situation.  Little risk to the lender as they still have the account holder on the hook for any charges. 

[steve23111]

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@kjm79 wrote:

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@steve23111 wrote:

You can add most anyone as an AU, with very few exceptions (such as--in some cases-- prospective AU's who have IIB'd the card issuer).

My DP is an AU on two of my AMEX cards.

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Not necessarily true.  Being an AU is one way many BK'd individuals rebuild their credit.  Most often, you don't even need to provide a SSN to the lender when adding an AU.  AU's aren't liable for the account, only the account holder is.  So it's a risk vs. reward type situation.  Little risk to the lender as they still have the account holder on the hook for any charges. 

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I understand that.  Hence "in some cases."  AMEX is one example of a credit card company which typically will not allow the addition of an AU who has an IIB AMEX account or who has otherwise burned AMEX in one way or another over the years.  Other credit card companies don't care.

[webhopper]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Do you have to be legally married to be added as an AU on a CC?  If so, do domestic partnerships count?

If this is a dumb question, I apologize.  I promise I searched it and couldn't find a clear answer on anything other than marriage/parents.

Thanks!  

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Nope, you dont have to be legally married