adding significant other as a joint account holder

[Anonymous]

sorry in advance if this has been asked mulitple times, but im thinking about adding someone to my credit card as a joint account holder. i was wondering if adding that person will boost their credit score? they have little credit history right now so all they have is one auto loan of 28k in their name and thats it. also if adding them will it give them all my credit history of that account or will it show up as a new credit card on their part? thank you 

[kuku4koco]

If you already have the card account open and you are wanting to add someone; they will be considered an (AU)... Authorized User. (Joint account holder is someone that applies on the original application with you-jointly).  Depending on the limit of the card, yes it could boost their score.  Some companies report differently, it will probably show up as a new account (all of your history could show... not sure about that one.)  Someone with more experience may be able to add something more.

[Anonymous]

my card is with wellsfargo and i have nothing but postive history with it. i was wanting to add that person as a joint account holder not just an authorized user is that not possible? thanks

[thelethargicage]

Speaking from experience, all I can say is: WORST. IDEA. EVER.

Go ahead and do it if you want...just don't give them the card!

[kuku4koco]

Why don't you consider helping this person open an account of their OWN?  If they don't have any credit except a car loan, they should maybe try going to Capital One prequalifier and seeing what they qualify for.  They can't be joint, unless Wells Fargo allows it (different terminology) because the account is already established.  An authorized user has most all of the same benefits as a joint holder anyway, they just couldn't make changes to the account (administratively).

[Anonymous]

guess i should have done this before i made this post but i just got off the phone with wellsfargo and they do indeed add joint account holders onto existing accounts. so i will be adding them and see if it helps improve their score. thanks 

[galahad15]

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@thelethargicage wrote:

Speaking from experience, all I can say is: WORST. IDEA. EVER.

Go ahead and do it if you want...just don't give them the card!

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Very interesting...j/c, if an AU hypothetically abuses his or her card privileges, can you just have them removed from having AU status on the card though?

[kuku4koco]

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@galahad15 wrote:

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@thelethargicage wrote:

Speaking from experience, all I can say is: WORST. IDEA. EVER.

Go ahead and do it if you want...just don't give them the card!

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Very interesting...j/c, if an AU hypothetically abuses his or her card privileges, can you just have them removed from having AU status on the card though?

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YES!!!!