When couples get married, they face a range of choices about their finances. Choosing to get a shared credit card is a common decision but couples have options when it comes to sharing credit. The choices they make will determine what kind of impact sharing a card has on each spouse's credit.
Credit
Your ability to get credit is based on your credit report, a record of all your activity as a credit user. The report contains information such as your history with paying your bills on time, how long you've had your accounts and how much debt you have. All credit reports are individually based, meaning that even if you are married you, your spouse maintains a separate report. However, if you and your wife share a debt, such as a credit card, that information appears on both reports.
Joint Accounts
When spouses get a credit card together, they are considered joint credit cardholders because both sign up for the card and get approval to use it. Joint account credit cardholders have the same right to use the credit card and also share the responsibility to see the debt is repaid. When either spouse uses a joint credit card, that activity gets reported to both credit reports.
Authorized Users
An authorized user on a credit card is different than a joint account holder. An authorized user is a person who is allowed to use a credit card but whose name does not appear on the card agreement as an account holder. Authorized users used to have the card activity made a part of their own credit report, but not any more. If you're an authorized user on a card, your activity affects the account holder's credit report but the card activity does not affect your own.
Risks and Benefits
A joint account is the riskiest option of the two shared-card options, but it also offers the greatest ease and potential benefits. Joint account holders can help each other build a stronger credit score by using the card responsibly, though using it irresponsibly will hurt both spouse's credit. As an authorized user, you might be able to help the cardholder's credit rating but the cardholder cannot help yours.
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