Are you responsible for credit card debt as an authorized user?

An authorized user has no liability whatsoever. Authorized users can make charges, but they aren’t responsible for bill payments. The primary cardholder has complete liability and is responsible for making payments, redeeming rewards, requesting credit limit increases, etc.

Is secondary cardholder responsible?

Legally, the secondary cardholder isn’t liable for any charges or balances. Ultimately, the account balance and total responsibility of the card lies with you, the primary holder. They also won’t be able to simply call the credit card company to make changes or dispute charges.

Are you responsible for your husband’s credit card debt?

In most cases you will not be responsible to pay off your deceased spouse’s debts. As a general rule, no one else is obligated to pay the debt of a person who has died. If there is a joint account holder on a credit card, the joint account holder owes the debt.

Does an additional card holder build credit?

Being added as an authorized user on another person’s card may help you establish a credit history or build your credit. Yet cardholders and authorized users’ on-time, late or missed payments will be added to both parties’ credit reports, so it’s important that cardholders and authorized users see eye to eye.

What does additional card holder mean?

An additional cardholder is an authorized secondary user added to an account by the primary cardholder. The additional cardholder generally gets to enjoy all the benefits of a debit or credit card account without any liability, which remains the responsibility of the primary cardholder.

Who is responsible for paying a credit card debt?

Cardholder Responsibility. If you are the primary cardholder, virtually all of the responsibility for paying the credit card debt falls on you, even if the secondary cardholder made most of the charges. In most cases, credit card companies do not check the secondary cardholder’s income or credit history.

Who is the primary holder of a credit card?

Primary Cardholder. While most people name spouses, family members or significant others as secondary cardholders, as the primary cardholder you can name anyone you want, as long as the person is over age 18. Certain credit card issuers allow parents to put minor children on their accounts as secondary cardholders.

What happens if the primary holder of a credit card dies?

If the primary holder of a credit card on which you’re an authorized user dies, you can’t continue to use the card as it is illegal. If you have, these are your options.

Can a parent be a secondary credit cardholder?

Certain credit card issuers allow parents to put minor children on their accounts as secondary cardholders. If you are the primary cardholder, virtually all of the responsibility for paying the credit card debt falls on you, even if the secondary cardholder made most of the charges.