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Will adding my wife to my credit card help her credit score?

Author

Sarah Martinez

Updated on January 27, 2026

Adding your spouse as an authorized user to your credit card won’t hurt your credit score, but it could help your spouse’s. Your credit score reflects only your credit history, so your score will not include your wife’s accounts.

Does adding someone as an authorized user help their credit?

When you add an authorized user to your credit card account, information from the account — like the credit limit, payment history and card balance — can show up on that person’s credit reports. That means their credit can improve as a result of being added to a credit account you keep in good standing.

Can joint account holders get credit?

There are two ways to share a credit card with another person: You can apply with them as a joint account holder or apply on your own and add them as an authorized user. The primary difference between these two arrangements boils down to who’s responsible for paying off the balance.

Why are my husband’s credit cards on my credit report?

There are two possibilities why your husband’s debts are on showing up on your credit report. In the second scenario, your husband may have fraudulently used your personal information to make you a joint account holder on his credit cards, leaving you equally responsible for any debts he ran up.

Who is the joint holder of a credit card?

Defining Credit Card Joint Account Holder A joint account holder, on the other hand, is pretty much a co-owner for a credit card account. With a joint account, each party is equally responsible for payment of the balance on the credit card.

Who is the primary holder of a credit card?

The term primary account holder refers to the main user of an account such as a credit card, bank account, or even a debt vehicle such as a loan. This is the person who is legally responsible for the debt and balance along with the maintenance of the account.

Who is an authorized user and who is a joint account holder?

At the most basic level, an authorized user is someone who is approved to make credit card purchases with your account but is not responsible for the credit card balance. A joint account holder is someone who co-owns a credit card account and is equally responsible for paying the balance.

Can a spouse be an owner of a credit card?

Credit Cards » News & Advice » Keeping Score » Should I add my thin-credit-file spouse as a joint owner on my card account? Should I add my thin-credit-file spouse as a joint owner on my card account?