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Credit card companies that report a primary cardholder's account to all three major credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion and Equifax—often report authorized-user accounts to those bureaus as well. Becoming an authorized user on a card could potentially help your credit scores if the account is reported to the bureaus. However, the impact will depend on what else is in your credit report and what details get reported about your authorized-user account.
Are Authorized-User Accounts Reported to All Three Credit Bureaus?
Many major credit card issuers report primary and authorized-user accounts to all three credit bureaus. However, credit card issuers aren't required to report information to the bureaus. They can choose what information to report and how many bureaus to report it to—and they can change their policies without notice.
The policies can also vary from one issuer to another. For example, some issuers might report authorized-user accounts to the bureaus even if the authorized user is under 18. Others might let you add a child as an authorized user, but won't report their account until they turn 18. Some card issuers also might stop reporting the authorized-user account if the primary cardholder misses a payment.
You can contact a card issuer before adding or asking to be added as an authorized user to find out more about the company's policies.
If someone adds you as an authorized user, you can monitor your credit reports—Experian offers free credit monitoring—for the new account. It may take several weeks or months for it to appear on your credit report.
Will Being an Authorized User Help My Credit?
Whether becoming an authorized user helps or hurts your credit depends on what's reported and the entirety of your credit report. But an authorized-user account can affect your credit scores as long as the account is in your credit reports. And if you haven't had credit before, becoming an authorized user might help you establish credit for the first time.
The account might help your credit if:
- The account has a history of on-time payments
- The account has a low credit utilization rate
- You don't have any other open credit cards on your credit report
- It's an old account and the account's history gets added to your credit report
If the primary cardholder misses a payment, the late payment might hurt certain credit scores. However, some card issuers won't report negative payment information to the bureaus under the authorized user's name. Experian also doesn't include late payments on authorized-user accounts in your credit report even if they're reported.
Even with the exceptions for missed payments, if the account has a high utilization rate (a high balance relative to the credit limit), that could still hurt your credit scores. You can request to remove yourself by contacting the card issuer if you no longer want to be an authorized user or have the information in your credit report.
Additional Ways to Build Credit
Becoming an authorized user might help you establish and build your credit, but opening accounts of your own will give you more control. There are several options that could be available even if you're new to credit or are rebuilding your credit.
- Get a secured credit card. Secured credit cards might not require a good, or any, credit score. To open the card, you'll often have to send the issuer a refundable security deposit that will determine your credit limit. Alternatively, some secured cards let you move money into and out of linked bank accounts. Either way, you can find good options that can help you build credit without paying annual fees.
- Try an unsecured card for building credit. Some card issuers offer unsecured credit cards or hybrid debit-credit cards that are relatively easy to qualify for and get reported to the credit bureaus.
- Look into credit-builder loans. A credit-builder loan is another option for improving your credit. Often, the loan's proceeds get set aside in a locked savings account and your monthly payment gets reported to the bureaus—double-check that the lender reports the account to all three. Repaying the loan unlocks the funds in the savings account, but there are often fees and interest.
- Sign up for a lending circle. Some nonprofits bring small groups of people together to save money and build credit with free or low-cost lending circle programs. For example, you might join a group with 10 people and everyone makes $300 monthly payments. One member of the circle receives $3,000 each month, and you go in a circle until everyone gets one turn. The sponsoring organization reports everyone's payments to the credit bureaus and guarantees the recipient gets the full amount each month.
- Get credit for monthly bills. Experian members can access a free feature called Experian Boost®ø that allows them to link bank accounts and credit cards to add eligible monthly payments to their Experian credit report. You might be able to add rent, utility, phone, insurance and streaming service payments—bills that often don't appear in credit histories or affect your credit scores.
Learn more >> How to Build Credit: A Comprehensive Guide
Monitor Your Credit for Changes
Keeping an eye on your credit is always important. You may want to be especially mindful when you're an authorized user and don't have control over the card's utilization rate or whether payments get made on time. You can track your credit report and FICO® Score☉ for free from Experian, and get personalized insights into what's affecting your credit. Experian can also match you with credit cards and loans that you may be able to get on your own based on your unique credit profile.