Building Your Personal Credit Card Strategy
Why NOT to add your Spouse as an Authorized User
Why not add my spouse as an authorized user?
It may seem counter-intuitive, but generally we recommend you do not add your spouse as an authorized user on your new credit card.
That's because even accounts where you are an authorized user will show up on your credit report as a new account.
This will add towards your 5/24 count and will make it harder to get approved for cards from Chase and other banks. Chase may reconsider your application if you have one authorized user account pushing you to 5/24 but you will generally be auto-denied.
If you need your partner's help to meet your minimum spend, you may be able to find creative ways for your partner to put spending on your new card. For example, you may add your card information to your partner's mobile pay app or buy gift cards that your partner can use when they go shopping. Some people contact the card issuer and say they have a damaged card and request a replacement card (which will have the same card number), which they will give to their spouse to use.
How to Remove Authorized User Accounts
If you have recently added your spouse to a credit card account as an authorized user (or vice versa), don't fret! You can get those authorized user accounts removed from your credit report.
I had to do this with a bunch of cards in 2016 when the 5/24 rule came out!
For most card issuers the general process is:
