Are Joint Credit Card Accounts a Good Idea? – Info Money Manage

Credit cards can be a great tool to help you keep track of your spending. Some credit cards even offer lucrative travel or cash back rewards. Unfortunately, they can also cause financial problems if you start carrying a balance.

In most cases, people simply apply for a credit card in their name only and are fully responsible for any balance owed on the card. However, some people decide to open joint credit card accounts which hold both people on the account fully responsible for the balance charged to the credit card.

While opening a joint credit card may be a good idea in some situations, it can be an awful idea in others. Here’s what you need to know before you decide to open a joint credit card account.

Joint credit card accounts and authorized users aren’t the same things

Before we get started, we need to clear up a common misconception about how joint credit cards work. Some people mistakenly believe that adding someone as an authorized user on a credit card is the same thing as applying for a joint credit card account or cosigning for a credit card. It isn’t.

As joint credit card account holders, both users will be responsible for any amounts charged to the credit card. If one person can’t pay, the other person is on the hook for the charges.

Cards that have authorized users don’t work the same way. Instead, the primary account holder is solely responsible for all charges on their account whether they were made by the primary cardholder or their authorized users. An authorized user cannot be held responsible for any amounts owed, even if the account holder can’t pay.

Where you can get a joint credit card account

It was a lot easier to find credit card issuers that allowed joint accounts a few years ago. Unfortunately, issuers have been moving away from joint credit card accounts for a while now.

Even so, you can still find a couple of issuers willing to offer joint credit card accounts. They may not offer the lowest interest rates or the most lucrative rewards, but if you’re dead set on getting a joint credit card account, it is still a possibility.

As of this writing, we’ve found that the following banks currently offer credit card applications for joint credit card accounts:

Sadly, most of the major credit card issuers have moved away from joint credit card accounts in favor of authorized users. If you’re willing to go the authorized user route, most credit cards should work for you including those issued by:

• Bank of America
• Barclays
• Capital One
• Chase
• Credit One
• Discover
• Fifth Third Bank
• USAA
• Wells Fargo

Here are a couple specific credit cards we recommend that allow joint applicants:

Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card

Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great cash back credit card, especially if you’re looking for gas rewards. You’ll earn 3 percent back on gas purchases and 2 percent back on groceries and wholesale clubs on up to the first $2,500 in combined purchases. Plus you’ll get 1 percent back on everything else.

Check out our full review

Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card

The Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card is a straight forward cash back card that offers 1.5 percent on all purchases. Add a 0 percent introductory APR, no annual fee, and a $200 sign-up bonus if you spend $1,000 in the first three months. This is a great card for anyone looking for a great cash back card.

Read our full review here

Discover it® Cash Back

This offer requires Excellent, Good credit.

Card Highlights

• Earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter like gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com, or wholesale clubs up to the quarterly maximum each time you activate.
• Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
• INTRO OFFER: Discover will match ALL the cash back earned at the end of your first year, automatically.
• View Discover it® Cash Back details and how to apply »

The Discover it® Cash Back offers 5 percent cashback on rotating categories each quarter when you activate, up to a quarterly max. You’ll also receive 1 percent cashback on all other purchases. Finally, after your first year as an account holder, Discover will match your cashback, doubling your rewards!

Here’s our full review

Why a joint credit card could be a good idea

It will help build or improve credit

Joint credit card accounts may allow someone with no credit or bad credit to open a credit card account in their name that they may not have been able to open otherwise. This could allow the person with no credit or bad credit a chance to build their credit history and work on improving their credit score.

You can work as a team

Choosing to be joint account holders can help people in a relationship feel a sense of teamwork when managing a couple’s finances. In addition to using a joint credit card account as a credit building tool, a joint credit card account can be used to help build responsible borrowing behaviors while holding both cardholders responsible for their actions.

Having a joint credit card isn’t all good news

Credit scores and relationships could suffer

While joint credit card accounts can help build credit, they can also destroy credit, too. If one person decides to max out the account balance but can’t afford to make the payments, missed payments will damage both cardholders’ credit scores.

In addition to damaging credit scores, those in a relationship that don’t agree on how a joint credit card account should be used could end up damaging their relationship beyond repair.

To minimize the chance of these issues, set the credit limit to an amount that both parties can handle should someone make a misstep and spend more than they can afford to pay off.

A cardholder with bad credit could run up a balance then run off

Joint credit cards may make sense when you’re in a committed relationship, but relationships don’t always last. While no one likes to think about the potential of breaking up, it does happen on a fairly regular basis in today’s society.

In these cases, a vengeful joint account holder may max out the credit card if their credit is already in bad shape, damaging the other cardholder’s otherwise good credit unless they decide to suck it up and pay the balance off on time.

Consider the authorized user option

Sadly, as we mentioned earlier, joint credit card accounts are becoming rarer. If you’re looking to maximize your credit card rewards, score a super low interest rate or find an amazing introductory 0 percent APR offer, you probably won’t get the best possible offer if you must be joint account holders.

If you’re willing to skip the joint account option and instead list the other person as an authorized user, you’ll have more options. Additionally, the authorized user will be able to build their credit, too. Of course, the major downside of adding an authorized user is the fact they aren’t responsible for any charges they make. They can max out your credit card, leave you with the bill and you won’t be able to do anything about it.

Summary

While a joint credit card account holds both cardholders fully accountable for the entire balance owed, the main reason to get a joint credit card account is usually to keep both parties accountable for their actions. If you’re not worried about keeping both parties accountable for their spending, an authorized user account may provide the benefits you’re looking for while allowing for a wider selection of credit cards.

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