Adding an Account User to Your Card | Capital One (2024)

FAQs

Adding an Account User to Your Card | Capital One? ›

To add an authorized user, all you'll need is their name and date of birth. You will also have the option to choose their level of access. Your authorized user may be eligible to create a digital profile, which allows them to manage their account online.

To add an authorized user, all you'll need is their name and date of birth. You will also have the option to choose their level of access. Your authorized user may be eligible to create a digital profile, which allows them to manage their account online.

Before adding an authorized user to your Capital One account, you'll need some information about the user, including their Social Security number (SSN) and date of birth. You can then sign in to your account online to easily add and choose the level of access for your authorized user.

Authorized Users can log in with their own credentials, view, download and print their own purchases, and book through Capital One Travel and earn rewards if eligible.

Does adding an authorized user hurt your credit? Adding an authorized user to your credit card account alone shouldn't have a negative impact on your credit. But keep in mind that if that person uses your credit in a way that hurts your financial situation, negative credit impact could follow.

With a joint credit card account, both people open the account together and are equally and separately liable for all charges on the account. With an authorized user on an account, only the primary cardholder is responsible for the charges.

If your spouse has a lower score than you, their score might get a boost from becoming an authorized user with you. This only happens if the issuer reports activities for authorized users — many issuers don't report it and if it isn't reported, it doesn't affect their score.

Yes, Capital One notifies the credit bureau when authorized users are added to any credit card account. This can be an easy way to help build someone's credit history. However, you should think twice if you plan on applying for multiple credit cards in the near future or if the primary cardholder has fair credit.

On the other hand, if the account in question has had frequent late payments or carries a high credit utilization, removing an authorized user (or removing yourself as an authorized user) could give a boost to your credit scores.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card grants authorized users an impressive number of benefits, including airport lounge access, rewards on eligible spending, return protection and no foreign transaction fees.

What is the difference between primary account and 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.

Authorized users can make purchases on behalf of the business. They can track their own spending and monitor their card activity, but they can't view overall account details. Account managers have greater access to your account—they can manage authorized users, monitor account finances and make payments.

Can Additional Card Members view all Card charges? No. While the Primary Card Member can view charges for each Additional Card online or on their monthly billing statement, Additional Card Members can view only their purchases online.

If your credit reports show an authorized user account with a high balance relative to its credit limit, it could be bad for your credit scores even if all of the payments are on time. It's generally good to aim for a credit utilization under 30%.

The pros of adding an authorized user to a credit card outweigh the cons in most cases. The primary pro of adding an authorized user to an account is that it allows the authorized user to build credit, while the biggest con is that you are responsible for any purchases the authorized user makes.

A 2018 Credit Sesame survey found that people with bad credit who were added as authorized users saw a 24% increase in their FICO Score in 6 months and a 30% increase in 12 months. The lower your starting credit score, the more you benefit from being an authorized user.

With a joint account, both people can make purchases, and both are fully responsible for the bill; with an authorized user setup, both can make purchases, but only one is legally liable for paying.