Thread: Adding a joint user to a credit card account

I have been feverishly researching how to piggyback on someone's credit card account to benefit from their account history and show their account on my own credit report.

It seemed I had hit a dead since no applications actually allow you to add a co-applicant or joint user. So I found this article about what credit card issuers allow co-signers.

Chase is one of the "Yes" issuers. Apparently the primary just has to call, they will take the joint cardholder's name and then mail a form which must be filled out and mailed back to Chase. My girlfriend has a Chase Freedom card and we just did it today. This makes me liable for paying the balance and obviously it will report on my credit.


This just sort of an FYI for anybody who is looking to do the same thing Apparently Bank of America will let you add a co-signer to any account also.

Yes... I'm a joint user on Chase Freedom, and I just sent in my application to become a joint user on a Bank of America WorldPoints card.

Reading the article, what's the difference between a joint user and a co-signer? In my head, a co-signer is Mom or Dad saying that they'll cover things if their college student runs into trouble. A joint user would be more like a spouse, where each has equal rights to a card, its information, etc. In the credit card world, are the terms used interchangeably?

They are effectively the same, but a co-signer means they are guaranteeing the primary applicant's loan or money borrowed. It is not their account (though they are 100% respnsible).

A joint applicant means both parties are equally responsible and the account belongs to both parties as well.