My sister-in-law added her 10-year-old to her credit card to boost her credit score — should I do the same?

6 hours ago 1

Vawn Himmelsbach

Mon, Apr 7, 2025, 9:30 AM 6 min read

Your sister-in-law is not alone: A fig of TikTok influencers utilizing the hashtag #generationalwealth are recommending adding your kid arsenic an authorized idiosyncratic connected your recognition paper arsenic a “hack” to assistance them found a recognition history.

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A recognition people provides a measurement of creditworthiness — however apt you are to wage backmost indebtedness — to lenders. This people is based connected a fig of factors, including outgo past and recognition mix, but a higher people tin springiness you easier entree to recognition and amended rates connected loans.

Adding a kid to a parent’s recognition paper allows the kid to piggyback connected the parent’s recognition history, but the kid isn’t liable for paying backmost immoderate of the indebtedness (that falls to the cardholder). This is antithetic from opening a associated account, successful which some parties would beryllium liable for the debt.

Young adults who found a recognition past aboriginal successful beingness whitethorn person an easier clip applying for credit, taking retired a loan, renting an flat and, down the road, getting a mortgage. While immoderate whitethorn question whether this gives them an unfair advantage, it’s an vantage they whitethorn request much than ever.

Wages are stagnating, with 73% of U.S. workers “struggling to spend thing beyond their basal surviving expenses,” according to a caller Resume Now study. With precocious lodging costs and owe rates, the imagination of homeownership is dying, and the menace of tariffs and a imaginable recession has led to plummeting user confidence.

It’s pugnacious for young radical retired there. So, by adding a kid arsenic an authorized user, the kid inherits the parent’s oregon guardian’s recognition past — without having to capable retired an exertion oregon acquisition a recognition check. This, of course, is lone adjuvant if the genitor and kid usage the recognition paper responsibly.

"Typically, the full relationship past volition amusement up connected the authorized user's recognition report," said Gerri Detweiler, recognition adept and author, to U.S. News. "If the superior cardholder has a bully outgo past and debased debt, that tin beryllium a tremendous benefit."

Some recognition cards let authorized users arsenic young arsenic property 13 oregon 15, portion immoderate person nary minimum property requirement.