How to Remove an Authorized User From Your Credit Card
To remove an authorized user from your credit card, call the card issuer or update your account on the company's mobile app or website. Since the authorized user's credit may be affected, make sure they know the change is coming so they can understand and prepare for its potential impact.
An authorized user on your credit card can make charges but isn't legally responsible to the credit card company for paying them off. That can make being an authorized user useful to those eager to build credit—and a potential headache for the primary account holder.
When you decide it's time to remove an authorized user, either because the arrangement isn't working or the user has strong enough credit to manage on their own, here's how to do it.
What Is an Authorized User?
Many credit card issuers offer the option for cardholders to grant charging privileges to another person on their account. That person, called an authorized user, may get their own card they can use to make purchases and earn rewards like any other cardholder. Their purchases will show up on the primary account owner's credit card statement, but the authorized user is not obligated to make payments. Only the primary cardholder is required to pay the card's balance, and their credit can be affected by high balances and late payments.
If you have a credit card of your own, you can add an authorized user—perhaps a partner who is eager to improve their credit—to your account online. In many cases, their credit will also benefit not just from low balances and on-time payments on the card now, but from the account's entire positive credit history. That's only if the card issuer reports authorized-user activity to the credit bureaus, however.
It's a smart idea to come up with a payment schedule with your authorized user wherein they send you money each month to cover the charges they made. But only you have the legal responsibility with the card issuer to make payments—for your charges and for the authorized user's.
How Does Having an Authorized User Affect Your Credit?
When managed appropriately, an authorized-user arrangement shouldn't affect your credit. Have a direct conversation with a potential authorized user about your expectations for their usage of the card before adding them to the account.
Ideally, the authorized user will make charges to your account only sparingly—up to a monthly amount that you've specified—and pay you for those charges by the end of the month. That will keep your debt balance from growing, which will limit your credit utilization rate, or the proportion of available credit you're using. Credit utilization is a major component in your credit score, and so is payment history. When your authorized user pays you on time, that allows you to make your total credit card payment on time, keeping your payment history spotless and your credit score strong.
When to Remove an Authorized User From Your Credit Card
There may be times when having an authorized user on your account does more harm than good. In these circumstances, consider removing an authorized user from your credit card:
- The authorized user is not respecting the spending limit you've set.
- The authorized user does not pay you for their charges as agreed upon.
- Your relationship with the authorized user changes and you would benefit from ending financial ties.
- The authorized user's credit has improved to the point at which they can qualify for their own credit card, potentially with more perks.
- You are concerned about your finances and would like to limit the potential for debt to grow.
There may be other options besides removing the authorized user from the account. You may choose not to provide the authorized user with their own credit card, which means they'd benefit from your good credit habits without being able to make purchases on their own. Some credit card issuers let you put a hard limit on the spending authorized users are able to do. You can also suggest credit-building alternatives that they can apply for individually instead, such as a credit-builder loan or a secured credit card.
Best credit cards of 2026
Compare cards from our partners with intro bonuses, cash back or points offers, and annual fees as low as $0.
Offers from our partners
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
Intro bonus:You may be eligible for as high as $200 cash back after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Cash back is received as Reward Dollars, redeemable for statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout. Terms Apply.
Intro APR:0% on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1% - 3% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
Intro APR:0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers
Ongoing APR:17.49%, 23.99%, or 28.24% Variable APR
Rewards:N/A*
Annual Fee:$0
Discover it® Chrome
Intro bonus:INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards.
Intro APR:0% intro APR for 6 Months on Purchases and 0% intro APR for 18 Months on Balance Transfers
Ongoing APR:17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR
Rewards:1% - 2% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0
Revel® Platinum Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:35.90% Fixed
Rewards:N/A*
Annual Fee:$75 - $125
Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
Intro APR:0% for 21 months on Balance Transfers and 12 months on Purchases
Ongoing APR:16.49% - 27.24% (Variable)
Rewards:N/A*
Annual Fee:$0
FIT™ Platinum Mastercard® - $400 Credit Limit
Ongoing APR:35.90% Fixed
Rewards:N/A*
Annual Fee:$99 first year; $125 thereafter
The opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
Ongoing APR:23.89% Variable
Rewards:10% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$35
Credit One Bank American Express® Card for Rebuilding Credit
Ongoing APR:29.74% Variable
Rewards:1% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$75 First year. $99 thereafter, billed monthly at $8.25
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Intro bonus:You may be eligible for as high as $300 cash back after spending $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Cash back is received as Reward Dollars, redeemable for statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout. Terms Apply.
Intro APR:0% on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 months
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1% - 6% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card
Intro APR:0% for 15 months on Balance Transfers
Ongoing APR:19.49% - 29.49% (Variable)
Rewards:2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
Ongoing APR:18.74% - 26.74% (Variable)
Rewards:1% - 5% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0
American Express® Gold Card
Intro bonus:You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Ongoing APR:See Pay Over Time APR
Rewards:1x - 4x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$325
First Latitude Secured Mastercard® Cash Back Rewards
Ongoing APR:27.49% Variable
Rewards:1% - 10% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:19.49% - 29.49% (Variable)
Rewards:2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$99, waived for first 12 months
Avant® Cashback Rewards Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:35.99%*
Rewards:1% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$75*
Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:19.49% - 29.49% (Variable)
Rewards:1x - 6x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$350
Avant® Cashback Rewards Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:35.99%*
Rewards:1% (cash back)
Annual Fee:Introductory fee of $75 for the first year. After that, $99 annually.*
Avant® Cashback Rewards Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:35.99%*
Rewards:1% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$39*
Credit One Bank® Platinum X5 Visa® Metal Card
Ongoing APR:29.74% Variable
Rewards:1% - 5% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$95
First Progress Prestige Secured Mastercard® Cash Back Rewards
Ongoing APR:13.49% Variable
Rewards:1% - 10% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$49
First Progress Select Secured Mastercard® Cash Back Rewards
Ongoing APR:17.49% Variable
Rewards:1% - 10% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$39
Credit One Bank® Premier American Express® Credit Card
Ongoing APR:29.74% Variable
Rewards:1% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$39
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Intro bonus:Earn 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 5/13/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:2x - 6x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$650
Discover it® Miles
Intro bonus:UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match. You could turn 35,000 Miles into 70,000 Miles.
Intro APR:0% intro APR for 15 months on Purchases and Balance Transfers
Ongoing APR:17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR
Rewards:1.5x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Intro bonus:Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card, and an additional 20,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card, both within your first 6 months. Ends 04/01/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1x - 2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
Intro bonus:Earn 130,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:3x - 12x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$150
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
Intro bonus:Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1x - 2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
One Key+™ Card
Intro bonus:Earn $350 in OneKeyCash™ after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. OneKeyCash is not redeemable for cash and can only be used on Expedia®, Hotels.com® and Vrbo®. To learn more, please refer to the One Key Terms and Conditions at www.expedia.com/one-key-terms.
Ongoing APR:18.49%, 23.49%, or 28.49% Variable APR
Rewards:2x - 3x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$99
Avant® Cashback Rewards Mastercard® - With A Higher Credit Limit
Ongoing APR:35.99%*
Rewards:1% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$125*
Avant® Cashback Rewards Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:35.99%*
Rewards:1% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0*
See all our best credit cards for 2026.
How to Remove an Authorized User From Your Credit Card
When you've decided that removing the user is the right move for you, let them know as soon as possible. That's because they may experience a credit impact. For example, if they had very little credit or poor credit before they became an authorized user, and they no longer benefit from your credit history, their credit score could dip again.
The process of requesting an authorized user be removed varies by card issuer. You can start by calling the issuer's customer service number. Some companies also let you make the change by logging in to your account online or using the company's mobile app. In general, the change will take effect right away.
The Decision to Remove an Authorized User
It's often not an easy decision to remove an authorized user from your credit card, especially because the person is likely a close friend or relative. But it's crucial to protect your finances and maintain control of your debt balances. That may mean having an honest and upfront conversation with the authorized user about your intentions and feeling empowered to make the call that's best for you.
Don’t apply blindly
Apply for credit cards confidently with personalized offers based on your credit profile. Get started with your FICO® Score for free.
See your offers
About the author
Brianna McGurran
Brianna McGurran is a freelance journalist and writing teacher based in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, she was a staff writer and spokesperson at the personal finance website NerdWallet, where she wrote "Ask Brianna," a financial advice column syndicated by the Associated Press.
Read more from Brianna