As a credit card account holder, there are several reasons to add an authorized user to your credit card account. Maybe you want to earn rewards on purchases a family member makes, or perhaps you want to help your college student build some credit history without having their own separate account.

Regardless of the reason, the decision to add an authorized user to your credit card account isn’t one you should take lightly. When you add an authorized user to your credit card, you are the one who is responsible for repaying every dollar in charges they rack up.

If you decide to add a trusted family member, spouse or partner to your Chase credit card account, you’ll need to know how to do it. This guide will walk you through adding and removing authorized users from Chase credit cards while answering common questions you might have.

What is an authorized user?

An authorized user is someone you add to your credit card account. They will receive a credit card with their own name on it, and they can use it for purchases just like you use yours. However, all charges made on your account will show up on the same credit card bill.

Although there is some inherent risk involved in adding an authorized user to your credit card account, many people take this step with people they trust. After all, you can rack up a lot more points and miles on a rewards credit card when both you and your authorized user are making purchases. Not only that, but combining all the household purchases in one account can also make it easier to track your family spending or stick to a monthly budget.

How to add an authorized user

The first step ito adding an authorized user to your Chase credit card is logging in to your Chase account and selecting the credit card account you want to share with your authorized user.

Step 1: Select the More button and then select Account services

Step 2: Select Authorized users

Step 3: Select Get started

Step 4: Complete for to add authorized user

You’ll need to provide the following information to add an authorized user to your Chase credit card account: Your authorized user’s name, date of birth, street address and zip code. Once you fill out the Chase authorized user form, Chase will mail the authorized user’s physical credit card to the primary cardholder’s address.

How to remove an authorized user

While you can add an authorized user to your Chase credit card account online, you can’t remove an authorized user through your account management page. This means that if you want to take someone off your account as an authorized user, you’ll have to call Chase using the number on the back of your credit card instead.

Another option is sending them a secure message, which you can do on your accounts management page by clicking on the “Main Menu” icon and heading to your secure messages inbox. From there, you can write a new message that includes details on the authorized user account you want closed.

Which Chase cards allow you to add or remove authorized users?

Chase allows cardholders to add authorized users to any of their credit card accounts, although their business credit cards let you add employee cards instead. While the cost of adding an authorized user is typically zero, some of the best travel and rewards credit cards from various issuers require an authorized user fee.

The following chart shows which of the most popular Chase credit cards let you add and remove authorized user cards to your account and how much you can expect to pay in fees for each person you add.

Card Name Can you add and remove authorized users? Authorized user fee
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Yes $0
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Yes $75
Chase Freedom Flex℠* Yes $0
Chase Freedom Unlimited® Yes $0

Frequently asked questions about Chase authorized users

The following questions and answers can shed even more light on the ins-and-outs of adding an authorized user to your Chase credit card account.

  • While most Chase credit cards don’t charge a fee for authorized users, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® does. You’ll pay $75 per year for each Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized user you add to your account, but your authorized user will receive their own Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership. Further, their travel charges will qualify for important travel insurance protections, like trip cancellation and interruption coverage and baggage delay insurance.
  • Chase doesn’t normally offer bonus points when you add an authorized user to your account. However, you will earn the regular rewards rate for your card each time your authorized user makes a purchase with their credit card.
  • You can’t add an authorized user to your Chase checking account or its connected debit card per se, but you can add another person to your account as a joint account holder. Since this action lets another person access all the money in your checking account with Chase, you should only take this step with people you trust.
  • Chase does not let you set a specific limit on your Chase authorized user account via your online account management page. However, you can use your Chase account to lock and unlock both your personal credit card account and any authorized user cards you have. This action effectively freezes all credit card spending until you unlock your card again.

The bottom line

Adding an authorized user card to your Chase account is a big step, so make sure you know what you’re getting into. Getting a friend or relative their own card may seem like a generous and easy thing to do, but paying off charges they rack up won’t be much fun. Only add authorized users to your account if you trust them completely, and monitor their spending to make sure their new access to credit doesn’t get out of hand.

Issuer-required disclosure statement
Information about the Chase Freedom Flex has been collected independently by Banrkate. Card details have not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.