Can I add a child to my credit card?

If you're interested in building your child's credit before they turn 18, you can explore adding them as an authorized user to one or more of your credit cards. There is no legal minimum age for adding a child as an authorized user, however you should check your credit card issuer's policies.

Should I add my child as a credit card authorized user?

So adding your child as an authorized user can help a young person build credit: the minor gets to "piggyback" on the good credit behavior of the original cardmember. Not every credit card company will report authorized user payment history to the credit bureaus, however, so talk to your card issuer to find out their policies.

Can a child add a new account to my credit report?

When you add a child as an authorized user, it reports as a new account on your child's credit report, and the account history and details will affect their report. This goes both ways, however. Good credit card activity and payment history can benefit your child's credit report; bad activity, such as a high utilization ratio, can harm it.