What’s the Best Credit Card for Couples?

You may want to start consolidating your finances after you’ve been in a serious relationship for a while. Piling up your income and expenses together can be a great way to save cash—and it’s also a way to take your relationship to the next level.

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‍If you’re in a place where you’d like to start sharing finances with your partner, and you want to earn rewards for your trouble, it might be time to explore couples’ credit cards.

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‍If you’re ready to share a credit card account with your significant other, there are loads of credit card companies that offer ways to do it—whether it’s via a joint account or adding your loved one onto an existing account as an authorized user.

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‍This guide explains various credit card strategies for couples and breaks down four of the best credit cards for couples.

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Can a Couple Have a Joint Credit Card?

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Yes, a couple can have a joint credit card together. You don’t need to get married to do it, either!

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‍As long as both people are over 18, meet the eligibility criteria, and are willing to accept joint responsibility for the account, then you can share a credit card with practically anyone.

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‍There are generally two ways that you can share a credit card with your partner, regardless of whether they’re a spouse or significant other. Let’s go over them now.

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Apply for a joint credit card

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Some credit card companies will offer products where more than one person gets listed as the primary cardholder. That means both parties are listed on the account and are equally responsible.

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‍Although this is a joint credit card in the most traditional sense, it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s becoming less and less common. Most credit card issuers don’t offer joint credit card accounts like this anymore. So it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to get yourself this type of arrangement.

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Add an authorized user

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Since very few card issuers offer true joint credit cards anymore, this is now the easiest and most popular option.

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‍First, one person will apply for their own credit card individually. Then, you can add your spouse or partner as an authorized user after the fact.

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‍An authorized user is someone who’s been added to the account by the primary cardholder. This lets them access the account, make purchases, and generate reward points.

‍But the big difference between this and a true joint credit card is that additional authorized users aren’t responsible for repaying the balance on the account. This responsibility will always fall upon the main account holder who opened the account.

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‍Adding someone as an authorized user is a great option if either you or your partner has a poor credit history and can’t get approved as a primary cardholder for a card of their own.

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‍Becoming an authorized user and using your couple’s card responsibly can even boost your credit score. Just be sure to check that your card issuer is reporting your transactions to the three big credit bureaus.

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‍Also, be aware that authorized users don’t get their own sign-up bonus. So there’s no double-dipping when it comes to rewards. Some credit card companies might want an extra fee to add an authorized user to your existing account.

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Keeping credit card accounts separate

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Of course, another option that might work for you as a couple is to simply keep your credit card accounts separate.

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‍If you’ve already both got your own separate finances all sorted out, it might be simpler to stick with what you’ve already got as separate primary cardholders. It can be a lot of work to cancel your existing credit cards or switch banks when you already have separate savings accounts.

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Although keeping things separate might not feel as “couple-y,” it can help you to maximize rewards and benefits. For example, you could both apply for the same card and (if approved) double your sign-up bonus as well as your total credit capacity.

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‍Just be aware: By going with this option, you’ve got more credit accounts to keep track of, and you can’t boost one another’s credit with your own responsible activity.

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‍It’s also easier to keep purchases secret with separate credit card accounts, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

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‍On the one hand, having a separate credit card allows you to buy a surprise gift for your significant other without them seeing it on the shared credit card statement. (Although if you share a card, you could get around this by using your credit card to purchase gift cards and then spending those.)

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‍On the other hand, it can make it harder to coordinate finances when things are kept separate. And if either of you is irresponsible with money, that person could secretly rack up thousands of dollars in debt without the other partner knowing, hurting their credit history.

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‍Want to start looking through all of your couples’ credit card options? Try our card explorer tool for free.‍