 TITLE: How to Change a Name on a Credit Card CONTENT: Does Changing Your Name Affect Credit?\n--------------------------------------\nLegally changing your name won't affect your credit report at all. Additionally, neither does marriage. If you're getting married, your financial accounts aren't added to your spouse's credit report and theirs aren't added to yours. Your existing individual accounts stay on each of your respective credit reports, and you each maintain your own credit report. They don't merge into one.\nThe only way a marriage will impact your credit score is if you open a new joint account with your spouse. If you take out a mortgage or car loan together, or open a joint credit card account together, it will appear on both of your accounts and will impact both of your scores. But simply getting married and changing your last name will not result in any changes to your credit score, good or bad.\nYou also don't have to do anything to change your name on your credit report. Once you have updated your name with the Social Security Administration and with your creditors, the credit bureaus will receive this new information and update your report automatically. It can take a few months for it to take effect, since reporting schedules vary, but it will eventually happen without any effort required on your part. Your old name will still show up on your report as a former name, but your new name should update automatically. END