 TITLE: Authorized User vs. Cosigner: What Is the Difference? CONTENT: When Does It Make Sense to Be an Authorized User?\n-------------------------------------------------\nIf you're in the process of building credit, joining an account as an authorized user can be an effective way to kick-start your credit history. A child, for instance, can be on a parent's credit card to develop credit of their own. You can also become an authorized user on a partner's, sibling's or other financially responsible person's account, as long as they keep their credit usage low and make on-time payments each month.\nAlso, most credit card issuers, with the exception of Bank of America, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo, don't permit customers to add a cosigner. So going the authorized user route may be the best way to get access to a traditional credit card without much credit history.\nIf you don't have a trustworthy primary account holder available to you, there are many other ways to build credit. Look into credit-builder loans or secured credit cards, for instance, which you can get on your own—and, in the case of a credit-builder loan, without having to put down a deposit.\n> Find the best secured credit cards in Experian CreditMatch™. END