 TITLE: How Do I Build Credit if I Don’t Want a Lot of Credit Cards? CONTENT: 3\\. Become an Authorized User\n-----------------------------\nBecoming an authorized user on someone else's (usually a family member's) account can be another avenue for building or rebuilding your credit.\nSo, what is an authorized user? It's a secondary account holder for a credit card. As an authorized user, you can make purchases with the card (if the primary account holder agrees), but the primary account holder is responsible for paying the bills.\nIf you're an authorized user, you might get your own credit card or account number. But the primary user controls the account, exercising the power to monitor purchases and make payments. If you're trying to build credit without a credit card, you might not even want your own card.\nHow does becoming an authorized user benefit your credit? When you're added as an authorized user, the credit card issuer typically reports the account to the credit bureaus and it becomes part of your credit report (make sure this is the case with the card you are considering). Then you can enjoy the positive characteristics of that account, such as a solid payment history or the length of time that the account has been open.\nFor this arrangement to work to your advantage, though, the credit card issuer must report the authorized-user activity to the credit bureaus and your credit score must include this activity in its scoring formula—neither of these are givens. Still, being an authorized user may give you an edge in building or rebuilding your credit.\nBefore you sign up as an authorized user, make sure you're aware of how the primary user handles credit. If they start to miss payments, the authorized user account can be removed from your credit report. END