Sunday Reader Question: Additional Cardholders and Future Credit Card Bonuses

Sept. 09, 2012

•

1 min read

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.

TPG reader Ketan asks:

"I got a United Explorer Card and a flyer came in the mail offering 5,000 bonus miles if I add an authorized user. If I do that, if in the future that person wants to have their own card, will they still qualify for getting a sign-up bonus for the Explorer Card?"

Yes. Being an additional cardholder will not disqualify you from getting a sign-up bonus for that same card if you decide to open a new account in your name.

Adding additional cardholders can make sense for a lot of different reasons, like in your case to get incentive bonuses or to have someone in your household earning points for you even if they don't have the credit necessary to get their own mileage-earning card. However, the real value is when they open up their own accounts and can rake in the lucrative sign-up bonuses for themselves. Two (or more) sign-up bonuses are better than one!
[card card-name='Chase Freedom®' card-id='22125634' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']