Authorized User Credit Card: Can a Wife Use Her Husband's Card?

A wife can use her husband's credit card even if she is not a co-signer on the credit card account. To do so, she must be an authorized user on the account. If a wife is not a co-signer and is not listed as an authorized user on her husband's credit card account, she cannot legally use the card for credit transactions.

Authorized User

The husband must let the lender know that he is adding his wife to the account as an authorized user. If the credit card agency does not have the wife's name on file as an authorized user, then she cannot use the credit card. Some credit card companies require a husband to submit legal documentation with his signature to add his wife to the account. Once the wife is added as an authorized user, she can use her husband's credit card.

Not Liable

A wife who is not a co-signer on her husband's credit card account is not legally liable for the charges and expenses accumulated on the credit card. Whether she is the one using the card to incur debt or whether her husband is the one using the card makes no difference. An authorized user, who has not co-signed on the account, is not liable for the debt on the credit card.

Removing Wife From Credit Account

A husband can have his wife's name removed from a credit card account at any time. An authorized user can also request that her name be removed from the credit card account. Once she is removed as an authorized user, she can no longer legally use the credit card.

Wife's Signature is Authorized

A wife can use her husband's credit card but she can not sign his name on the purchasing receipt. Her signature must be authorized on the account, so she can sign her name for credit purchases. Signing her husband's name on the transaction receipt is not legal and is considered forgery.