I see this question a lot and I’m not sure I understand the reason why people ask it. When it comes to travel hacking, you should have a reason for doing something. If you don’t have a reason, don’t do it. Winging it is not a strategy and travel hacking is all about strategy. I’m going walk you through the only times you should consider this and why it’s usually a bad idea.
It seems like most people asking this question think that they need to do this so that their P2 can use the card. This also strikes me as odd since so much shopping is done online these days. Let’s face it, you can use anyone’s card when buying something online. Of course, people still do go to stores but when was the last time that anyone asked you for ID when using a credit card? I’ve used a card for 99% for purchases for well over a decade and I can only think of one time where someone asked me for ID. That was when I used my card to buy gift cards at an office store. The manager was very concerned about fraud but other than that, I use my wife’s credit card to buy gift cards all the time without her being there and no one cares at all. So I really don’t think this should be a consideration for you.
Well what does it matter anyway?
This is a big issue because it takes up a 5/24 slot! Sounds crazy since it’s the same credit card account but if you have 5 newer credit cards (under 24 months) and you add your P2 to all of them, P2 will likely get denied for any Chase credit card that they apply for. These slots are so coveted that you don’t want to waste any of them.
If you’ve already done this, don’t freak out because the solution is easy. All you have to do is remove P2 as an authorized user and the slot will free up. Kind of an odd quirk because if you applied for a credit card and the closed it a few months later, it would not free up a slot. So while you can add P2 to your card and then do a removal later on so as to not cause issues, I ask again, why even bother? You can order multiple copies of your cards for P2 to use. For example, I have my Chase Freedom Unlimited in my wallet at all times and my wife has a copy of the same card in her wallet. It’s solely in my name and she uses it often and has never had a problem at all.
When it makes sense
There are some exceptions to this of course. One benefit to adding P2 as an authorized user is that it can help bring up P2s credit score if it isn’t that great. Sometimes you’ll see a promotion where you’ll get a bonus for adding an authorized user. You’ll have to check the terms on that because it’s not going to be as simple as adding P2 and then removing P2 the next day. A lot depends on P2’s 5/24 status. For example, if P2 is under 3/24 then you’re probably in the clear to get this bonus. Adding P2 as an authorized user followed by a credit card application will put P2 at 4/24. By the time P2 gets that credit card and meets that spend, you’ll probably be in the clear to drop P2 from your card. P2 will then fall back to 3/24 and ready to apply for the next card.
Another reason to do this is to pool points. Thankfully, most programs don’t require this but American Express does which is rather annoying. If you want to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to P2, you have to first add P2 as an authorized user. You then have to wait 90 days! So that’s going to suck up a 5/24 slot for at least 3 months. Thankfully, most other programs do not require this.
Perhaps there’s even other reasons that I haven’t thought of yet but regardless of your reason, you should at least have one. I’ll never fault for someone for doing something even if I don’t exactly agree with their reason for doing something but I will certainly fault someone for just doing things for no reason. That happens too often with this hobby as people get carried away and try to rush through this. And I get it as I’m not exactly the “read the manual” type of guy but if you’re gonna get into the travel hacking hobby, you really should do things the right way.