Joint or Seperate Credit Card Account?

Should you have a joint or separate credit card account with your spouse or partner? I’m not too sure if there is a right answer, but for me, both Mrs Credit Card and myself have separate credit card accounts.

We always had separate credit card accounts because when we got married, we were both working. I had my card and she had hers. This has worked out well and I think there are a few advantages to having a separate account.

Firstly, having seperate credit card accounts mean that your credit scores are seperate. If one of us get into any credit problems, there will be no spillover effects.

Secondly, having your own credit cards means you can charge some little luxury purchases to your card if you want to.

Thirdly, if a couple were to separate, having joint accounts can be a nightmare. Having separate credit cards makes any separation much cleaner when to comes to any credit card debt.

However, I can see some advantages in having a joint credit card account. If one partner has a slightly lower credit score and wants a boost, having a joint account will help. You may want to do this if one partner needs to take a credit loan and would get a better rate if the FICO score was higher.

Whether you want a joint account also depends on how you want your finances to be set up. If you decide to open a joint checking and savings account and charge your monthly bills to a credit card to be paid by this joint account, then you may want to get a joint account.

At the end of the day, there probably isn’t a better way – but do what is right for you and your partner.