Dear Clever Credit,
Can I initiate a balance transfer on my husband’s behalf? He has a Wells Fargo credit card, and I want to apply for the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi. I’m not an authorized user on his credit card, but I could be added. If I sign up for the Costco credit card and wish to transfer some of the debt from my husband’s Wells Fargo card to my card, can I do that?
Sincerely,
Unbalanced and Unsure
Dear Unbalanced,
Yes, but it depends on the issuer. I reached out to Citi, and, thankfully, you can do this with Citi. As an authorized user on your husband’s Wells Fargo credit card, you can make a balance transfer onto your own card. In this case, the Costco Anywhere Visa.
When you initiate the balance transfer with your Costco card, you’d need your husband’s information, like his name, account number, the financial institution (Wells Fargo, in this case) and the debt amount. You might need to add your husband as an authorized user or secondary cardholder on your Costco card before transferring the balance, though. It’s worth noting, however, that transferring his debt to your card means you would be legally responsible for it. This is because his name would be removed from the debt, and you would take on that debt under your name and credit profile. This also means your credit utilization would go up.
So make sure you and your husband have a payment plan worked out so you’re not left on the hook for his debt.
[Read: Best Balance Transfer Cards]
Also, I understand why you would want to use the Costco credit card for the balance transfer if you shop there often — a two birds, one stone type of situation — but the Anywhere Visa doesn’t come with a 0% introductory annual percentage rate on balance transfers, which kind of defeats the purpose. There are plenty of other credit cards out there that cater to balance transfers, such as the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card, which offers a 0% intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers, then 17.49% to 28.24% (variable) APR. And the Citi Double Cash® Card offers a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers, then 18.49% to 28.49% (variable) APR. Plus, you can earn 2% cash back on every purchase, so you’d still earn rewards.
Since you haven’t applied for the Costco Anywhere Visa yet, I recommend shopping around! You might find a better option for both you and your husband.
Good luck!
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Clever Credit: I’m an Authorized User. Can I Initiate a Balance Transfer on My Partner’s Behalf? originally appeared on usnews.com
