MW My wife's credit-card payment is three months overdue. As an authorized user, am I in trouble?

By Quentin Fottrell

'All correspondence regarding the account was sent to my wife's email'

"Shouldn't the credit-card company have sent nonpayment notices to me?" (Photo subject is a model.)

Dear Quentin,

I received a credit warning about a three-month overdue payment on a credit card held by my wife, with me listed as an authorized user. All correspondence regarding the account was sent to my wife's email, so the credit warning was the first time I became aware of her nonpayment.

The amount owed (including interest) was under $55, so that part is not the issue. My question concerns the credit-card company. Shouldn't it have sent nonpayment notices to me, as an authorized user, and at least given me an opportunity to pay the bill before notifying me through a negative credit report?

The Husband

Don't miss: 'I'm rich in everything but parents': I inherited $400K. Is it unwise to use this money to buy a house with my fiancé?

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com. The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

The conversation, if you want to have one, should be with your wife, not the credit-card company or the credit bureau.

Dear Husband,

The call about the credit score should be coming from inside the house. There is a difference between a co-owner of a credit card, who is responsible for the debt, even after the other co-owner dies, and an authorized signer, who has the right to make purchases on the account in order to build up their credit but cannot make payments and has no legal liability.

The conversation, if you want to have one, should be with your wife, not the credit-card company or the credit bureau. It doesn't matter to the credit bureau whether it's $55 or $555. What matters is how long the debt has remained unpaid. Once a payment reaches 30 days past due, it is reported to the credit bureaus, and the damage compounds at 60 days and in particular at 90 days.

Indeed, payment history is the most important factor in credit scoring, according to TransUnion (TRU), Equifax $(EFX)$ and Experian (EXPGY). Being 90 days late on a credit-card payment can cause a severe drop in your score, and it can remain on your credit report for up to seven years if the debt remains unpaid, although the impact on your score lessens over time. If the debt is not paid, the lender would likely close your account or sell the debt to a collection agency.

If your credit score benefits from being an authorized user on your wife's card, the opposite is also true: If payments are late, your credit score will take a hit. It may be your wife's credit card, credit report and responsibility, but both your credit scores are on the line. "That means both users should practice good credit habits," says Discover. "Late and missed credit-card payments may stay on your credit report for years and seriously damage your credit score."

A teachable moment

"So, it's important to make sure the primary cardmember typically manages payments responsibly," the credit-card company adds. "You should also be sure to uphold any agreements you've made about paying a portion of the bill. You should also avoid overspending. Racking up expensive charge after expensive charge may do more than just frustrate the person who has to foot the credit-card bill."

Your wife's (and your) unpaid credit-card debt is a small one. In the third quarter of 2025, the typical American carried an average credit-card balance of $6,500, and credit-card debt in the U.S. has climbed to a record total of $1.23 trillion. With interest rates for credit cards at 20% and higher, that adds up to a lot of money if you don't pay off your debt every month. Generation X, for what it's worth, carries the largest monthly debt - more than $9,000.

Still, this is a teachable moment - a warning for both of you to keep on top of your credit-card statements. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling and American Consumer Credit Counseling can help those who are sliding into the red climb out of debt. And 12-step support groups, including Debtors Anonymous, provide a safe space to talk about your background and your emotional life.

If you and your wife don't have a monthly budget of your income and expenditures, including utilities, property taxes, home insurance, mortgage payments, groceries and gas, this is a good time to put one together. If saving $100 or $200 a month by not eating out helps you pay off one of your credit cards, then plan an extra-special evening cooking at home instead. Not everyone does things perfectly, but make sure this unpaid debt isn't part of a larger problem.

More columns from Quentin Fottrell:

'She is planning to move out of state': My sister sold our elderly mother's house from under her. What can I do?

'I'm not made of money': My heating engineer didn't fix my radiators on his first visit. Do I pay him a second time?

I'm trying to fix my relationship with my stepdaughter. Should my husband and I tell her how we have divided our assets?

Check out The Moneyist's private Facebook group, where members help answer life's thorniest money issues. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

By emailing your questions to The Moneyist or posting your dilemmas on The Moneyist Facebook group, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch.

By submitting your story to Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

-Quentin Fottrell

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2026 05:30 ET (10:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.