Adding son as supplementary cardholder

[the_etk]

I’ve had an Amex platinum for about ten years now with my wife using the free supplementary plat.

My son is turning 18 in a few months, are there benefits to adding him as a supplentary gold member? Does it give him extra access to insurance? Will it help him build a credit record?

[Scott]

He won’t build any credit record by doing this, as the credit is solely in your name.

Interestingly for Amex US the minimum age for a supplementary cardholder is 13.

[NorthernLass]

I always wondered how kids in American films managed to have credit cards 😂

[strickers]

All my 3 kids have supp cards, it’s worth it for the insurance alone. Other benefits, if they are abroad and really stuck they have a way of paying for flights/hotels, they also occasionally ask to spread a purchase over a couple of months. The risk is you are on the hook if they mess up.

[RK228]

NorthernLass wrote:

I always wondered how kids in American films managed to have credit cards 😂

Interestingly, being a supplementary card holder in the US does go in your US credit report and significantly helps in establishing/building credit, so definitely worthwhile over there to get supplementary cards for kids to help them get started. Unfortunately, the benefits of having a supplementary card are not as substantial here.