Credit Cards and You: Service Fees on Credit Card Transactions

Annual fee for additional cards

If you already have a credit card, you can add one or more cards to your account. If you are the main cardholder and do not pay any annual fees, you usually will not have to pay a fee for any additional card(s). However, if you do have to pay an annual fee as a secondary cardholder, this fee is usually lower than the annual fee charged for the main card.

The main cardholder is legally responsible for the transactions that additional cardholders make. However, the opposite can also be true. Even if you are an additional cardholder, the card issuer may still hold you legally responsible for any unpaid balance on the card. It is therefore important that you read and understand the terms and conditions of your credit card agreement, as well as any changes that the card issuer makes to the agreement. If, under the cardholder's agreement, the issuer considers you to be liable, you have a right to receive the same information that the card issuer must provide to the primary borrower, including the disclosure of fees and monthly statements.

If, as an additional card holder, you are not considered liable, then the card issuer is under no obligation to provide you with disclosure statements, but may do so if it chooses.