How to Remove a Joint Cardholder From a Credit Card Account

When you share a credit card account with another person, you become joint cardholders. This status makes you both equally liable for all account activity, including any debt that accumulates. Removing one joint cardholder from the account is not always a simple process, depending on your account terms and the lender’s individual rules.

Contact the credit card company to find out whether it’s possible to remove a joint cardholder and what’s involved. A customer service representative can provide specific information about the requirements and the process of taking one person’s name off the account.

Your credit card account terms will spell out the lender’s policy on joint cardholders, including the event of removing one cardholder. The lender might disallow either party from leaving the account if a balance exists. The bank could also allow a cardholder to leave the account, with the stipulation that this person will continue responsibility for any debt that accrued during the joint account period.

When you and your joint cardholder applied for the credit card, the lender evaluated both of your credit scores and income to approve the account, which means that your credit approval is contingent on both of you staying on the account. Because the lender gave account privileges to you both together, it’s common for the lender to require both borrowers to remain on the account to keep it open. With the request to remove one joint cardholder, some banks will automatically begin the process of closing the account. For example, the CreditOne Bank explains that it receives any instruction from either joint cardholder as representative of both cardholders, so the directive for removal from the account constitutes a request to close the account.

The remaining accountholder will likely need to reapply for an individual credit card account. This could pose a challenge for the single borrower if he doesn’t have a strong credit score or enough income to gain approval alone.