July 22, 2025 · 12 mins read
Santhosh Kumar
Though a supplementary card will come with many of the same features as the Add-on card on the same account, it’s also important to be aware of how these two types of cards differ. The following are the most significant differences between an Add-on card and a supplementary card:
Applying for an Add-on credit card can be a complex process with many requirements, but the application procedures and requirements for supplementary cards are sure to be much simpler, no matter your chosen provider. This is because, officially, primary cardholders assume responsibility for all transactions made on any supplementary cards associated with their accounts.
As an example, while applicants for Add-on cards must be legal adults aged 21 and above, the minimum age to qualify for a supplementary card is 13. Supplementary cardholders are also not required to pass credit checks or provide any income documents. In fact, supplementary cardholders need not even be earning income to qualify, as in the case of Add-on cardholders’ financial dependents.
If you have a rewards card or a cashback card as your Add-on card, you can earn rewards points or cashback off your supplementary cardholders’ purchases. It’s important to note, however, that these points will be credited to your account rather than to your supplementary cardholder. Hence, your supplementary cardholder won’t be able to redeem or convert any rewards points their cards earn on their own.
Certain banks do allow supplementary cardholders to make redemptions with authorization from their Add-on cardholder. Primary cardholders can also share credit card rewards with their supplementary cards, which often happens in families sharing the same credit card account. Points earned from the family's total purchases, for example, can be used to redeem perks and offers that benefit everyone, such as airline tickets for a family vacation.
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Supplementary cards will either have significantly lower annual fees than principal cards or no annual fees at all. Annual fees on supplementary cards usually come to around half of the primary card’s annual fee. Some banks may also waive the annual fees on the first supplementary card of all credit cards they offer, while others may offer this privilege only for certain types of Add-on cards.
An add-on credit card is a supplementary card issued to a family member based on a primary credit card already held by someone in their family. For example, Rajesh is a 50-year-old individual working as a Vice President in an IT company in Bengaluru. He holds an HDFC Bank credit card. Rajesh's daughter Varsha is pursuing her MBA in IIM, Ahmedabad. As Varsha is a student, she doesn't have an income source and a credit score. In this case, Varsha can be issued an add-on card based on the credit card held by her father.
The credit card held by Rajesh is the primary credit card. The other credit cards issued based on the primary credit card are known as add-on cards. Based on his primary credit card, Rajesh can apply for add-on cards for his children, spouse, parents, etc., if they are not eligible for a primary credit card on their own. All add-on cards are linked to the primary credit card.
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With an add-on card, the primary cardholder can give financial freedom to their family members within the set limits. For example, in the earlier example, we saw how Rajesh, who is staying in Bengaluru, can give an add-on card to his daughter Varsha, who is studying in Ahmedabad. Varsha will be free to put her regular spending on the add-on card. Rajesh can monitor Varsha's spending and pay the bill at the end of the billing cycle. By providing add-on cards with suitable limits to your family members, you can avoid the need to give cash or do online fund transfers to their bank accounts.
The eligible spends on an add-on card earn regular reward points as well as accelerated reward points (if any), similar to the primary card. The eligible spends on an add-on card also count towards benefits like milestone spends, unlocking lounge access, reversal/waiver of annual fees, etc. If there are any limits or exclusions on earning reward points on specified categories applicable to the primary card, the same will apply to add-on card(s).
Some banks provide benefits like lounge access to add-on cardholders. For example, HDFC Bank provides unlimited complimentary airport lounge access to Diners Club Black (DCB) and Infinia primary and add-on cardholders.
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Add-on credit card application: Though the add-on credit cards are offered as complimentary for the primary cards unless the bank receives an application for the cards, you cannot have one. Thus, the eligible family members of the primary cardholder should apply for an add-on credit card to get one.
Add-on credit card billing/statement: Irrespective of the number of add-on cards, the bank will generate only one consolidated credit card statement. It includes all the purchases or transactions made on the primary card as well as on all add-on cards. The primary cardholder can thus track all the withdrawals and spends made by the add-on credit cardholders. He/she, however, remains responsible for all dues on the card/s.
Add-on cards -Effect on Credit Score: As supplementary credit cards are connected to the primary card, all transactions and bill payments related to the cards will be recorded similarly to those of primary credit cards. If the primary cardholder is unable to clear the due amount or pays only the minimum amount repeatedly, they run the risk of accumulating debt. If payments are delayed, late charges will be deducted from the account of the primary cardholder. Any defaults on the account will also be reported to credit agencies, such as CIBIL and Experian. Therefore, primary cardholders need to be very careful about the supplementary cardholder's spending, as any issues will be reflected on the primary cardholder's account and may affect their credit score.
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Supplementary cards are secondary cards issued under a person’s credit card account. These cards are typically given to the primary or principal cardholder’s immediate family members—that is, their children, spouses, siblings, or parents. Some people also elect to grant supplementary cards to romantic partners or trusted friends.
Supplementary cards are most often used to share the principal cardholder’s credit benefits with loved ones who don’t qualify for credit cards of their own due to age, poor credit history, or a lack of regular income.
Though specific supplementary cards may function slightly differently depending on your chosen provider, supplementary cards in the Philippines all generally have the following features:
Supplementary cards bear the secondary cardholder’s name and come with their own credit card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV numbers. However, as supplementary cards are secondary cards, their balances, credit limits, and billing statements are still treated as part of the principal cardholder’s account.
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A supplementary card’s credit line is an extension of the primary card’s. This means that if a principal cardholder has several supplementary cards under their account, all of them will share the primary card’s credit limit. If your monthly credit limit is PHP 100,000, for example, then the total monthly balances incurred on your primary and supplementary cards must not exceed that amount.
Making transactions beyond the credit limit also affects every other card under the principal cardholder’s account. If the account has hit its limit for the month, subsequent transactions by the primary and supplementary cards will either be declined or come with over-limit fees. Some credit card providers give primary cardholders the option of setting lower spending limits per supplementary card so they can manage their total monthly debt more efficiently. If no such limits are assigned, a supplementary card’s credit limit will match that of the primary card by default.
Because a primary card and all supplementary cards under the same account share a single credit line, all transactions made with these cards are gathered under the principal cardholder’s monthly billing statement. The principal cardholder is thus also responsible for paying off the total bill at their bank each month.
As mentioned above, supplementary cardholders are frequently dependents of the principal cardholder, who rely on them for financial support. If supplementary cardholders are not financially dependent on the principal cardholder, however, it's common practice for them to pay their principal cardholder back informally each month for any transactions they accumulate on their card.
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The primary and supplementary cards on a single account are typically charged the same interest rate per month. In practice, this means any unpaid debt on an account at the end of one month will be carried over to the next billing cycle and charged interest at the same rate. It’s good practice for primary cardholders to monitor spending limits and credit balances each month to prevent accumulated debt from piling up to an unmanageable extent.
In most cases, supplementary cards come with the same benefits associated with the primary card. If you have a co-branded credit card that offers perks like free travel insurance or special offers from partner merchants, for example, any supplementary cards issued under your account will also have these privileges. If your primary card is set up to earn rewards points, your supplementary card will also earn points under the same system.
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Primarily, add-on credit cards share all the features of the main credit card. All the benefits offered by the primary card are available on the Boldsupplementary card. However, there are a few aspects you need to understand while using an add-on credit card.
Credit limit of an add-on credit card: Add-on credit cards have the same credit limit as that of the primary credit card. You can use an add-on credit card up to the total credit limit on the card account. Some card issuers also allow primary cardholders to set a limit on each add-on credit card. It could be the same or less than the total credit limit on the account. The same stands true for cash withdrawal limit or cash limit. While most banks provide a default cash limit of 100% on add-on cards, a few, like HDFC, provide a lesser cash limit to add-on cardholders.
Reward points on add-on credit cards: Add-on credit cardholders earn the reward points at the same rate as that of the primary cardholder. This means the number of reward points, minimum transaction amount, redemption options, etc., remains the same. The accrued reward points get credited to the primary cardholder's account. While redeeming the points, you can use the consolidated points.
Airport lounge access on add-on cards: Not all credit card providers allow the add-on cardholders to enjoy the complimentary airport lounge access provided to the primary cardholder. Especially the free membership offered on the airport Priority Pass Program and others are exclusive for primary cardholders. However, there are a few card issuers that allow primary and supplementary cardholders to share the free visits.
Offers on add-on credit cards: Most of the card issuers consider add-on credit cards as another card in providing the offers. If this is the case with your card as well, the primary cardholder and the add-on cardholder can avail of the offer separately. Typical credit card offers include discounts, cashback, free gifts, vouchers, etc.
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It typically takes 10-15 days to process an add-on credit card application after submitting a duly filled-in application and completing KYC documents.
Yes, a separate PIN will be generated for every add-on credit card, and the same will be sent to your mailing address along with the card.
Although supplementary credit cards are used by family members, all the transactions on the card will be billed to the main card member. Thus, any late payments, nil payments, and defaults on the account would affect the primary cardholder's credit score.
It depends on the card you're using. Not all the card issuers allow you to share the airport lounge access benefits. However, there are a few cards, such as HDFC Bank Regalia Credit Card, and HDFC Bank Regalia First Credit Card, that offers free membership to the airport priority pass program and allow you to share free visits.
FinBooster: YesBank - BankBazaar Co-branded Credit Card offers its customers a maximum of 3 add-on credit cards.
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