Is a supplementary cardholder liable for the credit card debt?
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
Under RA 10870 §5 a supplementary card is issued to another person, but its credit limit is consolidated with the principal cardholder's — the two share one account. In practice that means the principal cardholder is the one primarily answerable to the bank for the whole balance, including charges the supplementary made, because it is the principal's account. The supplementary cardholder's own exposure is defined by the cardholder agreement — read it, because some agreements make a supplementary liable only for their own charges while others impose joint liability. Solidary (each-for-the-whole) liability is never presumed under Civil Code Art. 1207; it binds a supplementary only if the contract expressly says so. Get the bank's written statement of who owes what before relying on any assumption.
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Frequently asked
Who is primarily liable for a supplementary card's charges?
The principal cardholder. RA 10870 §5 consolidates the supplementary's limit with the principal's single account, so the bank looks to the principal for the whole balance, including the supplementary's spending.
Is the supplementary cardholder ever liable?
It depends on the cardholder agreement. Some make a supplementary liable only for their own charges; others impose joint liability. Read the contract — that is what controls.
Can the bank treat the supplementary as liable for everything?
Only if the agreement clearly makes them solidarily liable. Under Civil Code Art. 1207, solidary liability is never presumed — it must be expressly stipulated to bind the supplementary for the whole debt.
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