AMEX Platinum AU - Affecting Credit Score

[Anonymous]

Hopefully someone can help me out with this question:

I was recently (without my permission) signed up as an AU from my parents AMEX Plat. I was at 776 prior to this authorization, and now recently checked it and saw that this authorized card lowered my score to 700. My parents has tons of debt on that card, does that mean that I also inherited that debt and will continously affect my score? If so, should I cancel it? 

I'm extremely nervous about this situation since I'm just starting my career and in the midst of looking for apartments, and I don't want this card to affect my student loans and other potential "grown-up" things. 

Thanks everyone. 

[takeshi74]

First off, what score are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Equifax & Transunion

[Anonymous]

How do they have 'tons of debt' on the card.  It's a charge card or are they using the pay over time option

[Anonymous]

The "Pay Over Time" option 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The "Pay Over Time" option 

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You can remove yourself as an AU if the card is hurting your score that much.

[Anonymous]

Removing myself as AU, will that affect my score as well (negatively) and will the debt that my parents owe (which shows up on my history) go away? Or will that stay on my history... 

[scorewatcher7]

The AU card will affect your score, but that seems like a huge impact. Especially with the new scoring model, it appears to me (per my credit file) that AU cards have a lesser impact than before. My TU is lower than my other two by about 20 points and all I can attribute that difference to is the fact that there is an AU card on my profile and it carries a balance. However, the balance on that card is higher than I'd like, but my score hasn't seen a 75 point fluctuation.  EQ and EX don't seem to be affected by that card carrying a balance; in fact, they seem to report the trade line differently. 

If your concern is real, you should have yourself removed from that account. If you don't, you will not inherit the debt. Only the account holder is responsible. 

[scorewatcher7]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Removing myself as AU, will that affect my score as well (negatively) and will the debt that my parents owe (which shows up on my history) go away? Or will that stay on my history... 

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you're worried that removing a card will have a negative effect, but you already determined that the card has a negative effect by having it active.... 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Removing myself as AU, will that affect my score as well (negatively) and will the debt that my parents owe (which shows up on my history) go away? Or will that stay on my history... 

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@Anonymous,

If you remove yourself as AU, the debt will not show in your history which will positively improve your profile.  Also, your score going up will depend on others things in your credit profile.  Do you have other cards?