Added as an AMEX AU.....shows 5/2013 open date?

[IWOL]

I asked this question in the rebuilding section but I got no responses, hoping someone can help here.

My sister recently added me as an AU to an AMEX Platinum charge card that she opened in 1994. I know that the charge cards don't help with Util but I added this account with the hope that it would increase my AAoA. I was under the impression that when it reported I would "inherit" the entire history of the card from the original opening date.

The card reported on EX and EQ yesterday and it shows an open date of 5/2013 with no previous history. It actually dropped my AAoA since its reporting as only opened for 1 month. Is that the way AMEX reports AU,s?

It didn't drop my score because I still have an AAoA of 3.2 years. Can I have my sister call AMEX and try to get the reporting changed to the original open date of 1994?

If not should I have her remove me as an AU?

Any help with this is much appreciated.

[E150GT]

from what I have heard amex no longer backdates to the card opening date, but you can backdate to your date of becoming an AU when you get your own card.

[vn25]

That might be the way amex reports AU for charge cards.

My dad added me on to his costco amex sometime in 2008 and on my experian I have date opened 2007 but reported since 2008.

I would give it a month or two to settle in, but if you dont see it reporting the 1994 date you might want to have her take you off

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

OP, as I had asked in the other thread, are you referring to the "reporting since" line ( but the CR payment blocks show the real acct age)?

[IWOL]

Sorry, I didn't uderstand what you were asking in the other thread.

It shows "date opened" as May 2013

In the reporting blocks it shows nothing. No OK's at all.

Also shows date of last activity as May 2013. It definitely lowered my AAoA because on USAA I see my AAoA went from 3.4 to 3.2.

I was going to have my sister call Amex on Monday and ask if they will change my AU member date to 1994. After doing some more reading on other threads/boards it seems that the primary has to request the backdating and they may or may not change member date. At this point even if it can't be changed I think I may as well leave it so I can at least get any future AMEX card backdated to my AU date of 5/2013.

[Revelate]

They won't.

Amex changed their policy after some of the laughable scenarios which occurred became publicized: people who had been members longer than they had been alive.

I don't know when exactly this was changed though I believe it was within the last 5 years; as a result, if you are added as an ACM today, then today will be your opening date, regardless of how long the primary cardholder's account has been open for. Amex generates an entirely new tradeline for the ACM: has some pluses and minuses and they are the only lender to my knowledge which implements AU/ACM's this way.

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

Revelate, it'll gradually become commonplace, I'm betting, since most are directing towards "internal scoring," instead of a factual fico. Who says that the AU will even help down the road, if all start using internals, and disregard the AU factor completely?

[IWOL]

Thanks for clearing that up Revelate. So what about getting my own AMEX card at a later date. Will AMEX still backdate say a new card I apply for June 2014 to the May 2013 AU date?

That is really the only benefit I can see to keeping this AU account since its not helping Util and hurting my AAoA.

I understand why AMEX perhaps instituted that policy but it seems that it would put them at a disadvantage for legit AU,s that need the card for actual use and have to take the hit to their Fico for a new card. Seems like that could cost them some business , at least for credit savy customers.

[TM82]

When you get your own Amex it'll show member since 2013. I added my wife as an AU to my Amex cards in 2011, thinking that it would backdate her to 2006, but didn't. But it did help when she got her own Amex this year that it shows member since 2011 and reflects.

It is correct now that Amex dates when you are added as an AU now since the original card members start date. If its helped in the past they don't take it away but doesn't work now. I have a buddy who's 26 but his reports show that he's been an Amex cardholder since 1983. So there's no longer an instant bump in account age anymore.

[Revelate]

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@IWOL wrote:
Thanks for clearing that up Revelate. So what about getting my own AMEX card at a later date. Will AMEX still backdate say a new card I apply for June 2014 to the May 2013 AU date?

That is really the only benefit I can see to keeping this AU account since its not helping Util and hurting my AAoA.

I understand why AMEX perhaps instituted that policy but it seems that it would put them at a disadvantage for legit AU,s that need the card for actual use and have to take the hit to their Fico for a new card. Seems like that could cost them some business , at least for credit savy customers.

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Late response, but I think the lenders couldn't care less about that honestly.  They were the ones that wanted AU accounts to be dropped from the FICO '08 scoring model, until a massive cry of foul by both consumers and government put an end to that at least in it's original form.

AU's weren't designed for the FICO reindeer games we play here and a few other select forums.  The average consumer neither knows nor cares: in reality, I somewhat suspect that every other lender will take Amex's trick and use it instead.  That gives people access to credit, leaves it on their permanent credit report after the AU is ceased, and wipes out the abuses that AU's were rife with this past decade.

Now that I mention it, I sort of wonder why they haven't done that; it's a good solution to the problem they were originally trying to solve.