Au vs. opensky cc to boost score

[ZiggstergetsaREFI]

Hi, So I have no CC's right now. All the simulators say to get a CC to improve score. I don't want a hard pull. Trying to improve score in preparation to refi my mortgage. I researched (with the help of all of you here) getting secured opensky. Now I'm reading about becoming Authorized User. My husband open one CC last year. My questions are:

1. Will they do a Hard Inquiry for me to be AU?

2. Will it help my score to be AU?

Here are the details on his CC account:

Opened 4/17/2012

CL $1000

Balance: $0

We opened this for him to improve his score, so we have been diligent about keeping it paid off. We do use it to show activity.

He has other tradelines on his CR's that are adverse. - that won't affect my score, right?

My AAoA is 8 years.

Thanks!

[BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest]

1.NO

2.YES

Will do you no harm but pure goodness

[ZiggstergetsaREFI]

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@BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest wrote:

1.NO

2.YES

Will do you no harm but pure goodness

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Thanks, "Bears"! So, even though his account is less than a year old, it should help?

[BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest]

even tho its less than a year old its better than having to revolving credit reporting

[zerobacan]

However I ve learned here that underwriters will manually check your CR and AU are a not seen very good.

Why can you apply for a CC one little INQ will not hurt you more than having your own CC with a descent limit.

Amazon Credit card would give you a nice CL.

[mmmlive1999]

Look up:Victorias Secret Approval!!! On this same board if you want a store card that is a soft pull only. It does not upgrade to a visa or anything, I just did it and got a $250 limit instantly,some people get $500. It is only used in the store but it's a start! After all they report to all 3 CRAs.

[ZiggstergetsaREFI]

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@zerobacan wrote:

However I ve learned here that underwriters will manually check your CR and AU are a not seen very good.

Why can you apply for a CC one little INQ will not hurt you more than having your own CC with a descent limit.

Amazon Credit card would give you a nice CL.

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Thanks for the input, zerobacan. I'm curious about what you wrote regarding underwriters considering AU's as not a good thing. I'd like to learn more about that. Could you point me in the direction of where you learned that? Thanks!

[SFernandez13461]

I got an OpenSky secured CC to get my foot back in the door, but after a year they wouldn't convert to an unsecured card or increase the limit or anything. Considering there's also an annual fee and minimum interest charges (at least when I had it), I ditched it and moved on to much better cards. If you can't get anything else, it's all right for building some history. But overall, it's not a great card in my opinion. 

[jake619]

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@ZiggstergetsaREFI wrote:

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@zerobacan wrote:

However I ve learned here that underwriters will manually check your CR and AU are a not seen very good.

Why can you apply for a CC one little INQ will not hurt you more than having your own CC with a descent limit.

Amazon Credit card would give you a nice CL.

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Thanks for the input, zerobacan. I'm curious about what you wrote regarding underwriters considering AU's as not a good thing. I'd like to learn more about that. Could you point me in the direction of where you learned that? Thanks!

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To put it another way, AUing your way to a good score may be a successful method against automated scoring routines;however, a refi will require manual scrutiny and the benefits of the AU will be seen through as they in no way reflect your personal achievement(s).  So, good for online approvals when no manual review is needed, not good when your score misleads you because a lender sees through the tricks.