Authorized user in 2014 question

[takeshi74]

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@roadtoamex wrote:

 I've read some conflicting things here in the forums from past and more recent threads

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The thing is that creditors aren't all identical (even in 2014) so there isn't one answer that applies in every single case.  Not all creditors report on the AU's credit reports,  Not all lenders consider accounts where one is an AU.

If adding you as an AU leads to inheriting the payment history of the account and its history is good an utilization is low then it will help.  If you don't inherit the history at all it really won't help.  If your mortgage lender ignores AU accounts then it won't help.

[09Lexie]

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@Vegas247 wrote:

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@09Lexie wrote:

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@ficobgtx wrote:

While I think it is difficult/impossible to say how many point it will cost you, this will be a new account for you. As Lexie mentions, Amex used to give ACM's (Additional Card Member) backdating, but not anymore. And no other cards backdate. So this would show as a new TL on your report without the aging that the primary account holder has. Therefore your AAoA will go down. 

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With most cc's AUs will inherit the primary card history-  Amex is the only issuer that does not allow ACMs to inherit the history.

I think you are getting the terms backdate and inherit confused. 

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So Lexie, you are saying the OP would definetly benefit then, since his mom has perfect payment history. Then the OP should do it.

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Not exactly.  If OPs ultimate goal is mortgage approval, checking with their UW as to AU's acceptance would be prudent.  If they discount the AU then they will discount the boost from lower util and OP would be back at square one.  

[roadtoamex]

I was under the impression that the lender can discount an AU account as far as limit and payment history on that one account, but any bump in score and AAoA could not be determined really as how would you know if 60 points came from that AU account or 100?

Again it seems some people believe you inherit the card history (at least with certain providers) and others believe it will show as a brand new account, therefor lowering your AAoA

This is my main concern. Again, whether the lender factors the AU account in or not is irrelevant to me really, if they do, great its a bonus, if not, I think my bank records and taxes are more than sufficient along with my low utilization but that score is still not where I want it to be. 

My big concern I was hoping to answer is will I lose points when that card appears on my file? if so is there any rough estimate of how many it could be? and would I inherit that age and history, or would it appear as a new account? 

I guess if it hurts the score it means it shows as a new account because I don't imagine a 12 year history of low util and perfect payments could damage the score. 

[ficobgtx]

Ah yes, that is true. Amex would not show a history and have the open date as of when the ACM was added, but other will show a history along with an open date when the primary card holder opened the account.

[abundancejones]

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@roadtoamex wrote:

I was under the impression that the lender can discount an AU account as far as limit and payment history on that one account, but any bump in score and AAoA could not be determined really as how would you know if 60 points came from that AU account or 100?

Again it seems some people believe you inherit the card history (at least with certain providers) and others believe it will show as a brand new account, therefor lowering your AAoA

This is my main concern. Again, whether the lender factors the AU account in or not is irrelevant to me really, if they do, great its a bonus, if not, I think my bank records and taxes are more than sufficient along with my low utilization but that score is still not where I want it to be. 

My big concern I was hoping to answer is will I lose points when that card appears on my file? if so is there any rough estimate of how many it could be? and would I inherit that age and history, or would it appear as a new account? 

I guess if it hurts the score it means it shows as a new account because I don't imagine a 12 year history of low util and perfect payments could damage the score. 

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You definitely won't lose points. You will only gain FICO points after the AU account hits your reports. I'm not sure why other people think it will hit as a new account. Is it an AMEX? Only AMEX cards don't let you inherit the history of the card if you get an AU account. You do indeed inherit the positive history of the account on all other cards. Since your moms card is 12 years old and has never had any lates, I'm figuring you can at least gain 40 points, depending on what your AAOA is. 

If you need more points to get a better rate on your mortgage, that AU account will only help!

However, what is the card? Not all banks report AUs