Being added as a AU to boost account age?

[Jbb2788]

Would this be a good idea? My mother has had a Citi Dividens World Mastercard for about 10 years now. I recently have signed up for WAY too many accounts as some of you that have read my posts know. Therefore, my AAOA is now really low. Is this a good idea? Or would adding another account to my profile even though it is as a AU hurt me because of too many now accounts. I'm afraid of AA right now so I'm trying to lay low, that is why I'm asking this question BEFORE I am added to the account. Thanks for any input!

[09Lexie]

Calculate what your AAOA would be with the Citi card. I'm not sure why you'd be afraid of AA, they don't happen often and depending on your cr profile it may not happen at all

[Jbb2788]

@ Lexie Just a little worried because I have opened so many new accounts this month. I'm new to credit so I'm just trying to be careful. Forgive me if I don't know much and ask questions frequently. I'm not sure how to calculate my AAOA...Do I count the accounts just opened this month as 1? I'm sure that being added onto the account as AU would not dramatically help but it has to be better than just 1 year, right? Also, can I get your opinion on closing some of the pointless "shopping cart trick" cards that I opened this month? There are a couple I will probably never used and quite honestly just got them because I could..

[FinStar]

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@Jbb2788 wrote:

@ Lexie Just a little worried because I have opened so many new accounts this month. I'm new to credit so I'm just trying to be careful. Forgive me if I don't know much and ask questions frequently. I'm not sure how to calculate my AAOA...Do I count the accounts just opened this month as 1? I'm sure that being added onto the account as AU would not dramatically help but it has to be better than just 1 year, right? Also, can I get your opinion on closing some of the pointless "shopping cart trick" cards that I opened this month? There are a couple I will probably never used and quite honestly just got them because I could..

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At this point what's done is done, just manage what you have responsibly and no more apps.  There may be some *boost* per se, but all depends on your overall profile. 

If you know how to use Excel, here's a helpful thread that provides guidance for calculating AAoA > http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/How-to-Calculate-AAoA-using-Excel/td-p/1674616

[Jbb2788]

FinStar- Thanks for the spreadsheet example. I'm going to work it right now.

[Jbb2788]

Well unfortuantly it doesn't help the AAOA very much. I'll probably just forget it. 

[MissCredit9]

OP, I know from personal experience that adding age can most definitely give your score a boost. However, if you are not applying for anything for awhile (sounds like you wont be) then I'm not too sure that that boost is necessary. If you do decide to proceed please be aware that your DM's utiilzation habits could also affect your score positively or negatively. So if she has high utilization or is known to carry a large balance from time to time then you may want to avoid being associated with her account, as high utilization is more likely to trigger AA than new accounts alone.

[Jbb2788]

@Misscredit- She NEVER carries a balance on her card. I just logged in to her account and it looks like she has already added me as a AU. I'm just going to let it stay that way and maybe I'll get a boost for the time being while my own accounts do their own thing. I think I'm set up very nicely for the future now, just have to learn some patients!

[FinStar]

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@Jbb2788 wrote:

Well unfortuantly it doesn't help the AAOA very much. I'll probably just forget it. 

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Sorry it didn't provide the meaningful results you were looking for.  The truth is, with the number of recently opened accounts factored along with the Citi TL will actually not increase it by much to give it the ideal boost of say like 3-5 years or so.  Any new TLs (if excessive) will have more weight and drag the AAoA by quite a bit.

Just let your newly acquired accounts age, keep your utilization levels in check and try to fly low on the credit radar.  Time will be your best friend.

[MissCredit9]

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@Jbb2788 wrote:

@Anonymous- She NEVER carries a balance on her card. I just logged in to her account and it looks like she has already added me as a AU. I'm just going to let it stay that way and maybe I'll get a boost for the time being while my own accounts do their own thing. I think I'm set up very nicely for the future now, just have to learn some patients!

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Thats perfect then.... a boost for AAoA and overall utilization. Definitely can't hurt, can only help.