Confused about closing CC with balance if I'm an AU

[Peach8321]

Quick question for those of you that know...

I am an AU on around 4-5 of my mother's cards.  She has a tendency to carry a balance and I don't so in the interest of having a (close to but not 0% because that's bad) util instead of around 50% util, I want to remove myself from her cards with a balance (2-3 of them).

If I do this, will I lose the age of the account or will they stay on? (since I'm an AU, not sure if that matters) I know that if there is a balance on the card and it's closed, it still counts normally...but I don't know if that's also true for an AU?

I have SL from 2002 as my oldest account other than her cards, so my AAoA will still be around 5 years, even though I just opened two new accounts (mort. and CC) this year...

Not sure if it matters, but my scores now are 700-750, haven't pulled recently since I'm waiting for a new CC to report.

Hope that's not too confusing, Thanks everyone!

[Anonymous]

If you are no longer an AU on a card, it will cease reporting on your CR's in any way.  So you do lose the age - along with the CL & balances being factored in to your utilization. 

Sounds like you've done your homework, getting rid of the utilization can potentially earn you some good points; and it sounds as if your AAofA is in a decent place. 

[haulingthescoreup]

AU accounts are good for building/ rebuilding, but at some point, it's time to let them go. (I'm talking about accounts specifically used to help build a credit profile, not married couples' accounts, those used as an emergency card for a young adult kid, etc.)

Sounds like they've done their job for you!

[Peach8321]

thanks beammeup and htsu!

One more quick follow-up question ;-)

Should I drop them all at once, or should I drop the ones with balances first (now), and then the other ones next year when my accounts are all over 1 year old (10/10)?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Morning Peach!

Good point.  It's always smart to do the math before making any changes.

If you can, post your accounts with their open dates, CL's & balances, noting which ones are AU, and which AU's remain at 0 balance.  You don't want to zap your AAofA - as you wisely noted.

And, remember, you can always be added (back) on as an AU for an account if you've miscalculated.

[Peach8321]

Here are my accounts, I'd love for help checking my math =)

Installment loans:

US Bank Mortgage - opened 7-09 (still open - joint with Husband)

Sallie Mae Loan - opened 6-06 (still open - will be until AT LEAST 4/13 - or longer if I don't pay off at once)

CWRU Loan - opened 9-02, closed 1-08

CWRU Loan - opened 9-02, closed 1-08

CWRU Loan - opened 9-02, closed 1-08 (three are listed on the report)

Sallie Mae - opened 10-03, closed 8-05

Sallie Mae - opened 3-03, closed 8-05

Sallie Mae - opened 1-05, closed 8-05

Sallie Mae - opened 8-04, closed 8-05

CWRU Loan - opened 9-02, closed 2-09

CWRU Loan - opened 9-02, closed 2-09

CWRU Loan - opened 9-02, closed 2-09  (three listed on report)

Sallie Mae - opened 8-05, closed 6-06

Sallie Mae - opened 8-05, closed 6-06 (two listed on report)

(note: the SL were consolidated into the one that is open, hence why the weird dates and so many being closed...the one closed on 2-09 was PIF then)

CC:

BoA - opened 6-04, CL: $21,600, Balance: ~$8,054 (AU)

AmEx - opened 4-04, CL: $17,000, Balance: ~$0 (AU)

CITI - opened 6-91, CL: $13,350, Balance: ~$0 (AU)

Chase - opened 1-05, CL: $7,000, Balance: ~$5,038 (AU)

Discover - opened ~ 2-92, CL:??, Balance: $?? (AU)

USAA MC - opened 10-07, CL: $24,000, Balance: $0

VS - opened 7-07, CL: $680, Balance: $0

USAA AmEx - opened 9-07, CL: $14,000, Balance: $0

USAA MC - opened 10-07, closed 4-09 (USAA had fraud worries and closed a lot of accounts, they redated my new card though, so not sure how that matters)

These come from the free CR from Quizzle (which pulled Experian )...the Discover card isn't on this report, not sure if my mother took me off or if they don't report to Experian.  She has 1 30 day late on the Discover from ~ 2006.  I also don't know if she's paid down the balance since the report was pulled, but either way, I know she does carry a balance often.

So, my thought was to dump the Discover, BoA, and Chase NOW and perhaps hold onto the CITI and AmEx for another year, allowing my two newest accounts to age to 1 year...

what do you think?  Thanks!

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@Peach8321 wrote:

thanks beammeup and htsu!

One more quick follow-up question ;-)

Should I drop them all at once, or should I drop the ones with balances first (now), and then the other ones next year when my accounts are all over 1 year old (10/10)?

Thanks!

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Drop the ones reporting a balance and keep the other ones as long as the are helping your AAoA/Length of History. I would also take out a very sharp pencil and determine exactly what your AAoA change will be considering each dropped card in turn before you do the actual dropping. AAoA's decreases can be painful!