Re: Some other credit card questions

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2009

Before I joined this website and started reading the forums, I had no idea that I was in jeopardy of my accounts being closed with my Chase Cards and my Amex Blue card. I figured as long as my accounts were current and I was making a little more than the minimum payments, I wasn't in any trouble. As a result, I'm completely panicking, and I was hoping someone (anyone) could answer some of these questions, either from first-hand experience or just knowledge that I currently do not have. My mind has been spinning for days...

1. In order to be an Authorized User on someone's credit card (in this case, my husband), will that card company pull my Credit Report in order to issue me the card, or will they just issue it, no questions asked?

2. If I am made an AU on my husbands card, which currently has a $25000 CL, with perfect history. If Chase or Amex pulls my credit report after I am an AU on this card (with that much more available credit which will in turn hopefully raise my FICO score), is that something that would change their determination in closing or not closing an account?

3. I am still curious about accounts being closed for no activity. Presently, I'm just working on paying down my balances on my 2 Chase cards...not putting ANY charges on them. For example, I have not charged anything on one of my Chase cards since last November...I'm just paying down the balance. Could they theoretically close the account for no activity since I am only presently paying off the balance on that card? Does it make sense to put a small charge on that card and PIF that charge before the statement cuts so I am only left with the balance that I am paying down, but they see "activity"?

4. I will completely PIF one card by the end of this year with plans to PIF the other card by April 2010. Obviously my utilization on these cards is going down dramatically (for me anyway...nearly 10K in CC debt will be cleared away at that time). Do the companies take this into account when making the determination to keep an account open or closed?

5. What defines a "late payment" as far as a card is concerned? Is this a late fee that you made on an account but wasn't reported to the credit bureau or a late that WAS reported to the bureau. For example, I paid my Amex blue card late in June (I misread the due date and paid 2 days after the due date). It was never reported to the bureau (although, not surprisingly, my rate went up). Is this the type of late that these cards are looking at?

6. This is my final and probably most ridiculous question. I called Chase and Amex the other day and expressed concern about the potential closure of my accounts...do you think there is a "list" that someone gets put on if you even inquire about that possibility?

I'm just working so hard at trying to dig myself out of this hole of CC debt...so, obviously the fear of not being able to make the improvements that I want to make is enormous.

Thanks for any advice anyone can give!

Jazzzy · ‎08-31-2009

Hi...you've got quite a list of questions. Let me address the AU issue and give your other questions a bump to the top.

If you are added as an AU on your husband's card, they will not pull a credit report on you. Not all credit card companies report AUs to the CRAs, however. What kind of card does your husband have? Your husband might want to call them and ask if they report AUs.

And, yes...if this card is reported on your CR, it should help your FICO score if the utilization on the card is low, if it is paid perfectly, and if it is older than the average of your accounts. If the card has very high utilization, it could hurt your scores. If it is paid late, it will reflect on your CR also.

I recently added my husband as an AU on a $15K CC that had no balance. It brought his scores up because it lowered his utilization percentage.

If you want to give us more details on the account, its age, your AAoA, others here can give you their advice as well.

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2009

Lynette - thank you so much.

It is a Citi Card...I think a Citi American Airlines card. I believe it has a CL of 25K, and my husband is obsessive-compulsive about his bills (a trait which is finally rubbing off on me). I am certain that it has a flawless history. There are some months that the bills are over $1K, but they are always PIF...he never carries a balance. I am certain that he has had the card for over 10 years. The average age of my accounts is 7 years. My oldest account was opened 13 years ago. However, on that account, I believe that I was an authorized user on a card that my parents added me to as an "emergency card" when I went to college. I no longer have a copy of that card;additionally, my parents no longer use that card, so I can see it being closed VERY soon.

So...there would be no negative impact to my FICO score (from a credit pull) by being added as an Authorized User! That is definitely good news, because I'm trying to line up additional credit in case any of my cards are cancelled.

Thank you!

Message Edited by jmkess on 08-31-2009 01:07 PM

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎08-31-2009

@Anonymous wrote:
Lynette - thank you so much.

It is a Citi Card...I think a Citi American Airlines card. I believe it has a CL of 25K, and my husband is obsessive-compulsive about his bills (a trait which is finally rubbing off on me). I am certain that it has a flawless history. There are some months that the bills are over $1K, but they are always PIF...he never carries a balance. I am certain that he has had the card for over 10 years. The average age of my accounts is 7 years. My oldest account was opened 13 years ago. However, on that account, I believe that I was an authorized user on a card that my parents added me to as an "emergency card" when I went to college. I no longer have a copy of that card;additionally, my parents no longer use that card, so I can see it being closed VERY soon.

So...there would be no negative impact to my FICO score (from a credit pull) by being added as an Authorized User! That is definitely good news, because I'm trying to line up additional credit in case any of my cards are cancelled.

Thank you!

Any chance of your calling (you are an AU) and getting yourself fresh plastic? If you can then use the account and keep it active.

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎08-31-2009

@Anonymous wrote:

3. I am still curious about accounts being closed for no activity. Presently, I'm just working on paying down my balances on my 2 Chase cards...not putting ANY charges on them. For example, I have not charged anything on one of my Chase cards since last November...I'm just paying down the balance. Could they theoretically close the account for no activity since I am only presently paying off the balance on that card? Does it make sense to put a small charge on that card and PIF that charge before the statement cuts so I am only left with the balance that I am paying down, but they see "activity"?

You only have to worry about putting a charge on the card once per quarter if the balance is zero. As long as there is a balance reporting and you are making proper payments the account will not be closed.

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2009

@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Lynette - thank you so much.

It is a Citi Card...I think a Citi American Airlines card. I believe it has a CL of 25K, and my husband is obsessive-compulsive about his bills (a trait which is finally rubbing off on me). I am certain that it has a flawless history. There are some months that the bills are over $1K, but they are always PIF...he never carries a balance. I am certain that he has had the card for over 10 years. The average age of my accounts is 7 years. My oldest account was opened 13 years ago. However, on that account, I believe that I was an authorized user on a card that my parents added me to as an "emergency card" when I went to college. I no longer have a copy of that card;additionally, my parents no longer use that card, so I can see it being closed VERY soon.

So...there would be no negative impact to my FICO score (from a credit pull) by being added as an Authorized User! That is definitely good news, because I'm trying to line up additional credit in case any of my cards are cancelled.

Thank you!
Any chance of your calling (you are an AU) and getting yourself fresh plastic? If you can then use the account and keep it active.

I thought about it. The issue is...the bill gets sent to my parents house still, and they recently had some major credit problems of their own...According to my EQ report, it is presently showing as open, but I have no idea what type of deal my parents made for that card. This might be a silly question - but as an Authorized User, can I still have the bill sent to my house, or must it be sent to where the primary account holder lives? Without airing too much dirty laundry...my father doesn't have the best history of paying bills on time...and I don't want to open up a potential can of worms by obtaining a copy of that card, using it, and then seeing a bill being unpaid.

I can always ask my parents to make a small purchase on that card, PIF, and that should keep me clean too, right?

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎08-31-2009

@Anonymous wrote:

4. I will completely PIF one card by the end of this year with plans to PIF the other card by April 2010. Obviously my utilization on these cards is going down dramatically (for me anyway...nearly 10K in CC debt will be cleared away at that time). Do the companies take this into account when making the determination to keep an account open or closed?

They take into account what you have done. They do not take into account that which you intend to do. Issuers are particularly concerned about how you deal with their card, but can also be looking at your credit report as a whole, which means they may be looking at all of your other accounts as well. It all can matter.

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎08-31-2009

@Anonymous wrote:

5. What defines a "late payment" as far as a card is concerned? Is this a late fee that you made on an account but wasn't reported to the credit bureau or a late that WAS reported to the bureau. For example, I paid my Amex blue card late in June (I misread the due date and paid 2 days after the due date). It was never reported to the bureau (although, not surprisingly, my rate went up). Is this the type of late that these cards are looking at?

In order for a late to be reported to the CRB's it has to be 30+ days late. Anyone reading your CBR can see these lates. Issuers are concerned with all lates on their own cards - even the one-day lates. Most issuers keep records of your late payments that the CSR's can readily view which spans back at least two years and possibly much longer.

6. This is my final and probably most ridiculous question. I called Chase and Amex the other day and expressed concern about the potential closure of my accounts...do you think there is a "list" that someone gets put on if you even inquire about that possibility?

Notes regarding the substance of your call may have been made on your record. I doubt there is a list. How did they reply?

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2009

They take into account what you have done. They do not take into account that which you intend to do. Issuers are particularly concerned about how you deal with their card, but can also be looking at your credit report as a whole, which means they may be looking at all of your other accounts as well. It all can matter.

A follow-up question to that...so would it be better to alternate $1K payments on each of those cards and bring the overall util down on BOTH of them to 50%, or continue to do the snowball approach on the cards, and have one card reporting 0% util and another card reporting 80% util?

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎08-31-2009

jmkess wrote:
creditwherecreditisdue wrote:
jmkess wrote:
Lynette - thank you so much.

It is a Citi Card...I think a Citi American Airlines card. I believe it has a CL of 25K, and my husband is obsessive-compulsive about his bills (a trait which is finally rubbing off on me). I am certain that it has a flawless history. There are some months that the bills are over $1K, but they are always PIF...he never carries a balance. I am certain that he has had the card for over 10 years. The average age of my accounts is 7 years. My oldest account was opened 13 years ago. However, on that account, I believe that I was an authorized user on a card that my parents added me to as an "emergency card" when I went to college. I no longer have a copy of that card;additionally, my parents no longer use that card, so I can see it being closed VERY soon.

So...there would be no negative impact to my FICO score (from a credit pull) by being added as an Authorized User! That is definitely good news, because I'm trying to line up additional credit in case any of my cards are cancelled.

Thank you!
Any chance of your calling (you are an AU) and getting yourself fresh plastic? If you can then use the account and keep it active.

I thought about it. The issue is...the bill gets sent to my parents house still, and they recently had some major credit problems of their own...According to my EQ report, it is presently showing as open, but I have no idea what type of deal my parents made for that card. This might be a silly question - but as an Authorized User, can I still have the bill sent to my house, or must it be sent to where the primary account holder lives? Without airing too much dirty laundry...my father doesn't have the best history of paying bills on time...and I don't want to open up a potential can of worms by obtaining a copy of that card, using it, and then seeing a bill being unpaid.

I can always ask my parents to make a small purchase on that card, PIF, and that should keep me clean too, right?

If it is still reporting satisfactorily I would remain mum. If it starts reporting negative information I would have myself removed as an AU immediately.

Some other credit card questions

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Some other credit card questions