My wife added me as AU

[adam98]

Her credit debt is 3 times my debt, but she has better FICO scores. I of course didn't realize that being an AU reflects these accounts in my credit history. She has excellent payment history, but the balance on the cards is very high. Does it help or hurt my FICO to remove me as an AU? Additionally, does it help or hurt HER FICO to remove me as an AU. I average 645 across the big 3, she averages 689.

[Mnkybiznes]

it won't be so beneficial with the coming of FICO08 .........

[modernsurrender]

From what I gather UTL is a big part of your credit score.  If being an AU on her accounts gives you a higher UTL than you'd have on your own, I would assume that would be bad. 

Do you have your own cards?

What's your UTL like if you don't figure hers in?

Also like the above poster said, being an AU once the "new fico" comes out is not supposed factor into your info any longer I believe.  However when that comes out isn't official.

-Ja' Net

[haulingthescoreup]

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@adam98 wrote:
Her credit debt is 3 times my debt, but she has better FICO scores. I of course didn't realize that being an AU reflects these accounts in my credit history. She has excellent payment history, but the balance on the cards is very high. Does it help or hurt my FICO to remove me as an AU? Additionally, does it help or hurt HER FICO to remove me as an AU. I average 645 across the big 3, she averages 689.

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Hi, adam, welcome to the forums! The term we use around here for the amount owed on a CC is util (= utilization, = balance owed / credit limit.) So it's not so much the dollar figure outstanding on the card, as it is the percentage of available credit that has been used.

If her util is high, as in over 30%, that card might be hurting your scores, depending on the util on the cards in your own name. It could be that other factors about that card are helping you more. For instance, if it adds a lot of age to your credit history, or if it really increases the total amount of credit available to you, then the good might outweigh the bad. But if it's really high, as in 85% or above, it's considered maxed-out, and that's a score-killer right there.

We have now seen several quotes by Craig Watts, a big-wig at FICO, that FICO 08 will go into effect in May. One of the biggest changes will be that any authorized user (AU) card will no longer factor in your scores. You will still be an AU, and I think it will still show on your reports; it just won't help (or hurt) your scores. If you don't need to apply for anything between now and then, and you'd like to maintain access to the card, you could just go into wait-and-see to see what happens to your scores. If they drop dramatically, you can then discuss with her whether you should go joint on the card. If they stay the same or improve, then I don't see any particular reason to change anything.

Anyway, having you as an AU on her card does nothing at all to her scores, unless you ran up the balance or paid it down.

BTW, we've all been waiting for FICO 08 for so long, but I think we might be surprised how long it will take to start finding creditors who actually use it! But another change that will come with it is that scores will start being severely penalized when util hits 50%, instead of hitting 85%. If her util is at 50% or above, she really needs to start paying those puppies way, way down, or her scores are going to get hammered.