Joint Credit Card | improve credit and if yes - when?

[moare_de]

Hi all, two years ago I moved from Europe to the US and didn't pay much attention to my credit score. I paid all my bills with cash/debit card or checks. Now I need to apply for a loan. I don't have any credit history. Recently I signed up for a secured CC from CapOne and have it for about 3 months. In order to build my credit faster my mother in law added me as a joint user to her credit card. The CC is with a Credit Union and everything was working fine. The credit union representative told us that they will report the credit history on Monday to 2 of the 3 credit bureaus. Now my questions: 1. Will the joint credit card really establish a credit score for me (my mother in law has excellent credit, low or zero balance on the card and pays all cc bills full on time) 2. How long will it take until I can see a FICO score (as mentioned the Credit Union will report the CC data on Monday Feb 2nd 2014) Thanks a lot for your feedback. Tom

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

You'll need six months of history to generate a fico score.

I'm guessing you're referring to being added as an authorized user, and if so, and the card is over six months old, you're scorable.

If that's not the case, and you two are joint applying for a card, then you'll need to ride if out for the six.

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[moare_de]

Thanks for your prompt reply.

The Credit Union did not have "Authorized Users" but were able to put me on an existing credit card (more than 6 months old) as a joint user.

Can you confirm that the "Joint User on an existing CC" bulilds the score in the same way as an "Authorized User".

Also - how long does it usually take the credit agencies to process the data (the CC I'm on now will report the data on Monday next week)

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

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@moare_de wrote:

Thanks for your prompt reply.

The Credit Union did not have "Authorized Users" but were able to put me on an existing credit card (more than 6 months old) as a joint user.

Can you confirm that the "Joint User on an existing CC" bulilds the score in the same way as an "Authorized User".

Also - how long does it usually take the credit agencies to process the data (the CC I'm on now will report the data on Monday next week)

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If the card has been open for a while, and you're being added on, without the card account numbers being changed, then you're one lucky guy. Figure two/three billing cycles before you're showing it on your reports. Once it's there, you should have a fico for each CRA.

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

FYI: Joint to authorized user is the same, with the exception of the responsibility of bill payment.