Leaving the country for a couple years - how to make sure credit doesn't take a hit?

[fearlessly]

Hello, myfico-ers!  

This is my first threat. I'm preparing to leave for the Peace Corps around the end of the year, and have been very consciously trying to put my credit on the best track it can possibly be before I leave and to make sure it stays upward-trending. I've browsed around here a bit, so I guess here's my basic situation - 

I'm 23 and just graduated college.

REVOLVING CREDIT:

1. BoA VISA - Opened April 2008 - $900 limit - ~$60 balance

2. Cap1 MC - Opened January 2009 - $1,000 limit - $5 balance

3. Cap1 Secured MC - Opened February 2013 - $200 limit - $5 balance

4. AmEx** - Opened May 2013 - $7,500 limit - ~$200 balance

INSTALLMENT/LOANS: 

1-5. Five (5)  Private Loans (Sallie Mae) - ~$85,000

6-12. Seven (7) Federal Loans - ~$18,000

A FEW NOTES:

• My credit cards and student loans have occasional late payments, but none in the last 12 months. 

• All my loans are in the grace period right now. The federal loans are in the process of consolidation (which I hear, debatably, is a positive considering it turns in this case seven separate loans into one), and as soon as I up my credit score I'm going to do the same with the private ones (whcih I need to do regardless of whether it's good or bad, since I can't afford to pay off the loans while in the Peace Corps and can extend and lower the monthly pay amount to something more manageable.

• I work part-time as a personal assistant to a fellow who made me an authorized user on his credit card account (the AmEx). It opened a new account (aged just a couple months despite the card being opened by him years ago), and I guess it negatively affected my credit a little bit. Is there any way to contest that?

So I have enough income coming in to not really need to use my credit cards and live on my income, but not really enough to pay down very much of my loans while I'm still here (and anything I can save will go into paying off my loans while I'm away serving). I can't imagine I'll be using my credit cards very often at all while I'm gone - will this negatively affect me? I'm not really sure what to do. I guess I'm under the assumption that the missed payments and blemishes on my credit report will decrease in significance three years later when I'm back home, is that correct? Any tips on how to (1) really improve my credit score by the time I leave in January, and (2) how to make sure my score when I get home around April 2016 is as good as it can possibly get would be incredibly wonderful! =) CreditSesame tells me my score is 656, and the only Equifax I bought a couple months ago says 626. However, these are both from when three of my CCs (the first three) were all hovering at their credit limits for a while. 

Dave

[Asailorshort]

Dave-
Living overseas certainly does make managing your credit harder, but assuming you'll have internet access wherever you are going, it's totally manageable.
I don't know much about student loans , so I'll only address the cc's.
First, I would pay off all the balances, except the amex. For max fico points, you want all your cards reporting $0, except one which should report 1-9% of the limit.
Second, while you're gone, you'll want to make sure that all those cards get used at least a couple times a year, so they don't get closed due to inactivity. Again, as long as you're not going to somewhere incredibly remote, this should be easy enough to do. You'll likely have some kind of monthly expense that you can pay through your cards. Also, if you're not going somewhere incredibly remote, you may find yourself using yhe cards for online purchases more often than you think. Amazon ships to many, many countries and you'll likely find yourself craving things like chocolate, deodorant and english language books. (Even if you are somewhere really remote, you'll still likely have the chance to get to the 'city' at least a couple times a year to meet with other peace corps members), of course, whether or not you'll actually receive the merchandise depends on the customs dept in that country &/or the amount of hassle & bribery you're willing to go through. Ask fellow peace corps members who are there or just recently returned. They'll know the ins & outs of how it works there.
3. Don't miss any payments

[09Lexie]

+1

I commend you for your volunteerism. That's really commendable. I'd also add, in case any of your cc's have AFs or just in case, I'd set up auto bill pay for minimum pyts.

Stay safe.