Rebuilding. Low 500's. Ugh... Just signed up for 2 starter cards. Should I also...

[thebreeze]

...get my brother to add me as an AU on his $10k B of A business credit card? Would that help @ all? 

[DollyLama]

Have the two starter cards both been reported to the bureaus yet? Will these be the only 2 CCs you will have? Is there closed deliquent accounts are your reports ie, 30 90 120 day lates, chargeoffs or collections? If so how old are these? 

[Anonymous]

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@DollyLama wrote:

Have the two starter cards both been reported to the bureaus yet? Will these be the only 2 CCs you will have? Is there closed deliquent accounts are your reports ie, 30 90 120 day lates, chargeoffs or collections? If so how old are these? 

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And do any of them have unpaid balances ^^

[Anonymous]

No, those starter cards will be enough. Build on your own profile.

[thebreeze]

Last few years have been rough but I've managed pay off & remove alot of stuff over the last 6 months. What's still left is

• a $500 state lien.
• a Dept of Ed/ Nelnet college loan that shows as closed after several lates. I'm trying to figure out who has it now & what I can do about it.
• a $1k Verizon chargeoff (as of 11/17) that's actually not mine (2011 roommate put a phone in my name). Verizon has refused to do anything about it even with a police report. Drops off in 8/18 if it hasn't been handled by then.

So, I've dealt with most of the bad stuff but the tough ones remain. The original list was much longer. However, I currently have 0 positive reporting TL's right now. Recently opened a Primor (First Choice Bank) Visa and an OpenSky Visa. Neither are reporting yet.

My original question is - would being an AU on my brothers biz card (I work for the business) be helpful in any way? If not, that's fine. If it will help me as I re establish creditworthiness, then I'd want to explore that. Thanks so much. This place & Creditboards have been super helpful through a tough chapter...

[Anonymous]

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@thebreeze wrote:

Last few years have been rough but I've managed pay off & remove alot of stuff over the last 6 months. What's still left is

• a $500 state lien.
• a Dept of Ed/ Nelnet college loan that shows as closed after several lates. I'm trying to figure out who has it now & what I can do about it.
• a $1k Verizon chargeoff (as of 11/17) that's actually not mine (2011 roommate put a phone in my name). Verizon has refused to do anything about it even with a police report. Drops off in 8/18 if it hasn't been handled by then.

So, I've dealt with most of the bad stuff but the tough ones remain. The original list was much longer. However, I currently have 0 positive reporting TL's right now. Recently opened a Primor (First Choice Bank) Visa and an OpenSky Visa. Neither are reporting yet.

My original question is - would being an AU on my brothers biz card (I work for the business) be helpful in any way? If not, that's fine. If it will help me as I re establish creditworthiness, then I'd want to explore that. Thanks so much. This place & Creditboards have been super helpful through a tough chapter...

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I'm moreso a fan of just building your own credit and not having to worry about what utilization someone else's card is reporting, how they manage it, and all that.

Example: He charges heavily and lets a big balance report on each statement and then pays it in full. He's doing a good job managing the card, but having it report 80% utilization (even if it gets paid the next week) doesn't really do you any favors. 

I'm just not a fan of the AU thing.

[Kree]

My personal opinion is the AU angle is useful if you are having trouble getting starter cards. As you have starter card the benefits are purely cosmetic, and will go down overtime. And as mentioned puts your score at risk due to others' actions.

It might be useful if you have a specific need for a higher score at a specific time.  For example if you need to purchase a car in the next 2 month, the short-term boost to your score could be useful.

If however you do not need your score higher at this time, it is better to focus on your own portfolio. Also, you can always be added as an AU in the future if at that time you need the help.

[DollyLama]

It is possible that once your starter cards report to the bureau you may see a bump in scores since you currently have no other revolvers for the credit mix. 

Just keep utilization low on these cards when the statement cuts (not the due date), example credit line 300, can charge 275, but pay in full before the statement cuts so it shows the creditor usage, gets the payment history mark, but DO let one of the cards only let a balance report but only about 8% of it's total credit limit. When statement cuts with the small balance pay it in full. Good to alternate the cards month to month at least on the balance report. 

Hopefully the Verizon will be rectified very soon. I would call everyone you can as to where your student loan is, if I'm reading right, was taken over by another lender and no payments have been made? This can catch up with you and bite you if this is the case. 

Let your credit age, 1 year of payments, and let the inquiries drop off and be unscoreable. You will see bumps then and 2 yr is great. 

Once down the road as your score increases( about 680 and above across all bureaus), 3 CCs are optimal, but I would try for a more prime card secured if need be, none with annual fees in the future. 

[thebreeze]

So pay 1 off ASAP basically as I charge on it and let the other hover aound 8% utilization? Then swap each month?

[Anonymous]

As for your original question if I'm not mistaken business cards don't show up on your personal credit report. At least that is the case with me.
Regarding the question above find out when the cards report. Let's say statement cut is on the 2nd of the month stop using it a few days before and pay off before it cuts so it will report as 0
And the other card leave a balance of about 8%