Update/AU question

Anonymous · ‎11-07-2016

My son just got approved today for an entry-level Cap One, and agreed to add me as an AU. He 18 and has zero credit, so this is a good option for him right now. I am rebuilding and opening an Open Sky Visa next week, and plan to add him as an AU on my card as well. I also opened an small Austin Capital Self-Lender loan with a $48/mo payment. And I'm 7 months in on a car loan with zero lates, and in the process of credit repair via LL. My current mid score is around 520 (it used to be worse). I know it's not an exact science, but with building new positive history, how soon could I possibly expect to see an uptick in my scores?

Anonymous · ‎11-07-2016

You should see it soon, maybe after a month or so of payments. Just make sure that your son doesn't go crazy and max out that card since it will reflect badly against you even as an AU.

Anonymous · ‎11-07-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
My son just got approved today for an entry-level Cap One, and agreed to add me as an AU. He 18 and has zero credit, so this is a good option for him right now. I am rebuilding and opening an Open Sky Visa next week, and plan to add him as an AU on my card as well. I also opened an small Austin Capital Self-Lender loan with a $48/mo payment. And I'm 7 months in on a car loan with zero lates, and in the process of credit repair via LL. My current mid score is around 520 (it used to be worse). I know it's not an exact science, but with building new positive history, how soon could I possibly expect to see an uptick in my scores?

I would advise not using AU. Build your scores on your own.

RobertEG · ‎11-07-2016

Once you add an AU to your report, the score that is produced no longer provides an assessment of your own risk analysis.

The AU cannot be backed-out, either by you or a prospective creditor, to provide a score that is representative of your own risk analysis.

If you are planning to apply for credit where the creditor does not do a manual review, then the issue of whehter your score will be used in evaluation of the credit will not come up. However, if apping for higher levels of credit, the creditor may choose not to give full weight to an "artificial" score.

What types of credit will you be seeking while the AU is being included in scoring?

Anonymous · ‎11-07-2016

The goal is to show an additional tradeline for each of us, and give just enough of a boost to allow a faster graduation into better cards. I am starting over from scratch, and he is starting from zero. He is on my bank account, and contributes to the household expenses, so everything is documentable. I am planning on buying a house, and he wants to buy a car. I want to only utilize AU as long as it is necessary.

Anonymous · ‎11-08-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
The goal is to show an additional tradeline for each of us, and give just enough of a boost to allow a faster graduation into better cards. I am starting over from scratch, and he is starting from zero. He is on my bank account, and contributes to the household expenses, so everything is documentable. I am planning on buying a house, and he wants to buy a car. I want to only utilize AU as long as it is necessary.

Thats just it - it really *isn't* necessary. AU accounts, in all honesty, should only be used in instances where you cannot get the system to generate a score at all because of no history.

You are far better off just opening a second (secured if need be) account in your own name.

AU accounts have been horribly abused in the recent past, with people literally selling them online. As a result newer models are beginning to put a lot less emphasis on them anyway. If I'm not mistaken, FICO 9 discounts them entirely.

Anonymous · ‎11-08-2016

Here is my dilemma...it's a challenge for me to qualify for ANY card right now, because my ex did such a number on my credit. I don't have debt other than my car now, but he left quite a trail. I need all the positive history I can get. I found two cards that will take me without a hard pull, no questions asked...Open Sky and Primor; my game plan is to charge a full tank of gas (roughly $25-30) on each card every month, and pay it off immediately online. I already have the car loan with no lates. I also have the Austin Capital installment account. I'm just worried about not having enough of a mix to satisfy the bureaus and raise my score.

Anonymous · ‎11-08-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
Here is my dilemma...it's a challenge for me to qualify for ANY card right now, because my ex did such a number on my credit. I don't have debt other than my car now, but he left quite a trail. I need all the positive history I can get. I found two cards that will take me without a hard pull, no questions asked...Open Sky and Primor; my game plan is to charge a full tank of gas (roughly $25-30) on each card every month, and pay it off immediately online. I already have the car loan with no lates. I also have the Austin Capital installment account. I'm just worried about not having enough of a mix to satisfy the bureaus and raise my score.

And those are all you really need to get your credit jumpstarted. 6-12 months with those, and you will be able to get unsecured cards. Continue to clean derogs in the meantime.